"Perhaps the princess wants us to grow stronger," one of the boys blurted out, feeling that he had suddenly comprehended Aurianna's non-existent cryptic words.

However, when he turned to observe Aurianna, she had vanished from her original spot, casually indulging in the meal prepared by the chef, who nervously continued grilling meat.

"Ehh, she's just casually eating!" The boy gasped, clearly caught off guard.

"I've made my words clear. I'm not interested in this engagement. You can all leave!" Aurianna declared, nonchalantly continuing her meal.

'She's been remarkably blunt about it,' echoed in the collective thoughts of those watching.

"King Girsal!" a queen called out as she approached him, causing a visible nervous reaction from the king.

"Your daughter is truly charming and humorous. Perhaps girls like her shouldn't be coerced into engagements. She has her entire life ahead, and considering some of your own children aren't engaged, it seems unfair to impose it on her," the queen suggested, giving him a light pat on the back, surprising him.

"I agree, King Girsal, and I'm open to engaging in trade with your country. I hope your daughter and my son can become friends. I appreciate that child; her words have managed to inspire these young boys," a noble chimed in with a polite tone, toying with his beard.

"Haha, thank you," King Girsal dryly laughed, shaking the man's extended hand.

"However, that rebellious behavior—I advise you to find a way to manage it. Otherwise, she might step out of line and become a barbarian," a noble woman cautioned as she eyed Aurianna before turning her gaze back to King Girsal.

"I will definitely address this," King Girsal stated with a cold smile, prompting the woman to nod and walk toward him, whispering into his ear, "Rebellious children are the ones who may end up coming for our heads, so it's better to keep them in check," she said coldly.

"King Girsal, would you like to discuss the Lurithium trade later?" Another noble interrupted with a joyful expression.

"King Girsal!"

"King Girsal!" The nobles, King, and Queen all called out, hoping to discuss their business proposals.

"Let's move to the meeting room to discuss, so we can allow the kids to rest. Today has been a long day," Momo said politely, and the nobles nodded as they followed behind her.

_______

Inside the throne room as the moon floated high in the sky, King Girsal sat there as advisor Chu stood beside him.

"Despite Aurianna's behavior, I managed not to lose a single trade proposal from any king, queen, or envoy," Girsal mused as he sat on his throne, scrolling through documents on his jade tablet.

"I finally figured it out. It is charm magic. A very rare type of magic. No wonder they all act oblivious or succumb to her whimsical behaviors. However, it seems some people are a bit resistant to her charm magic. I guess, regardless of how rebellious she is, she still has some uses," he said with a slight grin.

"Chu, did you get the blood sample?" King Girsal asked, looking at Chu standing beside him.

"Yes, your Majesty. However, it was extremely difficult to pierce her skin, and her blood is strange," Chu stated nervously, tapping his ring.

"Strange as in?" King Girsal asked, raising an eyebrow.

"White blood. White as milk and shining like crystal. It's not the blood a normal human should have," he blurted out, handing King Girsal a tube filled with white blood.

"You have questions?" King Girsal asked as he swirled the tube in his hand and grinned.

"Yes, is she really human?" Chu asked.

"I can't tell," Girsal replied.

King Girsal leaned back in his throne, looking at the tube of white blood in his hand. A silence filled the room before he finally spoke, his voice measured.

"The mysteries surrounding my dear daughter Aurianna are deeper than I anticipated. This White blood is indeed unusual. But whether she's human or not, I will determine that."

Chu nodded, still visibly uneas. "I'll conduct more tests and see what else we can uncover about her blood. It's... unsettling, to say the least, since she is your daughter."

Girsal acknowledged Chu with a nod before turning his attention back to the documents on his tablet. "Continue your investigations. The more we understand, the better. Right now we lack slaves and a Saintess to strengthen the secret soldiers and it doesn't look like another Saintess would arrive soon. So maybe I can use hers as a supplement for now. She can regenerate after all, which makes it even better. However, since she is friends with a Royal Human and my daughter, I don't plan to harm her. Just draining a bit of her blood everyday won't be so bad.” he said with an evil grin and Chu could only nod.

"Your Majesty, there's more," Chu hesitated before continuing, "When analyzing the blood under a microscope, before coming here. It's not just white; it's different from any cellular structure. It's like... liquid light."

Girsal's brows furrowed, deepening the Chu’s words. "Liquid light? That's not possible. Is there anything else I should know?” King Girsal asked before looking up at Chu but he shook his head.

“Keep this discovery a secret for now. And experiment more on it.” King Girsal ordered.

“I shall do as you say your Majesty,” Chu said with a deep bow.

"Also if I remember, we did find her near the forbidden forest, guarded by that golem, but back then, it was a monster much bigger than what it is now," Chu reminisced, and King Girsal nodded as he remembered the first time he had met Aurianna.

A few years back King Girsal and Amber were traveling along the edge of the forbidden forest, heading to another kingdom with their entourage of knights. However, they suddenly noticed an object hurtling from the sky at high speed, compelling them to stop and witness it fall. The mysterious object crash-landed, prompting the whole army of knights to stop moving.

Intrigued, King Girsal got out of his carriage and with his entourage approached the object's landing spot, finding an extremely large being by its side, rocking it with its finger and glanced at them for a moment, causing them to shudder. Despite the immediate draw of weapons, the being showed no interest in attacking.

A child's cry pierced the air from the object, and Queen Amber, with red-rimmed eyes, got off the carriage. She disregarded Girsal's warnings and walked toward the being and the object.

King Girsal tried to intervene and grabbed her hand, but slapped his hand away when he tried to stop her, and went to touch the object.

Furious, King Girsal yelled at Amber, observing the being frown and glare at her, but she remained unfazed. The child's cry echoed again, and Amber began to cry. The being then sighed before it disappeared into sparkles of light, leaving King Girsal astonished.

The object opened to reveal a pod with an adorable baby girl, who was, Aurianna. Upon spotting Amber, baby Aurianna cried loudly, and Amber cradled her in her arms.

King Girsal sighed in the present, reflecting on that strange day. "Yeah, that kid was strange the moment I met her. But Amber’s mental state was falling apart after losing her own daughter. What's more I couldn't risk being on her father's bad side, since I needed the Mena Empire’s support. So I just played along, calling Aurianna our child."

"But, to this day, why did that golem allow us take Aurianna?" Girsal mused aloud.

"Your Majesty!" A knight suddenly barged into the throne room.

"Who dares to barge in?!" Chu snapped, looking down at the knight who had a scared expression, and sweated profusely.

"Sorry for my rudeness, but this is important!" the knight said, looking up at King Girsal, his eyes trembling.

"What is it?" King Girsal inquired.

"King Girsal, Prince Dwane… something awful happened," the knight stammered.

"What happened?" King Girsal's brows furrowed.

"It seems he got attacked by an extremely strong monster. When we found him…. His limbs were broken, tongue cut out, and he had lost a lot of blood. We found him just barely hanging onto his life," the knight explained, and a heavy silence descended upon the room.

"What dungeon did he enter?" King Girsal asked.

"From his injuries, it looks like he faced off against a spike spike and blade monster in the Corken Dungeon," the knight clarified, and King Girsal bit his lip.

"Didn't he have knights protecting him?" Chu snapped, anger evident in his voice, causing the knight to shudder.

"All his knights got wiped out. It seems that these were high-level monsters that somehow broke free from the dungeon’s restrictions. To take down a High Human Knight, that monster is likely an Arc Monster..." The knight's tone was grave, and King Girsal's face darkened.

"Dammit!" King Girsal cursed, rising from his throne. "Has he been taken to the healer?" he demanded, striding towards the knight.

"Yes, but..." The knight hesitated.

"But?" King Girsal asked, his tone frigid.

"His body parts aren't growing back. The blood flow stopped, but the damage isn't healing!" The knight blurted out, and King Girsal clenched his jaw, absorbing the grim news.