Reigies was reviewing one of the papers that needs to be signed when he heard clamours outside his door. His brows creased, irritaton rising within him. The doors then bursts open as his little sister, now Queen, enters.

"Your Grace..." The guard who was on duty gave an apologetic look towards him. Even if he was instructed by the Duke not to let anyone in, he could't just ignore a royal. Reigies waves his hand, a gesture for the guard to leave them. As the door closes, Reigies glares at the Queen. Of course, normally, his action would have casued him his eyes however, they were alone at the moment.

"Your Majesty, what brings you here?" His voice was of that welcoming but his eyes ought to give that murderous look, as if she had done something wrong.

"Your Grace━No. Brother, you have to listen to me. You can't let that woman stay in this house. You can't let her be your Duchess! She's━"

"Your Majesty, as far as you, a royal, is concerned, your duties lies within the palace, not in the dukedom." He said between his gritted teeth. "Also, I don't see why you are so against with me marrying lady Laurene. She's a daughter of house Yudolf."

"That's the point, brother! You know how much father--"

"They've made amends, Catherine." he sighs, now more irritated as he felt that pain behind his head started crawling towards his right eye. It felt like there were needles poking through his skull. "Leave." he says, not really caring weather she was now the Queen and not just his half-sister.

"Brother, you don't understand. I have discovered things. I'm not that certain but you seem to have already been glamoured by her! I don't know by what means exactly but━"

"Catherine." He called with his now cold voice as the pain he was feeling in his head worsened.

"Brother, you have to listen to me. Just this once!"

Reigies slammed his fist on his desk, making Catherine flinch. "Enough!" He stood up and pointed at the door. "Leave or I'll write a missive to his Majesty to get you out of my house and return to the palace!"

The horror in Catherine's eyes brought satisfaction to Reigies but somewhere deep within him, he was worried. It had been more than a week since Catherine showed up in front of their gates, saying that she would stay for a vacation. Yet, they didn't recieve any letters in advance.

Catherine evaded her gaze and looked down at the floor. "I may be only your half sister but I truly care about your safety, brother. I care about house Atlante. Our house." And with that, Catherine left.

As her back turned against him, the pain he felt wrosened to the point that it was unbearable. He rached his hand out, trying to call his siter who's back was getting further and further away until everything around him started melting as his surrounding molded into something new. And the next thing he knew was that his sword was dripping with blood. A warm, yet cold hand, held his hand as it trembled. From that delicate looking hand, he slowly looked up.

"For you... I did everything, brother." Catherine's legs gave out. With his reflexes, Reigies catched her, dropping his bloody sword in the process.

"C-Catherine." He whispered with his shaky voice.

"B-brother..."

He then hugged her. His eyes that were once hazy was now widened as if he had sobered up.

"Catherine, I- I didn't mean to━W-what have I done?" He trembled as he processed what had just happened. "Catherine..." He called with tears now streaming down his face.

"I l-love you, brother." He heard her weakly say. "L-let t-that be y-your curse." And with that, she went limp in his arms. Her head that was leaning on his shoulder became heavier.

"C-Catherine?" He called. "Catherine." He slightly shook her body that he was hugging and to his dismay, there was no response. His heart dropped. "Catherine! Catherine!" Each time he mentioned her name, his voice became louder and louder that even he himself didn't recognize the grief it held. "Catherine!" He once again called followed by his agonizing scream.

"━er! BROTHER!"

Reigies jolts up as he took in a sharp breath. Beads of sweat were streaming down his face as he trembled.

"Brother?" He then turned his head to his right and there he saw Catherine with an expression asking if he was alright. "Brother." She once agian called when he didn't respond. "You kept on calling me. I'm here."

"Ah- I..." He then looked around and events from earlier started filling his mind. It was then that he noticed how he was leaning against the wolf, its soft fur tickling his ear.

"You fainted after she bumped her head against yours. Though it wasn't hard. I guess brother got scared?" She gave him a worried look.

"Oh." Reigies looked up, his eyes meeting two crimson- like orbs. It was still dark but thanks to the gibbous moon, he was able to see how those crimson orbs shined. Unlike any wolves he had seen, this one before him had that warm look. As if it was trying to convey something as both of them stared at eachother.

"I was scared awhile ago. I thought she was gonna bite you or attack me but she caught you with her body and she hasn't move that much since then." Catherine explained as she snuggled against the wolf as if it was her bed. "She's so soft." She whispered.

Seeing his little sister comfortable with the wolf, his whole body eased. He too, leaned back on its stomach.

"Soft, indeed." Reigies whispered.

The gentle breeze of the night sent shivers to both of them, making Catherine snuggle closer to her brother and him hugging her in return. It was only then than Reigies had noticed that he was barefoot unlike his sister who wore her soft-looking slippers. As if to protect the sibling from the cold, the wolf's thick tail covered half of their body and its upper body curled a little more, compressing both of them. It's crimson eyes once again met with Reigies'. There was a sense of familiarity in which he couldn't pinpoint to. It was as if he knew of this creature for a long time. Their eye contact was interrupted when Catherine spoke.

"You're beautiful. It may be dark but your eyes are beautiful." She said in awe as she reached and tried stoking its head, only for her to reach its nose. The wolf then closed its eyes and lowered its head, almost covering the two from anyones sight due to its enormous physique.

Supposedly, Reigies should be thinking of the event that had occured earlier that resulted for them to be in their current situation. However, for some unknown reason, his mind was blank. As if all of his worries never existed. All he knew was that he needed sleep. A rest. And just like that, he closed his eyes, letting that warm, familiar feeling consume him. His body leaned sideways, towards his sister who had already been engulfed by slumber.

~~~

Requiel slammed his fist on his desk, making everyone present flinch. His eyes that always showed calmness and and dignity was now filled with anger and coldness.

"YOU LOT ARE USELESS!" He yelled as he glared at the three commanders before him, with Emily and Valeirene. "It's been two days and you still haven't found a single trace of my children! Utterly useless bunch!" He said with spite as he left, passing by them and slamming the door.

As the banging sound of the door resounded in the room, Emily's legs gave out. If not for Valeirene who stood beside her, she would have dropped on the floor. She was trembling as tears started streaming down her face, mumbling incoherent words.

Valeirene looked up at the three commanders.

"Follow His Grace. He'll probably lead another search on his own." He commanded in which they all obliged to.

Before leaving, three of them looked back at Emily with worry. They weren't used to this side of her. For them, as knights, she was someone they look up to. Someone stronger than them. Yet, here she was, crying in fear, blaming her self for what had happened a few nights ago. Once the three commanders had left, Valeirene held both of Emily's shoulders and forced her to face him.

"Hey, Em." He called. When she refused to meet his eyes, he held her face, his thumbs wiping her tears away. "Emily, look at me."

Though hesitant, Emily met Valeirene's gaze. "It's my fault, Val." She whispered. "I was negligent."

"You're mistaken, Em. It was never your fault."

"B-but if I had just checked around before retreating for the night, both the young lord and young miss would have been fine. If I had carefully checked every room━ If I had only been more strict with━ No, if I had been stronger I━"

"Shh..." Valeirene hugged Emily, her voice and cry being muffled on his chest. "Em, listen. None of this is your fault. Okay? None. You've always been through with everything. You're already strict enough with everyone surrounding both the young lord and young miss. And most of all. You're one of the strongest knights known in the entire Kingdom. It was a sudden attack. All of you were paralyzed and put to sleep. We had a rat in the house."

Emily then slightly pushed Valeirene. "That's the point, Val. I had let a rat roam around the━"

"I love you." Valeirene cuts of that made Emily froze and her face crumpled more in an instant. Before she could say another word, something hit her neck, making her eyes roll at the back of her eyelids. Her whole body then went limp in Valeirene's arms. He sighs.

"I love you, dearest dame Emily Higgins. And I'm truly sorry for hitting you. You really need some rest." He whispered as he kissed her forehead and carried her out of the study and headed towards her own room.

"I bet she'll have a fit once she wakes up." A voice came behind him.

"Indeed, she would." Valeiriene chuckled as he slightly turned his head at the man's direction. "Felon, didn't I say that you guys should follow His Grace?" The man shrugged and came closer to them. Felon, the commander of the Atlante's first brigade.

"I was worried that you might be thrown out." Felon replied with a chuckle. "Not that I guarantee I won't be."

"You bet." Valeirene too couldn't help but chuckle at the thought of Emily throwing a fit since no one would let her go and join the search. There was then a long silence followed by Felon's heavy sigh. Even without Valeirene asking, he knows very well what was troubling him.

"I can't help but think that the temple is involved in this." Felon said, breaking the long silence in between them as he opened the door leading to Emily's room.

Veleirene mumbled a small 'thanks' as he went in and gently laid Emily on her bed, tucking her in. "It's not impossible that they are." He finally replied, now heading out of the room followed by Felon. Both men then started walking towards the main door.

This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

"You also think the young lord is aware of the situation?" Felon asks as he remembered what Emily had said and the situation they were in two nights ago.

Felon, together with some knights under him were with Duke Atlante when a letter brought by their messenger owl arrived, just right after the important meeting the Duke had attended to finished. Supposedly, they were to return tomorrow morning for it would be hard to travel during the night due to the lurking lesser monsters of the area.

The panic that showed in Duke Atlante's eyes as he read the letter that had marks of blood on it made Felon worry.

"Head back." Duke Atlante mumbled. "Ride your horses and let's head back home!" He repeated, this time louder and full of authority and urgency. No one wasted their time and followed the Duke who was already ahead of them. Felon and his fellow knights didn't dare ask anything. All of them followed in silence with one same thought.

'Something must have happened to one of the children.'

The usual two hour travel was shortened to an hour. When they arrived at the manor, they were all covered with lesser monster's blood. It was an inevitable event. On their way back, lesser monsters such as small goblins whose greed knows no bounds, attacked them. Truthfully, Felon and the others didn't have to raise their swords. It was the Duke with his sword and powerful aura that slayed all of the goblins.

"What the hell is going on?" A knight behind Felon asked as all of them looked around.Torches were lit and everyone was up as if they were searching for something, or to be precise, someone.

"My lord!"

The Duke got off his horse and approached Emily who seemed to be not in her best condition. From the looks of it, Felon had deduced that there seems to be an assassination attempt. Just as he was hoping that both young lord and young miss were not harmed, Emily dropped the news.

"We still have not located both of them. I... I truly am not worth to be their shield, Your Grace." Emily said, her voice cracking. "I couldn't protect them. I couldn't. I'm such a useless━"

"Felon." The Duke called.

Felon took a step forward with a bow. "Your Grace?"

"Escort Emily to her room. Make sure she gets her wound treated." And with that, the Duke turned around and ordered everyone to widen their search. He was about to once again ride his horse when Emily called for his attention.

"Your Grace!"

"Emily, you've done your part for the night." It sounded cold but everyone knew that it was the Duke's way of saying that she should go inside and rest.

"I just... I think the young lord seems to have an idea of who the assaliants were from." Emily says as she held her bleeding left shoulder. "If I'm not mistaken, I heard him asking them if they were from the temple."

The Duke didn't say anything but the way his jaw clenched and his lips forming a thinner line didn't escape Felon's eyes. With a single nod, the Duke rode his horse and joined the search.

"The young lord is a smart kid." Valeriene replied, pulling Felon back to the present. "He's not blind to not see signs from here and there. More importantly, it was smart of them to put everyone in the manor to sleep. We've investigated every food and water in the manor and there doesn't seem to be any poison or some sort of drug involved."

"So, does that mean, magic was involved?" Felon asks as they reach the main entrance. "Doesn't the temple despise the magic tower?" His brows furrowed.

"Well, if you're desperate, enemies could become an ally." Valeriene sighed. "But that may also not be the case."

"What do you mean?"

"Divine energy could function similarly to magic. Have you forgotten?" Valeirene reminded that made Felon's eyes wide, as if he had realized something.

"And that kind of divine energy could only be emitted by higher priests and a saint! Those bastards!" Felon was about to spit more foul words when a knight riding a horse, arrived yelling his words repeatedly.

"BOTH YOUNG LORD AND YOUNG MISS ARE FOUND! STOP THE SEARCH IMMEDIATELY!"

The knight repeated his words as he rode his horse and went around the place. Felon and Valeirene looked at eachother then ran to get their horses.

"Hey! Lead us to where they found them!" Felon commanded once he had mounted his horse.

Meanwhile, Requiel stood before his two children that were deeply asleep in the warmth of what seems to be a wolf. No. That was a beast. He's seen wolves and this was the first time that he had encountered such wolf of that size. Both his kids were snuggled up with each other, the huge tail of the beast serving as their blanket. Unlike the two, the beast was awake, it's crimson eyes that shined beneath the sunlight that passed through the rustling leaves of the tree that they were under were staring at him. As if it was studying him.

"Y-your Grace, what should we do?" Bertolt asked.

All men that they were with were on standby. When a group of Bertolt's men had felt a familiar, yet strange aura, they had immediately called for the Duke. With the Duke's help, they were able to locate that strange aura and it lead towards the ones they are looking for. Only they weren't alone. Inside a bubble that's made out of aura were their young lord and young miss together with a beast. The beast had awakened as they gathered around them.

"We can't do anything." Requiel replied with a troubled look. "Not with this barrier." He then studied the bubble made out of a blue aura. A type of aura of the knights known to be the second strongest.

In normal circumstances, Requiel would be happy. Happy that his son, who was only fourteen, was able to wield an aura. Not to mention it being a blue one. However, this was not the right time to celebrate that. He was uncoscious. Once an aura is active with its wielder unconscious for a prolonged time, it could be dangerous. It could lead to draining his life force or years of slumber. They could intervene by forcing to break the aura barrier with a stronger aura, such as that of what the Duke possesses. However, that could also have some negative effects towards the wielder. Breaking the aura barrier means breaking its wielder.Simply said, Reigies could die. There was only one option left.

"Wake him up." Requiel mumbled. "No one touches the barrier! Gather everything could make noise. Judging from the thickness of this barrier, calling his name to wake him up would be useless."

However, before anyone could move, one of the knights exclaimed and pointed at the beast.

"Look! It's waking up the young lord!"

Indeed, it was. With its nose, the beast nudged Reigies' head several times. Moments later, Reigies' brows creased as he slowly opened his eyes, squinting at the light that felt like it was blinding him.

"Huh?" Reigies was confused for a moment before events from prior his slumber started filling his mind. He then glanced down, and there he saw Catherine sleeping so peacefully, her head leaning against his shoulder. A smile then crept up his face, a sense of ease spreading across his chest. At the same time, the barrier that he was unaware of, disappeared. Requiel didn't waste another second and ran towards the two. He didn't mind the beast as it seems like it didn't pose any threat to anyone.

"Reigies! Catherine!" Requiel called that startled Reigies.

"Father?" And before he could process more of what was happening, both him and his sister were trapped in a tight hug. This action of Requiel woke Catherine up. She was too confused that she didn't know what to do nor was her brain able to process what was going on. Only when she heard her father's voice was she able somehow think straight.

"My dearest son and daughter." Requiel's voice was trembling as his hug tightened. "You're both safe. Safe. I don't know what I would have done if something had happened to you two." He whispered as tears started streaming down his face. The tension that was all over his body disappeared in an instant. His body relaxed and his chest that felt like bursting felt like it was refreshed. As if something heavy was lifted from it.

Every knight present couldn't help but also tear up as the tension inside their hearts disappeared. Some sighed in relief and some looked away as they couldn't bare to see their strong lord being vulnerable.

"F-father, I can't breathe." Catherine's small voice made Requiel loosen his hug and slowly let go of the two.

"Oh." Requiel chuckled. "I'm sorry, dear. I'm just━ I'm so glad that both of you are safe."

Reigies parted his lips, ready to say something when he felt something come up his throat. He then started coughing harshly. As he tried covering his mouth, something warm and wet touched his palm. When he saw that red liquid covering his hand, his vision suddenly became blur as his whole body became numb. Fortunately, Requiel was just in front of him that he was able to catch him.

Requiel cursed under his breath. He somehow anticipated this after seeing that aura barrier awhile ago. His son's body wasn't used to using an aura. Most especially of that strong type.

"Bertolt! Escort Catherine back home." Requiel commanded as he adjusted Reigies so he could carry him properly.

Bertolt looked at the beast that was staring at the unconscious Reigies before approaching hesitantly.

"I-is brother alright?" Catherine worriedly asked, her eyes darting from Reigies' bloodied hand to his pale face. "Is it because we jumped out of the window?" Tears started welling up in her eyes as she remembered how her brother couldn't breathe after landing on the bushes.

"He'll be fine. Go with Bertolt." Requiel firmly said with gentleness in his voice. As he adjusted Reigies, he noticed his barefeet and one of it being swollen.

"Young miss." Bertolt knelt on one knee and offered his hand out to Catherine.

"But brother━"

The beast's head lowered that made Bertolt tense up but relaxed when he saw its nose gently nudge Catherine's cheek as if it was saying that everything will be fine. For a moment, Catherine stared up at the beast before nodding.

"Will you be coming with us?"

The beast then looked at Reigies who's in his father's arms then at Requiel. As if it was asking for permission. Requiel didn't know how but for some unknown reason, he seems to understand the look that the beast was giving him. The beast was suspicious but he didn't feel anything negative coming from it. Without saying anything, Requiel stood up with his son in his arms. With the help of some knights, he was able to mount his horse with Reigies.

"Half of you, follow me and the rest shall escort my daughter with the beast."

"Father, she's no beast!" Catherine glared at him that made him smile. Those pouty lips of hers is so adorable. "She's a wolf!"

"Alright. Wolf then." Requiel let out a soft chuckle. "I'm entrusting my daughter to you." He glared at Bertolt. "Hiya!" And with that, he left together with the other knights.

"Now, shall we, young miss?" Bertolt once again offered his hand in which Catherine took. Probably due to her legs being in the same position for a long time, she stumbled a bit. "Oh my. Should I just carry you to the horse, young miss?"

"Can't we just ride Ruby?"

"Ruby?"

"Yes. Ruby." She then gestured at the wolf who only stared at them. "I have decided just now to give her that name. I bet brother will agree once he wakes up." The wolf, now named Ruby, then stood up and stretched its body. It was then that Bertolt noticed black smoke started forming beneath the beast. Out of instinct, he carried Catherine and moved away from it. And the next thing he knew was that the beast disappeared. From the black smoke, a small creature emerged. Its fluffy tail slowly waving from left to right.

"A cat?" Everyone present asked in unison.

"Impossible! An animal shapeshifter?!" One of the knights exclaimed.

"Aren't they somewhat extinct?" One asks through a whisper as they watched the cat approach their young miss.

"Not really. From what I heard, they're just hard to find these days. It is said that they prefer being alone." Another answers as they start to get cautious towards the cat.

"But shapeshifters can be humans pretending to be an animal. Right?"

At that question, everyone was silent. All of them glared at the cat that was now in Catherine's arms. Seeing that she was giggling and that the shapeshifting beast didn't seem to pose any threat, they couldn't help but sigh. Bertolt had heard everyone's hushed conversation making him step forward and talk to Catherine.

"Young miss, if possible, may the knights take good care of the beast━I mean, Ruby on our way home?"

"But why?" Catherine's voice was suddenly solemn.

"Well, you might drop her while riding the horse. We don't want that, do we?" He lied.

Truthfully, he was worried that this shapeshifting beast could actually be a human afterall. What if it was a spy? He doesn't even know how the young lord and young miss ended up being with it. He was doing this out of worry.

As if understanding Bertolt's concern, the cat jumped out of Catherine's arms and approached the young knight who asked about the shapeshifter humans pretending to be an animal. It sat in front of him as if it was waiting to be picked up.

"Oh, I think Ruby understood you sir Bertolt." Catherine giggled. "Please take good care of her, sir knight." She says to the young knight.

"I..." The young knight stared at the cat who's also staring at him. Its gaze was like asking him if there's something wrong. Finally, he bent down to pick up the creature. Surprisingly, it felt soft and warm. As he held it in his one arm, it started purring, giving off a feeling of ease. "Trust in me, young miss." He finally responded with a smile on his face as he pats the beast's head.

As though satisfied with the knight's answer, the cat's tail started waving in a gracious manner. Noticing this,

Bertolt then started wondering if that shapeshifting beast was truly a human pretending to be an animal.

At the same time, Valeirene and Felon who were being guided by a knight halted mid way their journey as they saw Requiel riding his horse with Reigies who seems to be unconscious. Several knight on their horses followed behind.

"You think we should have just waited at the manor?" Valeirene asks when Requiel just passed by, probably not noticing them. "I felt like I was headed towards an already finished war."

"I mean, we didn't really know if they needed help with something." Replied Felon with a shrug before turning his horse around and following their lord back to the manor.