“Hnng…”

After some time had pa.s.sed, Freya slowly opened her eyes. There was nothing around, but candles used at sunset. In front of her was a stone wall of an ordinary room. She had a faint fragrant on her. She was covered with a soft piece of cloth. She sat up at a lost for what to do. She looked at the flame on the candle on the bedside table.

It was as though nothing happened. Actually, not even she knew what happened. It wasn’t until a while later when she slowly regained her conscious that she figured out what happened.

‘I should be naked in a rubbish bin right now. How am I here?’

She shook her head and tossed those problems to the back of her mind. Enraged, she clenched her teeth as she felt angry at herself for falling for such a sinister plot. She fell for it as soon as she saw this. If she had kept calm then this wouldn’t have happened.

She had to hurry back now. Her brother was in trouble. Big trouble. There was the Valkyries’ box. Her secret activities were discovered. Only one Valkyrie knew what she was investigating, and that was Alice. Frankly, she didn’t interact much with Alice, and she admittedly never suspected her. But if she was the mastermind then her brother was in danger. If Alice attacked him when he was weak on a full-moon night, then there she basically had a free kill.

‘I have to head back. I have to head back to save my brother. He’s my only family in this world, though technically speaking, he isn’t

my family member. He’s the only person who treats me nicely in the entire world. When I was living in the world where I was treated as a tool and a toy, he was the only one who brought me honey cherry tomatoes.’

‘I thought it was just a deal at first, but my brother genuinely treated me well as if I’m his biological sister. I’ve forgotten when I started genuinely working for the royal family. All I wanted was to give her best for my brother’s smile. All that I wanted was my brother’s praise.’

‘I will never forget the warmth of my brother’s palm transferred to my head, and the warmth that touched my heart. I’m willing to give up anything for my brother. I don’t care in the least if anything was done to me just now. All that’s on my mind is rus.h.i.+ng back to her brother’s side. If death was what awaits me, then I want to die holding my brother’s hand tightly.’

Freya struggled to get up. Her two legs immediately gave in. Had it not been for her being able to lean onto the bedside cupboard in time, she would’ve fell to the ground. The cup of water on the cupboard dropped to the ground, thereby shattering it to pieces.

She heard footsteps from outside that quickly stopped. The person who approached seemed to hesitate for a second before gently knocking on the door. In a calm and polite voice, he asked, “Umm… Miss? Are you up? Can I come in? Are you hurt anywhere?”

Freya desperately tried to stand up and panted as she hostilely

hostilely threatened, “Come in and I’ll kill you.”

The individual outside paused for a moment, and then hopelessly told her, “You don’t have to react that way. I was the one who saved you from a group of tramps… No, no, I’m not asking for any repayments, nor do I intend to make you do anything. I just want to know how you’re feeling. If you’ve recovered, I’ll send you home.”

Freya froze for a moment. She never expected him to be so polite. He picked up an unconscious girl that was nude and didn’t violate her in any way. Instead, he helped her wash and get her clean clothes; plus, he didn’t get angry at her when she threatened him. It would appear that she met a good person.

Freya toned down her voice, “Ah… Sorry. Please come in. I apologise for misunderstanding you.”

“It’s nothing. But may I ask why you pa.s.sed out? If you were set up by somebody, please notify the guards.”

He let out a breath of relief then hesitated for a moment before pus.h.i.+ng the door open. As he spoke, he poked his head in. He got a shock when he saw Freya half-kneeling on the ground, so he quickly rushed over to help her up, “You have not yet recovered, have you? Please stay calm. It is fine for you to rest here for the night. Ah, you need not worry. I will not be home at night. I am a guard of the city. I need to go on patrols.”

Freya looked at the young man’s blue eyes and light-blonde hair, “Take me to the palace… now.

palace… now. There’s no time to waste… Take me to the palace.”

The young man had a very fresh appearance. Though he wasn’t as good looking as her brother, he certainly wasn’t ugly. You wouldn’t be able to tell that he was a guard. His pair of blue eyes was clear as the sky and contained the naivety of a young man. He wasn’t old. He had probably just become an adult, yet was still the same as a child.

“The palace?!”

She frightened him. He looked at Freya stupefied and stuttered, “The palace… The palace is not some place we can come and go from as we please… Carelessly entering the palace will get you killed. Are you a maid in the palace or a lady-in-waiting? Do you have any proof on you?”

“I’m His Majesty’s younger sister!”

Gerald was shocked all right. He never thought the young girl he rescued when he went out to buy some stuff was His Majesty’s younger sister. The only time he’d seen His Majesty was when Her Majesty returned to the Royal Capital. He was the guy riding at the front. Nevertheless, he was just a young man who just became a guard. The palace was comparable to a faraway dream for him. Now, however, the younger sister of the one and only man who’s the successor to the throne and only Crown Prince was lying on his bed? Who’d believe that?!

“I realise that you might not believe me, and I don’t have hopes that you do. You just need to take me to the palace. Hurry! If we’re late, you’ll be in trouble, too!”

Gerald was genuinely

too!”

Gerald was genuinely scared out his skin by the anxious and serious look on the girl. He looked at the young girl in front of him and in a muddled manner replied, “But… but… the palace is currently on high alert… An explosion apparently came from inside. That’s why I have to go on patrol at night, as well…There’s no way we can enter the palace at this time…”

“You just need to take me there!! What are you still rambling about when something so serious has happened?! Take me there! I’m begging you! Hurry! Onii-sama is in danger! He really is in danger!!”

“Ah!! Ah! Okay! Don’t cry! Don’t cry!! I’ll take you to the palace now! Don’t cry! I’ll take you there right now!”

Gerald Surock, who just became a guard in the Royal Capital, never imagined this would happen.

Originally, he just wanted to be a guard in the Royal Capital to catch and punish minor thieves to ensure the people have a safe place to live, then get married with an ordinary girl, have his own child and live his days in peace. That was his idea of a happy life.

The pointy gold spire was too far away to him. The thought had never crossed his mind, either. It wasn’t his world. The only thing he could do was look at the sun s.h.i.+ne on the golden words “Long live Your Majesty” when the sun went down on his daily patrols.

Never did it cross his mind that he would get to marvel at the grandiose Royal Palace underneath the spire after a trip to buy some snacks…