Somewhere near Evaneheim, shortly before Alastair departed in search of the Beastkin Community.

King Rossberg was kind enough to lend me one of his fastest horses after our brief conversation. I was honestly really mad at him for blatantly lying to our family about the death of my brother like that, but now that I left the capital and rode the horse for a bit, I’m beginning to see things more clearly.

It might not have been long, but I spent enough time with Natalie and the others to notice how they view Alastair as a person. It’s pretty much only Kamil who often shows pure hostility towards him while the others usually stand up in his defence.

The more time passes as I travel back to Ronerulle, the more I’m starting to realise that there’s a huge chance of me not knowing my brother as good as I thought I did. From the way the others spoke about Alastair, and from my brief interactions with him too, I can tell that he doesn’t seem like a bad person.

He didn’t have to tell me about anything. He could have chosen to keep the lie up and just observe our movements to assure that we would never discover the truth and his connection to the whole thing. He could have taken additional measures against that considering that he’s so close with King Rossberg that the King covers him up willingly.

Yet, he confronted me face to face and did his best to present the events of what supposedly is the circumstances of my brother’s death in full detail. He calmly explained the case and even thought about bringing in a witness.

Yes, he did tie me up but I can’t blame him for taking some safety measures in such a risky situation. I'm pretty sure I would have done the same in his place. Almost anyone would react strongly to the revelation that the murderer of their relatives is sitting right in front of them as they chat while having some tea.

It’s really hard to accept, but I might actually be the one in the wrong. I regret a little trying to attack him and acting coldly towards the King, but even now, my emotions are still not completely calmed down. Compared to back then, it is like heaven and earth, though.

And, the worst part is, the longer I think about everything I knew about my brother, the more small inconsistencies pop up in my memories related to him. Things I somehow missed, signs I ignored, situations that might not have been what I thought they were.

With each hour passing, my stomach tightens more and more. If Alastair really is right, how much evil have I overlooked over all these years? I want to still believe in my brother’s innocence but it gets increasingly harder to remain in that belief. 

Halfway home, I’m already hoping more for whoever might be locked behind that extremely secure set of doors in the castle’s dungeons to still be alive after so much time rather than for my brother to be who I thought he was. I’m pretty much convinced that there are people down there. Women, most likely.

If Alastair really is right, I’ll think about my apology later. Right now, I need to figure out what to do to bring the best magicians and experts to the castle as quickly as possible. I really hope Sir Vehrien isn’t absent. He’s our best bet. But, considering how often Father sends him out, the chances are actually quite low.

Nevertheless, if we gather all the mages under our rule—no, everyone present in the city willing to help us—we should be able to break through all the arrays and barriers. I should not forget about people who can protect others from offensive enchantments. It’s really going to be hard.

In just a few days, I arrive in Ronerulle. The horse I borrowed is barely holding up. My conscience is hurting every second I look at it but I can’t stop now. I have to prioritise the life of people over animals even if it pains me.

Thankfully, I manage to somehow make it through the streets at a full gallop without my horse falling down from exhaustion. I can easily tell it’s on the verge of collapsing, stubbornly doing its best to fulfil its role to its utmost abilities.

The stable master catches his head when he sees us dart into the area he oversees. As I stop in front of the entrance to one of the well-kept barns and jump off the horse, it trembles violently and drops to its knees before fully hitting the ground, panting heavily.

I crouch down by its long neck and graze it gently.

“Thank you. I wouldn’t be able to make it here so fast without you. If you make it, I promise to buy you out from the King and make sure that your life is as comfortable as it can get until you peacefully die of old age.”

The horse neighs at me, maybe somehow getting the meaning of my words and actions, staring into my eyes with its beautiful irises. I stand up the moment the stable master shows up by my side. He looks at me in shock and confusion but I wave my hand at the man to shut him up.

“If you manage to save this horse, I will be sure to reward you handsomely. Do everything you can to help it. I’m really sorry I have brought it to this state but every second counts.”

He blinks a few times and then nods in quick succession.

“I swear I will do everything in my power to aid this poor animal. Please, don’t apologise, Princess. I know you wouldn’t have done this if it wasn’t something extremely important.”

“Thank you. I have to go now. I’ll be back at some point.”

Without looking back, I rush towards the inner section of the keep. Many people recognize me and stop to respectfully share greetings but I completely ignore them and keep running to the royal quarters.

As I said, there’s no time to waste. I will apologise to everyone later. If some noble guest gets offended by my behaviour, I will deal with them personally. It’s nothing compared to what possibly awaits me in the castle’s underground.

Countless servants, butlers and maids jump aside when I make my way through the narrow corridors leading to the lounge where Mother and Father often spend most of their day at. Hopefully, they aren’t busy with some official matters. But, considering that no one stops me to inform me about their request to not be interrupted is a good sign.

I soon reach the decorative wooden doors and pause in front of them to catch my breath. I must look like I ran for my life, which isn’t technically wrong. I ran for someone’s life instead, if I want to be precise.

Taking a deep breath and fixing my appearance as much as possible—which is quite hard to achieve with how drenched in sweat and dirty all over I am—I knock on the door a few times.

A few seconds pass but nothing happens. I choose to knock again, stronger this time. Perhaps they didn’t hear me before or they are taking a nap. It’s shortly after lunchtime right now so it wouldn’t be that unexpected for Mother or Father, or both of them, to fall asleep on the sofa or something.

Unfortunately, no one responds after the second try either. I notice a servant heading my way from the side and approach the woman with a quick step.

“Princess.” She bows while lowering her head. “With all the respect, you look horrible. Should I call for someone to prepare a bath for you?”

“Not now.” I quickly shake my head. “I need to speak with Father and Mother as soon as possible. Are they not in the lounge?”

“They should be. We delivered a bottle of wine to them about an hour ago. I didn’t hear anything about either of them leaving or calling a servant to ask for something else,” she explains.

“I see. Then it’s possible they have really fallen asleep. Thank you. Please, continue with your responsibilities.”

The woman bows again and walks away. I hastily approach the doors and slam my fists into the wood with a lot of force, making both wings jump slightly while releasing a lot of noise. I will have a lot of apologising to do after this gets resolved.

“Father, Mother, it’s me, Vanessa! I really need to speak with you!” I shout to wake them up. “It’s extremely urgent! We really need to talk right now!”

Nothing but silence answers me again. I groan in frustration while clenching my fists. I can’t keep this up any longer so I reach toward the knob and push it down. As expected, the doors are locked.

With one quick motion, I bring my staff out of my ring and take a few steps back.

“You can punish me later if you want but I’m taking the door down!”

Aiming the tip at the ground, I begin condensing mana. I don’t want to risk hurting my parents with a projectile spell so this should do just fine. The floor will need repairs but that’s a price I’m willing to pay under current circumstances.

The beautiful tiles with complex patterns crack and shatter, getting pulled towards my staff. A makeshift great hammer forms up in a flash. I couldn’t care less about its quality or even efficiency so it looks like a bunch of rocks glued together in the general shape of a hammer.

With a loud grunt, I drag it over the floor while helping myself with my control of the earth element and start to swing at the door from below. But, before I even reach half of the motion, something clearly slams into them from the other side as the whole thing silently trembles from impact.

“Wait! Don’t!” Father’s panicked voice comes out slightly muffled from the inside.

I groan while shifting my weight to one side in an attempt to hastily change the trajectory of the attack. The stone hammer barely misses the wooden door by a few centimetres and slams into the wall just next to it. A loud impact echoes through the hallways as I fall to the ground from having my balance completely broken.

“Father! Do you have a death wish?!” I shout while getting up as fast as I can. “I almost sent you to the Goddess! Why would you do that?!”

“I had to disable the silencing arrays!” he replies with a trace of anxiety in his voice. “You can’t enter right now! We look terrible! Just give us a few minutes and we’ll meet in the conference room!”

“I can’t wait! People’s lives may be at stake here! And you guys surely can’t look worse than me after a small nap! I’m literally dripping with sweat and haven’t bathed in days!”

A barely audible chuckle coming from my mother makes it through the door. “If only sweat was the worst thing you could be dripping with.”

“Honey!” Father shouts, causing Mother to chuckle again. “Just a minute, Vanessa, please! Wait in the next room and we’ll be there in a flash!”

I sigh heavily. “Fine. But make it quick. It’s really a matter of life and death.”

Not sure why he is so insistent on it, I follow Father’s request and enter the next room, giving them a moment to fix themselves up.

I don’t get it. It’s just me, not some guest or even a servant. I thought they were already at the age of not caring about appearances.

Three minutes later, Father and Mother enter the chamber. They look a little flushed and their skin has a faint shine to it. They must have fallen asleep under a blanket or something. Considering Mother, it’s not that unusual, but it’s quite a warm season right now.

Mother raises her brows after she spots me.

“You look like you haven’t slept for a week. Is everything alright?” she asks with a lot of concern.

“You aren’t that far off, Mother, but it’s not important right now. I need your help. We have to gather as many people who can cast offensive and protective magic. The stronger, the better. If we can find them, then masters of arrays, seals, formations and other things too. There’s no time to waste. We need all the messengers on their feet.”

Father frowns a little. “What has you so worked up, dear? Did a gate open somewhere nearby for us to gather an army of magicians?”

I shake my head. “No, nothing like that. The city is safe. But, we need to break through the protection cast on Brother’s workshop as soon as possible.”

“Why though? Didn’t we decide to leave it be?”

“There might be people inside.”

Mother gasps faintly and covers her mouth with a hand while Father frowns even harder.

“How do you know that?” he asks.

“As much as I want not to believe it too, someone trustworthy in the eyes of my friends suggested it. I will explain everything after we set things in motion. There really is no time to waste if he is right.”

“But… After so much time…” Mother makes a sad expression.

I grimace a little. “I know. But, there’s still a chance. And I have to get inside anyway due to a promise I made. Please, do me a favour this one time. I swear I will compensate you for trouble in any way possible if it turns out that he is wrong.”

Father and Mother look at each other for a brief moment and then back at me.

“Sweetie, you don’t have to go so far. We’ll always listen to your requests. You are our precious daughter. But, I guess you aren’t used to this since you have never asked much for yourself.” Mother smiles warmly at me.

“Alright. Let’s start to act and talk about this later.” Father stands up. “We will take care of everything. You go and at least rest for half a day or more. It really pains me to see you in such a state, dear. I will do everything I can but this will take time anyway. It’s too dangerous to try something with only a few people as we have already learned.”

I raise myself too and make a slight bow. “Thank you very much.”

Father chuckles and ruffles through my hair as he passes me, walking towards the door. He soon disappears and leaves us alone. Mother comes up to me and places a hand on my cheek.

“Do as your father said. You look as if you are going to collapse at any moment. Head to your personal bath first. I’ll send your maids there immediately.”

“Yes, Mother.”

She smiles at me and places a gentle kiss on my forehead. “Always so respectful. You and your late brother; both putting others above yourselves. I was so lucky to receive children this kind. Although, I would love for you to think a little more about yourself. I’m afraid that I will one day lose you in a similar way to your brother, sacrificing yourself for the masses.”

I try my best not to wince at her words. I know how badly Mother will take it after she learns the truth about Brother if it really is as Alastair says. We were always her precious children which she could be proud of. Her image of him has always been impeccable.

But, I have to explain everything to them, from start to finish. There’s not much I can do here. I don’t want to lie to Mother and she would learn the truth herself in just a moment. I still hope a little that nothing is down there.

At the same time, a small part of me hopes otherwise, just because I know how hurt Shino will be if Alastair ends up executed. She and all his women. Even if justifiable, we would make many powerful enemies. In the worst-case scenario, the heroes could completely turn on us. And their power is nothing to scoff at.

We leave the room shortly after and Mother escorts me to the closest servant, worrying that I will fall over before I reach the bath. She then quickly scurries away to arrange things before I arrive there. With how much she mingles with servants, people could take her as one if they knew that side of hers.

I let myself be led to my private bath after things are finally prepared and a group of three maids waits for me inside. They always help me bathe when I’m at the castle, no matter what I say. 

Well, I can’t exactly complain. I didn’t manage to convince them that they don’t need to do that, but I have at least succeeded in making them not wear their uniforms while they take care of me, under the pretence of them not having to change or dry their clothes afterwards since they would always get completely wet in the process.

It took around a month but they grew comfortable around me enough to ditch their underwear too. So, I am taken care of by three naked, pretty girls each time I take a bath at home. They say otherwise but they just lack self-confidence because I’m a princess.

Unfortunately, one of them managed to figure me out after just a few times. I guess my staring and compliments on their bodies were too obvious. I might have forgotten myself once too and brushed my fingers over her private parts by accident before quickly taking my hand away. I guess that was it.

Fortunately, she wasn’t mad or uncomfortable about it. Instead, she kept it to herself and started to actively tease me while avoiding being found out by the other two. She often brushes her body against mine, angles herself clearly to give me a good view of her charms, or even sneakily touches me a little inappropriately right under their noses as she washes me.

Therefore, just like always, the four of us enter the prepared pool to soak up a little and talk about things around the castle. It’s always fun to listen to their stories and how the servants are doing in general. You wouldn’t believe the things that are happening behind the scenes.

 

※※※

 

The sound of footsteps reaches my ears. With a small sigh, I open my eyes just as someone walks inside, trying to be as quiet as possible, and I immediately frown in confusion.

“Oh. Seems like I woke you up. I apologise.”

I turn my head and see Mother walking towards me. Sitting up, I look around.

“Why am I in my bedchamber?”

Mother smiles warmly at me, sitting on the edge of the bed.

“You were so exhausted that you fell asleep just moments after walking into the bath.” She chuckles softly, shaking her head. “Your maids quickly tended to you and brought you to your room.”

I can feel my cheeks growing warmer. That’s a first. I’ve never fallen asleep in a bath before. And in front of so many people even.

“Wait.” I quickly regain my composure after remembering everything and look at Mother with concern. “How long have I been asleep?”

“Around fifteen hours. You must have been really tired. I’m sure you would keep sleeping if I didn’t interrupt you.”

“It’s good that you did then, Mother. Thank you.” I throw the covers aside and hastily jump off the bed, heading towards my dressing compartment.

“I want to say that you should rest more but I know you won’t listen to me.” She chuckles again.

“I’m sorry, Mother,” I reply, quickly putting on my bra.

“Oh, don’t be. Just promise me to take it easy after things get resolved.”

“I do. I promise. I just need to verify this.”

I’m ready in a flash and stand in front of Mother in my usual clothes and gear. We’ll be trying to take down these formations anyway so it’s better for me to use the enchanted robes and equipment. No one should mind too.

“Father is in his study at this moment,” Mother informs me, reading me like an open book.

“Thank you. I’m off then.”

Without a second wasted, I quickly jog towards Father’s study, passing by a lot of servants and maids going both ways. It’s early morning so they are preparing everything for breakfast. Father always drinks coffee in his study before he joins Mother to eat, or us all together when everyone is home.

This time, he answers after a light knock and I walk inside the small library.

“Did we manage to get anyone?” I ask right from the doorstep.

“Yes, we did,” he answers with a smile. “But, not yet enough. I don’t want to risk your safety and knowing you, you would want to be amongst these people too.”

“Of course. I’m quite strong myself.” I nod.

“That you are,” he agrees. “Can you wait a few more hours?”

I scrunch my face a little. It would be best to move as soon as possible but I obviously know that without a decent number of people we won’t be able to do anything anyway. There’s no point in risking everyone’s lives to rush things.

“Alright. I will come to find you around seven in the evening, Father.”

He nods, taking a sip of his coffee. “Try not to think too much about this. There’s no use worrying about things out of our reach.”

I excuse myself and leave the study. A little lost about what to do, I decide to visit the stable master in the time I have before breakfast. Hopefully, the horse is okay. I’m starting to feel really bad for pushing it to its limits after all the adrenaline is gone out of my system.

The kind, elderly man smiles at me the moment we see each other. I take it as a good sign and quickly approach him. Without further ado, he lets me know that the horse is doing okay, resting in one of the stalls.

I don’t know what magic he used to save it, but I’m really thankful for his help. I really thought I took it too far on my way here. Just as promised, I tell him to inform me about his wish and I will see if there’s anything I could do to fulfil it.

He tries to worm his way out of it, saying that it’s nothing and that he was just doing his job, but I’m not going to back off this easily. To not argue unnecessarily, putting too much pressure on him, I tell him to think about it for a bit and that I’ll visit him some time to hear him out.

After checking on the horse itself, I head back to the castle and join Father and Mother for breakfast. We eat in silence for a short while but they soon begin shooting me glances and I know they are holding back from asking me to explain everything.

Therefore, just like Alastair, I try to present the story from start to finish, putting my own thoughts into it while bringing their attention to the crucial elements. No matter how much effort I put into it, though, the sudden reveal comes out as a shock.

In the beginning, Mother is hung up on the fact I came so close to Brother’s killer and keeps saying how dangerous that was, but she quickly switches into denial just like I did back then, disagreeing that there’s even a chance Brother would have done anything bad.

It’s not like I want to believe it, but the more I think about it, the less confident I am in defending Brother. Since there are no sides in this conversation to try and convince the other one to their right, the dining hall soon falls silent.

I really ruined the mood with my story but it had to be done. Right now, I think I can understand a little how Alastair must have felt when he was in my position.

No. He definitely had it worse. I’m not my brother’s murderer letting his parents know that the one who killed him was me. They aren’t looking at me like the filthiest criminal, wanting to strike me down at once. It must be incomparable.

To ease the atmosphere up a little, I leave early and head to my room. On my way there, I step into the servant quarters of my personal maids and meet with the three women from yesterday to apologise for falling asleep and to thank them for taking care of me without waking me up.

As usual, they say that it’s nothing and I shouldn’t even bother myself with coming here specifically for them and that I should have just called for them instead. But, while that’s how the two of them behave, the third one, currently cooking a soup, dips two fingers in it while smiling at me impishly and then very seductively licks them off behind the backs of her friends.

In the end, they accept my thanks and we share a quick hug each. The third maid leans a bit more into my ear and squeezes my butt without the others noticing.

“Now no one will know how far I’ve gone yesterday. Not even you, Princess,” she whispers into it with a sultry tone.

I clamp my thighs together as a little shiver passes through my body, quickly turning my lips to her ear too.

“Careful or I might order you to show me exactly what you did that day by making you do it again but slower.”

When we separate, I can spot a faint blush on her cheeks. I was really hesitant about going further than this, afraid that she might only be teasing me a bit now and then after the atmosphere between us has grown more relaxed, thinking she could feel pressured due to my position if I took another step toward her, but I’m now really considering calling her to my bedroom now.

Unfortunately, it’s not the time to think about such things and I know I wouldn’t be able to enjoy it with all of the things in my mind. So, I leave them be for now for their short break while Father and Mother eat and move to my own study.

I thought I would be able to pass time in the books, but I was wrong. I can’t focus at all. My thoughts keep jumping to the dungeons under the castle and my brain makes up a lot of very negative possibilities.

Since I can’t stop thinking about it, I decide to do something connected to the case to ease my mind. The simplest and quickest option is meeting with the women Brother hooked up with in the past. A few of them should hopefully still be working in the same places.

With that goal, I leave the castle and head to the nearest restaurant where I clearly remember one of the women agreeing to his propositions. It seems that I’m in luck because I quickly recognize someone from the barmaids and approach her when she’s free.

But, when I mention Brother and ask about their time together, she immediately shakes her head and refuses to talk about it. No matter what I say, she requests me not to ask her about it, growing more uncomfortable the more I try to press her on. Since I don’t want to force her to talk, I apologise and walk out to try another location. 

After I visit a few of them, though, I still get nothing. Surprisingly, the pattern repeats. The moment I ask for some details about their time with Brother, they instantly back off and avoid the topic, not wanting to even mention it.

During the seventh time I’m refused, by a sweet, young girl with dark ginger twin braids, I sigh heavily while rubbing my forehead. It finally gets to me and I place my hand on the wall by her face, leaning closer with a serious expression.

“Listen. I understand that you don’t want to talk about it, or perhaps you were threatened to stay quiet by my brother or someone else, but I assure you that you are completely safe with me. As much as it hurts me, he is dead. Besides me, no one even knows the two of you ever met. I swear I won’t tell anyone else. I’m only asking because of my selfish curiosity. I need to know if the brother I loved was real.”

We stare at each other for quite a moment. She chews on her lip the whole time, still extremely hesitant about this. I can tell that she’s scared about this going out, for whatever reason. But, after a while, she finally makes a tiny nod.

“Let’s come to my room,” she suggests timidly and I withdraw my hand.

After arriving there, I place a rune on one of the walls. “Nobody will hear us now.”

“It’s okay,” she replies with a weak tone. “I don’t think I will need to speak.”

Leaving me a little confused, she starts to undress. In an instant, I realise just why she is the only waitress in this popular restaurant wearing a full dress with long sleeves. And it's not just because she's the owner's daughter. The moment her arms are revealed, I spot countless old wounds from cuts and plenty of other marks and blemishes.

I gasp a little when she exposes her back to me.

It’s horrible. I’ve seen such scars. She was whipped. Hard. And it certainly wasn’t done with a toy used in the bedroom. Such deep and chaotic cuts must have clearly come from a whip with sharp, metal endings.

The more clothes she takes off, the worse it gets. Finally, she stands before me in full nude, without showing a sign of embarrassment or shyness. Her face is full of anxiety, though. And I can understand why.

Her whole body is scarred all around with a plethora of old wounds coming from various different sources. Burns, cuts, scratches and whatever else you can think of. It’s like a tortured convict is standing right in front of my eyes, months after intense interrogation.

“I… I’m so sorry…” is all I can say.

She smiles weekly, rubbing her arm. I take a step forward, reaching out with my hand, and she flinches, taking a step back. But, I catch up to her and pull her into a hug, apologising to her repeatedly. She soon slowly embraces me back and starts crying, which soon turns into heavy wailing.

I can’t even begin to fathom what she must have gone through. The others must be just like her, scarred both mentally and physically. They were clearly forced to keep quiet about this. And I haven’t noticed a single thing.

No. I ignored all the signs. I brushed all of them away, too blind and ignorant to even consider that they truly meant something. We have never visited the same place again after a certain day. He never mentioned any of the women from them again. He always took control of the conversation and guided it off anything connected to them. And there’s more like that.

I stay with her until she gradually calms down and apologises for causing a scene in front of me. At first, I wanted to offer her anything in compensation, but I quickly realise that she definitely wants to have nothing to do with the royal family and anyone else now. It would only bring her more pain and stress.

That’s not what I want her to experience so I leave soon, apologising wholeheartedly again while bowing low and handing her a small pouch with a few platinum coins inside. I feel horrible giving her money for what she has gone through but that’s the least uncomfortable option for her and I would feel even worse walking away doing nothing.

For the next few hours, I visit the places I can remember and hand the women my brother mingled with a small sack too, without mentioning anything else besides how sorry I am for everything. I don’t want them to try to refuse.

Afterwards, I rush back to the castle. People jump away from my way, seeing how tense my expression has become as I stomp forward at a very quick pace. It’s not even noon but I can’t wait anymore. Hope is gone. There’s only dread now.

I storm into the chamber Father is currently in, surprising him greatly.

“I don’t care how many people we have, we are doing it now. I. Need. To. Get. In. There. Right. This. Instant.”

Seeing my mood, he only nods and uses an artefact bell to call for his butler. He quickly tells the man to bring everyone to the basement and we head there in silence. I can barely walk as slow as he does, catching myself overtaking him a lot.

Not five minutes pass before we reach the entrance to Brother’s workshop. With a quick glance, I can easily tell there are over thirty people here. Father said they have been told that we are going to test the strength of some new protective enchantments and they will be rewarded greatly for help but there’s a risk of dying since the arrays won’t be limited or stopped.

“Alright, everyone, let’s begin,” I say loudly and receive a bunch of affirmative grunts in response.

First, a group of experts approaches the thick metal gate about four metres tall and two wide, with two massive wings. Brother said it was made like that because he was secretly crazy about entrances in such style but I don’t think I believe that excuse anymore.

They try to tinker with the arrays and formations while weaving their own magic into the play. A bunch of mages focusing on protective spells accompanies them just in case. And, it’s good that they do because after just a few minutes, something activates and violent, blue fire engulfs all of them.

One magician reacts too slowly and two people by his sides die alongside him as they scream while burning alive. I wince a little. We did that to them. We brought them here and caused their deaths. Even if they all agreed to this knowing that is a possibility, it still feels wrong to me. But, I can’t back down now. I will remember to compensate their families if they have any.

The other experts withdraw immediately, agreeing almost unanimously that they have no way of getting through this complex amalgamation of spells, saying that only its creator can do anything here. Or someone way above that person, which is higher than the peak of what people can do in the current age according to them.

We are so unlucky that the person that made this seems to have disappeared from the surface of Naharren with completely no trace. I don’t believe they are gone just like that, hiding somewhere or something. It’s now obvious to me that Brother silenced them soon after they finished their work.

Then, our turn comes. Those who are best at casting shields and similar techniques line up in the front while the rest prepares their strongest penetrative spells. At my command, we simultaneously barrage the numerous barriers with a rain of magic so intense the air gets as thick as syrup from all the mana. The noise is deafening and the whole place shakes violently.

After a full three minutes of this, we stop and wait for all the particles to disappear, which takes quite a bit of time with how much mana is in the air now. Everyone curses the moment all the dust settles down, revealing faint scratches on the metal door. Barely any spells managed it through. In the meanwhile, we lost seven more people from countering spells.

Taking a short break, we agree to hold one more attempt, hoping that we have drained the formations enough to weaken them. Unfortunately, nothing changes and only faint scratches appear on the gate and the walls surrounding it again.

“Aghhhhhhhhhh!” I groan loudly, hitting the ground with my fist as I pant heavily alongside others.

They look at me weirdly, most likely wondering why I look so defeated and frustrated while the formations are clearly working great. People start to slowly withdraw, accepting the payment for helping out. They don’t want to risk their lives in an impossible task even if the rewards are much greater for breaking the barriers. We again lost five more people.

Soon, it’s only me and Father left in the room. He walks up to me, who is still kneeling on the ground, and places a hand on my shoulder.

“I don’t think we can do anything here. It’s too powerful. Just look at that wall. It’s barely touched.”

I stare for a moment at the completely ruined floor under me and raise my gaze at the metal and stone in front of me in almost perfect condition.

“That wall…” I mutter to myself as realisation dawns on me. “Just that wall…”

Startling Father a little, I stand up in a flash. I turn to him with a serious expression again.

“We are currently under one of the big baths used by the guests, right?”

He frowns. “Yes, we are. They are directly above this chamber, between them and the surface. Why?”

“Tell everyone to get away from any chandeliers and furniture. Or leave the castle, preferably. I apologise. I promise to fix things up later.”

“Vanessa!”

Without sparing him a second more, I rush outside the moment I finish speaking, hearing him shout after me. In less than a minute, I burst into the mentioned bath, fortunately, empty inside.

I scan the spacious hall while visualising the structure of the underground areas and jump into the pool at a certain position. Ignoring the water, I begin to dance in it while casting an extremely long spell.

Walls begin rumbling as an immense magical circle appears right above my head, glued to the ceiling. Parts of them crack or shatter and bits of the ceiling fall down onto the floor, which also doesn’t avoid getting heavily damaged. I fill the spell with as much mana as I can muster, going all out.

Finally, finishing the dance obstructed by the hot liquid, I raise my staff high into the air.

“Thousand Tonne Pound!” I shout while driving it down.

The circle glows and a giant hammerhead surges out of it, made from the stone behind the formation. It slams the floor of the pool faster than I can blink and causes a small earthquake for sure, also turning the shaky waters into a literal tsunami.

But, it does its job properly.

The ground ends up shattered into bits and caves under the immense impact. I begin to fall down alongside all the debris and hit the ground again in just a moment. There isn’t much space between these levels and I have successfully broken into the workshop from above.

After the chunks of stone stop falling onto the barrier I have quickly erected around myself, I cancel it and look around. The metal gate stands untouched behind my back. A long corridor of white stone, fitted with a royal red rug and decorations spans in front of me.

“It’s time to learn the truth.”

I immediately begin to run.