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Chapter 45
In the dark forest, three dark mages were watching the monsters swarming toward the ducal estate.
They grinned wickedly, anticipating the estate being drenched in blood.
But the estate’s resistance was far stronger than they expected.
“Stronger resistance than we thought.”
“Then we’ll have to push harder too.”
“Let’s cast strengthening spells on the beasts.”
The three simultaneously formed seals and unleashed enhancement magic upon the monsters.
When their magic combined, the beasts became even more ferocious.
“Fall.”
“Drown in blood.”
“Victory shall be ours.”
But as time passed, their expressions grew increasingly twisted.
From the sky, a mage of the White Tower had appeared.
The Sword Master, Duke Cartellani, and the knight commander whose skill rivaled his were already formidable opponents. Now, even the White Tower’s mages had joined them.
“At this rate, we’ll need to summon more monsters.”
“I agree.”
“Let’s begin.”
The three mages summoned even more beasts to attack the estate, eager to see how long the defenders could hold out.
But their faces did not brighten.
“W-what is that?”
“That…!”
“This can’t be!”
Suddenly, the ducal estate was enveloped in a transparent golden barrier.
Every monster that crashed into it disintegrated into dust.
“N-no way…”
“The World Tree’s blessing?”
“Why would the World Tree’s blessing appear here…?”
All eyes turned to the wall.
There stood a young girl, bathed in golden light.
“A Guardian?”
“That’s definitely the Guardian of the World Tree.”
“But why is a Guardian here…?”
They couldn’t finish their words.
“We should retreat.”
“If that light touches us, even we’ll be gravely wounded.”
“Damn it.”
The three quickly concealed themselves from the light.
Even the beasts, frightened, scattered in panic.
Still, they had gained one piece of valuable information:
The Guardian of the World Tree was inside the ducal estate.
“We must report this to the organization.”
“Of course.”
“Let’s hurry.”
Just as they tried to flee with teleportation magic—
“Why isn’t it working?”
The teleport spell failed.
“You too?”
“Mine won’t activate either.”
The three were utterly shaken.
Then, from the shadows, someone emerged.
A boy with a youthful, angelic face.
But the smile he wore as he looked at them was chilling.
“So, the trash was hiding here?”
“Who are you?!”
“Why do you care, when you’re just garbage?”
“You little—!”
They began forming seals to cast magic, but—
“W-what?!”
Their spells would not activate.
It was as if their mana was blocked.
The boy smiled.
“I’ve made this place my domain. You can’t do anything here.”
“W-what…?”
“The one who saved me said it’s my unique ability. That I was born as the nemesis of mages.”
“T-that’s absurd—!”
“Goodbye. I’ll see you off personally.”
The boy flicked his hand.
Ssshhht—
Transparent blades formed from his gesture and sliced across the throats of all three.
“Ghhk—!”
“Urgh!”
“Argh!”
With strangled cries, the three mages collapsed.
The boy waved his hand again, and their corpses turned to dust, leaving no trace.
His eyes gleamed with a chilling light as he looked at the spot where they had stood.
“Dark mages must be eradicated from this world.”
His voice dripped with pure hatred.
“Now that the garbage is cleaned up, I’ll get praised by the Tower Master.”
Beaming happily at the thought of praise, the boy vanished.
Inside the mansion of the Grand Duchy of Prussia.
Grand Duchess Christina could not sleep, restless with anxiety.
Her attendant stood by her side.
She asked sharply,
“Any news?”
“Not yet… Your Highness.”
“They’re late.”
“Perhaps they’re too occupied to send word.”
“Well, the ducal estate is not an easy place to deal with.”
Tonight, the Cartellani estate was supposed to suffer a heavy blow, as monsters would suddenly rampage.
So why was she so uneasy?
“Please don’t worry too much.”
“Yes… but this uneasy feeling won’t leave me. Bring me more tea.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
Even after three cups of calming tea, her nerves remained unsettled.
Then, her attendant Emma suddenly felt as if something had been severed.
‘What…?’
The links to her subordinates had been cut.
Mages under the Shadow of the Rose were implanted with restrictive spells as a safeguard.
And now, three links had snapped at once.
Her hands trembled.
‘Impossible… there’s no way they were taken down so easily.’
The three mages she had dispatched were personally chosen and trained.
Emma gripped her skirt tightly to hide her shaking.
Grand Duchess Christina noticed and asked sharply,
“What’s wrong, Emma?”
“N-nothing. I must be weary from too many concerns…”
“Your face is pale. You do look tired. Go and rest—it is late.”
“Thank you, Your Highness.”
Emma bowed deeply and quickly left.
But Christina’s gaze lingered on her back.
Her instincts told her—
Something had happened to Emma.
Still, the Duchess didn’t call her back for questioning.
Emma would report on her own in time.
Back in her room, Emma hurriedly pulled a hand mirror from her wardrobe.
She pricked her finger with a knife, letting a drop of blood fall on it, and chanted.
Dark energy rose from the mirror and took human shape.
“Go to the Cartellani estate at once and show me everything happening there through this mirror.”
The shadow nodded and slipped away.
Moments later, it returned, forming a swirling image of the estate.
“I-it’s unharmed?”
The ducal estate was intact.
Though signs of attack were visible, the walls stood firm.
“Why didn’t you show me inside the castle?”
The shadow erased the image and sank into the mirror again.
Words then appeared on the glass:
“White Tower mages were there, preventing approach? Why in the world were they at the estate?”
It made no sense.
How did they know to be there?
“Did the estate summon them?”
If the White Tower was involved, then the disappearance of the three dark mages was explained.
They must have clashed with the White Tower’s mages and fallen to their holy magic.
“Sigh…”
It had become troublesome.
The ducal estate was unharmed, and the organization had suffered a loss instead.
Tonight, she too would not be able to sleep.
Late at night, when everyone else was asleep.
Noah slipped into Elia’s bedroom.
Her face was pale, her small frame defenseless as she slept deeply.
Fortunately, no one else was inside.
He had deliberately chosen this moment when everyone was absent.
“What are you… really?”
They called her the Guardian of the World Tree.
A Guardian—the one chosen to save the world on behalf of the World Tree.
That such a young girl could be the Guardian was hard to believe.
But everyone at the estate swore it was true: Elia was the Guardian, and Alexis was her chosen Guardian’s protector.
Noah felt a pang of bitterness.
“I wanted to be the one to protect the Duke…”
He had once vowed that, when he gained power, he would save the persecuted Cartellani family.
But here was Elia, protecting the Duke with her tiny body.
“Kid, your heart is a storm of chaos.”
Noah flinched and whipped around.
A silver-haired man sat by the window.
“Since when were you there…?”
“That’s not the point. The problem is the jealousy and envy inside you. You’re jealous, aren’t you?”
“I’m not jealous at all!”
“Really? That’s a relief.”
“What’s supposed to be a relief?”
“You think you’re weaker than her. That being surpassed by someone so much smaller makes you feel awful, doesn’t it?”
“No, it doesn’t!”
“There’s a saying—strong denial is just strong affirmation.”
Austin beckoned Noah closer.
