Lush white hair scattered across her shoulders like a waterfall of snow. Arms folded over her chest, her piercing eyes threatened to ensnare one’s soul.

Her every motion was followed and analyzed with bated breath. Her every statement was recorded as gospel by the younger generation.

She was the woman that men dreamed to conquer, and the one that other women strived to be.

This was Hina Luo, the heiress of Luo Tech, one of the largest conglomerates in the entire Ancestral plane.

At this moment, the guest room was unnaturally quiet as a hospital attendant shifted uncomfortably under Hina’s frosty gaze.

“M-My apologies Lady Luo, the director is on his way.”

The attendant gestured nervously toward a table set with extravagant dishware.

“But please, enjoy some tea while you wait.”

The young man in uniform poured tea for Hina and her bodyguard, who was a sharp looking woman with auburn hair. A silver needle held her hair in bun, while her eyes frequently scanned the surroundings.

Both women remained in place without so much as glancing at the tea. After a few minutes of soul crushing silence, the door to the guest room swung open and two men walked in, the director and Amon.

The director raised an eyebrow at Hina before giving her a half-bow.

This Luo lass… I can feel the pressure of a pseudo-ascendant from her. She’s not bad.

He was a man who lived magnanimously and would always show respect to others unless given a reason not to.

Afterwards, the director gave the sharp looking woman a solemn nod, whom of which responded in kind. It was a tacit understanding between ascendant beings to acknowledge one another.

“How may I have the pleasure of serving the esteemed Luo family?”

The director gave Hina a bright smile despite the opposing party’s death glare.

“You.”

Hina pointed toward Amon’s stalwart figure, who gave an awkward sigh before stepping forward. He shrugged his muscular frame and shook his head innocently, but before he could get a word in, Hina spoke once again.

“This is for you. Senzy.”

Hina revealed a small piece of parchment in the palm of her hand and handed it off to her bodyguard, Senzy, who delivered it to Amon. Hina disdained contact with others, especially men.

What could this possibly be…

Amon thought to himself, warily receiving the parchment. His eyes darted around the room before reading it.

Einstoldt. Sector #23. Facility name Vibrant Clover. Give to first person you recognize. Flip to back.

Amon frowned as he read the message. Whoever made this note knew exactly where Amon had taken Little Chi for treatment.

“Where is she?”

Hina’s icy voice echoed out into the room as Amon flipped the parchment over.

Chance given by Dauntless Hero Enjoyer. P.S. Leave me out of this.

Amon’s eye twitched as he read the back of the message. This was clearly Jun mocking his earlier naming choice for PSI World. Simultaneously…

So he is giving me a chance to get closer to Hina… thanks Jun.

Amon let out a gentle smile and glanced at the beautiful woman across the room.

Yes, this is my chance. I can show her how kind I am. How big my heart is. How much I care about her wellbeing. I can be her shoulder to cry on. Her emotional support in these challenging times.

Amon thought about Little Chi’s battered and broken form. He mentally gave himself a nod of approval.

Hina will be incredibly distraught when she sees her. Chance!

From Amon’s perspective, he was akin to the benevolent light of grace. Truly a dauntless hero that was in the most prime position to woo the heart of the most mysterious iceberg in his generation.

This was just the start of a blossoming love that would flourish beneath the moon and stars for an eternity. As a man of bold ambition this could easily be the biggest opportunity within his lifetime.

With these thoughts in mind, Amon matched Hina’s gaze with the most innocent and reassuring smile he could muster. If he were to describe it with one word, magical.

Unfortunately for Amon, his honest heart was met with a slight frown from his future beloved.

What is this idiot thinking about? Why isn’t he answering my question?

Hina knit her brows together while attempting to decipher Amon’s actions. The massive dolt of a man before her was staring at her with a foolish and idiotic expression.

Her state of unhappiness deepened before speaking out angrily.

“I will not ask again. Where is she- Where is Little Chi?”

The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

At the same time, a savage aura emitted outward from Senzy, causing Amon to finally snap out of his fantasy with a shiver.

He readjusted himself with a fake cough.

“Ahem. It’s best if you see for yourself if it’s convenient.”

He took a step towards the door.

“Right this way Miss Luo...”

Amon gave a wry smile and scratched the side of his head before escorting them out of the room.

What was I thinking? How could it be so simple to get close to Hina Luo. What nonsense chance is that Jun referring to?? There’s no chance at all! I’m just creating enemies here!

Amon walked in front of the group, a multitude of different emotions spanning across his face. Sadly, his previous awkward display already ripped his image to tatters.

It was like he had dug his own grave and simply didn’t realize it.

“As you can see on our left, these are research rewards provided by the World Medical Association. One of the particulars I’m most fond of is that one there…”

Trailing behind Amon, the director walked beside the two guests and made small talk to lighten the atmosphere.

Despite his efforts, there was no change in Hina’s expression the whole journey. However, at some point the old man managed to capture the interest of Senzy, Hina’s personal guard.

“So you were the one who immortalized the use of auxiliary earth essence formations in the reconstruction of bone fragments…”

As Hina’s personal guard, Senzy was educated and trained in a multitude of different fields. It wouldn’t be wrong to say that she was half a medical professional.

Seeing as Senzy recognized his work, the director’s eyes glowed with enthusiasm and soon delved into a deep discussion.

Under normal circumstances both Hina and Amon would have also found this topic intriguing, however each of their minds were immensely preoccupied.

Will I get another chance? Does she hate me now? How did I mess this up? Was she always like this?

Amon practically had steam coming out of his head as he pondered his misstep. At the same time, Hina hid the deep anxiety that had plagued her for the last few hours.

I hope Little Chi is okay… because if she’s not…

Her aura grew frosty, causing Amon to feel a deathly chill.

Little Chi was one of Hina’s best friends and closest confidants, even if others only saw her as lowly and disposable maid. However this was a relationship that only Hina and Little Chi were privy to.

The entire day had been troublesome for the young heiress. Her morning began by rejecting another marriage proposal from Rubeous Donatelli, who had recently begun using his own backing to apply pressure.

Her day only worsened after receiving an updated report from her team in PSI World. Her entire organization has been on a manhunt for weeks now with nothing to show for it, causing her untold amounts of frustration and worry.

Finally, Little Chi disappeared just before class started and never returned.

Hina was accustomed to her servant stepping away briefly, likely to deal with unwanted confessions from Hina’s vast amount of admirers. However, this was the first time that Little Chi hadn’t promptly returned to her side.

After class ended, just before her icy façade was about give way to fury, Hina discovered a folded note in her pocket—the very same note that she gave to Amon.

Hina’s mind was in chaos when she read the note for the first time. She even considered this to be a hostage scenario and immediately called upon her personal guard to escort her to the written location.

All she could do was frantically reread the note a million times over, trying to dissect any information she could.

Einstoldt? Why them? What kind of place is Vibrant Clover? How… did they get this note in my pocket? Only an ascendant of extraordinary caliber would be able to give me this without me noticing…

Hina frowned as a forgotten memory resurfaced in her mind. The memory was of an equally abysmal day—the day she cut Myra off from her life entirely.

Although it seemed like a small detail, she still remembered the shock she felt when nearly colliding with Jun Candor. Her soul body was only half a step away from ascendancy, and this manifested her physical senses to extreme levels.

Hina could already use mana to detect the presence of those around her, and yet on that day she couldn’t sense Jun at all. It was pure chance that she even turned around when she did, otherwise she would have never noticed him.

Jun Candor… the second son of Sahves Candor.

After that day she requested a minor investigation on the young boy. The information she received was shocking. Why?

Because there was nothing special about Jun Candor.

Everything the boy did was mediocre in comparison to his peers. Admittedly his single greatest accomplishment would be attending academy three years below the age of his class.

There was nothing else significant about him at all. His grades was paltry in comparison to the elites of society, and his free time was allegedly spent hidden out of sight. There was even a rumor that he liked to waste away in Heldov, but that wasn’t anything unusual for a growing teen.

Overall, he was the exact type of person that Hina didn’t care for the most; the type of person who has completely let go of the reins tethered to their life, only wishing to sway in the direction of the wind.

Heldov…

“We’re here, Miss Luo.”

Amon announced as they approached a sealed door. Using a panel on the side, he disabled the security formations allowing the group to pass through a series of massive doors.

The group of four moved into a spacious room, where they found Ren obsessing over a notebook. In front of Ren was a wide window, which displayed the medical area that housed Little Chi.

Nia could be seen busying herself around Little Chi. Any and all operations were already complete.

“Ah Ren, just who we wanted to see. How is the little one?”

The director stood beside Ren, while Hina and Senzy looked through the glass screen.

Hina’s face darkened as she noticed the numerous bandages soaked in blood, especially taking note of the one secured around her eyes.

“The child’s life is not in danger, courtesy of young master Amon. Should he have been an hour late, then perhaps fate would have had other plans.”

Amon squared his shoulders as his eyes wandered to the side. Maybe he really was a dauntless hero.

“W-What’s the damage?”

For the first time in years, Hina’s voice faltered. At her request, Ren emotionlessly read from her notebook.

“Unnamed patient. Damages include multiple bone fractures, slight separation of internal organs from lining, bludgeoning to outer extremities, excessive internal bleeding, and loss of eyes.”

Hina’s heart dropped upon hearing the lengthy list, but Ren continued unfazed.

“Treatments include, bone restoration formation, reattachment of internals with A class elixirs, and most tedious of all, ocular rejuvenation formations. Estimated time of physical recovery, three months. Estimated time of mental recovery… unknown.”

Ren held the notebook close to her chest, neglecting to speak further. Senzy glanced at Hina, who remained stock still. Amon stepped forward.

“If it suits you, I recommend having Little Chi undergo treatment here. I think moving her elsewhere will only disrupt her recovery process.”

Hina nodded robotically, refusing to tear her eyes away from her sleeping servant. She only just noticed the various magic circles that encased Little Chi’s bed, each of them costing a small fortune.

“Can… can I see her?”

Even at her most lonely of times, Little Chi had always been there. Now facing the reality of her dearest friend’s condition, her indomitable will waxed and waned.

Ren opened the door to the room and stepped aside.

“Of course.”

Nia, who just finished her work, was unaware of their visitors. A brief wave of shock went over her as she saw Hina Luo step inside the room.

“Ah, Miss Luo. Is this? Oh, I see.”

Nia glanced towards Little Chi and made her way to the exit.

“The patient needs rest, please be careful.”

She closed the door behind her, leaving Hina alone by Little Chi’s bedside.

“Little Chi… I’m sorry.”

Hina stroked the maid’s hand as her eyes glistened and reddened.

“I should have kept you by my side. If I find who did this…”

Her jaw clenched and she ground her teeth. Before she could think further, a cracked voice struggled into existence.

“Hi..na..?”