Somewhere inside a forest close to the ancient ruins.
"Why did you do it, dammit?!"
Lucien's voice echoed with a fury Seles had never heard from him before.
For once, the ever-simp prince looked like he might punch a wall—or her.
He stood with clenched fists, his violet eyes filled with many emotions.
His heart pounded with fury.
"Answer me," he demanded.
Seles looked up at him, eyes wide, lips shivering.
Her hands trembled just enough to be noticed. Her whole figure seemed smaller and fragile.
"I—I just wanted to save you," she whispered, with a shaky voice. "I didn't have a choice..."
Her shoulders lowered slightly as if the weight of guilt was too much.
"Do you think I wanted to leave Aurelia behind? She was… she was surrounded. I panicked. I thought she would follow right behind us…"
Tears welled up in her eyes, just enough to show her emotions.
Lucien stared at her, breathing hard. He didn't reply.
She took a step closer; her voice turned even softer. "If I didn't pull you out, you could've—Lucien, you could've died."
"I'm going back," he said at last, turning around. "To save her."
"Lucien, stop—please." Seles reached for his sleeve, her voice rising. "You can't. You'll just get yourself killed!"
Her thoughts, however, were vastly different altogether.
You're really going to throw yourself back in there?
For what—hero points?
This mess wasn't her fault. Like always.
Their squad had been moving through the ruins doing their research.
Dain had wandered off midway, saying he had some important work to do.
Then the ground rumbled with an explosion, and cultists struck.
First, it was manageable—Initiate Rank cannon fodder.
She and Lucien, both at Peak Initiate Rank, were holding up fine. Aurelia was Intermediate Rank—was also supporting them.
Then two more enemies appeared.
They were not fodder.
Apprentice Rank cultists, cloaked in pitch-black robes.
Seles wasn't suicidal. She knew how to detect danger.
She sneakily took out one of her artifacts.
A single-use teleportation ring could pull her and a few people to safety.
She didn't want to waste it, but she also didn't want to die. And Lucien was far too valuable to leave behind.
But it had a side effect. The more people added… the lower the distance would've been.
She decided to take Lucien and Aurelia with her. It would shorten the distance considerably. But it was worth it.
She scanned the weakest-looking student in their party.
One of the Draven branch family's second sons. She has added him within their group just to add number.
He was quiet and unremarkable. The kind of background character no one would really miss.
She decided to use him as bait and make way for three of them to escape.
When an attack came too close, she shouted, "Get down," and pushed Lucien back—and then "accidentally" shoved the other student in the opposite direction, right into the path of the cultists.
Aurelia, stupidly noble, jumped in to save him.
A truly foolish decision.
But Seles didn't have any other choices; she had already activated the artifact.
She didn't want to leave Aurelia behind, but she had no choice.
And now here they were—safe quite some distance away from the enemy, except for the hero-complex idiot trying to go back.
"Lucien, please," she said again, voice breaking and her face filled with tears. "I didn't mean to leave her. I thought she'd make it out with us—I'm scared too…"
"I just didn't want to lose you."
He turned slowly, eyes scanning her face.
"You could've used the artifact to save her," he said bitterly. "She was closer to the blast than I was."
Seles flinched—on purpose.
"I didn't think—I just acted. I saw you getting hurt—I didn't even think about anything else…"
Her fingers curled against her dress.
Sell it. Make him feel guilty. Make him stay.
She looked down. "If you want to go… I can't stop you. But please don't make me lose you too."
Just a few seconds longer.
Then a long sigh escaped him, and he sat down on a stone beside them, burying his face in his hands.
Seles hid her smile behind her sleeves.
In one part of a ruin. A blue-haired girl stood.
Her wand trembled slightly in her hand—not from fear, but from the anger she was feeling.
Beside her, a dead body of a young boy lay. It was one of her group mates. She had dived in to save him.
But he was killed before she could save him.
Across from her, two robed figures stood. Apprentice Rank—Beginners, but far above her current level.
"Hehe, if you surrender quietly, we will make it painless." One of the cultists with a scar running down his jaw spoke.
His tone is anything but friendly.
He whispered something in the ear of his partner. "Hey, you go ahead and try to find those guys who just escaped. I'll handle her."
The other cultist just nodded and left the scene.
"Now it's just the two of us." The scarred cultists spoke again.
Aurelia didn't respond. She lifted her wand. Her hands had stopped trembling.
She had no illusions of winning. The gap in power was real. But she wasn't going to give up without resistance.
"So you're going to resist?" He smirked. "I like that. Makes it more fun."
Aurelia was disgusted.
But thankfully, Lucien and Seles had escaped. She didn't blame them for escaping on their own.
Instead, she felt happy that at least her friends would survive.
Then, her mana surged.
The fight didn't last long.
The gap was just too wide.
Aurelia fought with everything she had, but soon she was on one knee, gasping.
Her mana was depleted. Her limbs trembled from exhaustion.
Across from her, the cultist stood unfazed.
He raised his sword. "Any last words?"
Aurelia clenched her fists.
She was scared. Terrified, even.
But…even then she didn't want to give up.
Memories flashed inside her mind—the faces of her family: her mother's warm smile, her father's firm hand, and her brother's encouragement.
Then, others. Her friends. Laughing, arguing, training.
And lastly… one voice stood out.
His voice. Her fiancé.
They had been childhood friends once—inseparable.
But after their families arranged their political engagement, he began to drift away.
He never contacted her again. Not even once. And even now, at the academy, he acted like a stranger.
Cold. Distant. As if those childhood days never mattered.
"Whatever will you do without me?"
His arrogant voice echoed again, and this time… It didn't sound like a memory.
But then she frowned.
Why did it sound so real?
There was a crack in the air. A pressure shift.
Her eyes snapped open.
And standing before her—between her and the cultist—was a boy covered in mystic energy.
Black scales shimmered across his body with glowing gold veins.
His golden pupils glared at the enemy like a sovereign looking down on a bug.
What… What was he doing here?
But even in her confusion, one thing was clear.
The moment she saw his back shielding her…
"Step away," Zephyr said to the cultist, his voice cold. "She's not yours to touch."
The cultist wavered for a second, feeling danger from a boy who was just at the Initiate Advanced Rank.
"Who the hell are you?"
"I'm her fiancé." Zephyr declared—then vanished, reappearing in front of the cultist like a thunderclap.