Ill go back to my room first, Your Highness. Along with a barely audible voice, Sid opened the door and went out before she could answer.

Haa. Apollonia heaved a sigh. Sending her people off was much more difficult than getting new people. She pretended to be firm, but her heart was breaking little by little.

After the death of the previous emperor and Princess Elenia, Sid was her only family.

Thats why I must protect him!

She recalled Sids face, which had been lost in thought ever since he heard his wife had collapsed. She also recalled Countess Baians benevolent smile.

He has his own family!

He had already devoted his entire life to Apollonia. And an unknown feeling was telling Apollonia that she should send him off quickly.

***

Bam-

Something heavy crashed the door and woke Apollonia up.

Sid?

There was no answer. She looked around, but there was no one in the room.

Is someone breaking in?

Once again, she looked around every corner of the room, but there was nothing. They planned to leave early in the morning, but it was still in the middle of the night

Wait a minute

Apollonia realized something. The light in her room was out yet she could see everything so well. When she turned her head, a red light was leaking from the window.

Crackle-

When she heard a familiar sound, the heat quickly enveloped her.

Fire?

Her hair raised on end. She jumped out of bed and headed for the window. The sight in front of her was appalling.

The outside of the mansion was surrounded by flames. The burning red light was so huge as if swallowing the world. She could hear the sound of horses from afar, but she didnt see any escorts riding horses

She bit her lips until they bled. It was Petra and the emperors scheme all along. They had purposely leaked information to make the grand duke stay in the capital.

The emperors eyes, which had always been full of hatred, came to mind.

You did it, at last!

He finally orchestrated the death of his biological daughter. She was offered as a sacrifice to get rid of the grand duke family.

Thud-

There was no time to be lost in thought. The fire spread from the other parts of the building, and there was a sound of something collapsing somewhere inside the mansion.

She could hear the sound of a weapon hitting the door.

Thump-

Once again, there was a loud noise just outside Apollonias door. She took a deep breath and opened the door.

The mansion was full of smoke and flames. People were screaming everywhere, but nothing could be seen.

Hup!

As she stepped forward, there was a pool of blood beneath her feet. Even if she was overwhelmed by the smoke, the smell of blood was intense.

Its the assassin!

Sid!

Her voice was shaking when she called out to Sid.

Clomp-

The sound of someones footsteps headed toward her amidst the thick smoke.

Sid, are you there?

Swish-

However, it was an unfamiliar masked man who appeared through the thick smoke. No, there were a few of them.

I found the princess.

When the first person to see her informed the others, around five or six masked people surrounded her. Two black swords were fastened around their waist.

A stream of cold sweat flowed down Apollonias back.

Im completely outnumbered!

She looked around. If there was only fire, she would jump into it, but she was already cornered to the wall.

We were ordered to kill everyone.

The rest of the masked men nodded and pulled out their swords.

Shing-

All at once, they rushed toward Apollonia. In a blink of an eye, one of the swords was right in front of her face. There was no time to avoid it.

Ugh!

However, it was not Apollonia who screamed and collapsed right after, but the very person who aimed the sword at her. A familiar sword was thrust into his back.

Sid!

Grey hair and tenacious eyes.

Please dont move, Your Highness. His figure was completely revealed. There were burns on his arms and legs, and there were bloodstains that might be his or others.

The long sword he always used was now in one of the assassins, and he didnt have any other weapon except for a small dagger on his waist.

Hes unarmed. Quick! Get rid of them and leave, ordered the masked man who appeared to be the captain.

Sid smiled briefly at her and pulled the dagger out of his waist. Apollonias heart sank as soon as she saw his smile.

Sid wouldnt have forced himself to smile to reassure her if it werent for the extreme situation.

Kill him.

The captain, who watched the situation, firmly ordered his subordinates. Four assassins charged toward Sid. Sids past appearance, when made the enemy tremble on the battlefield, overlapped with him at that moment.

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