Chapter 05
Several days had passed since the wedding was canceled.
“…My strength seems to be fully intact, at least.”
Roshanne gazed down at her hand as she repeatedly clenched and unclenched it.
In the meantime, she had methodically checked her physical condition, starting from the basics.
Though her body possessed not a shred of muscle, she could miraculously exert her full power.
This was thanks to the divine protection and blessings bestowed upon the hero’s soul.
It wasn’t just strength—her agility and her keen sensitivity to presences remained entirely unchanged.
‘But why couldn’t I sense the Grand Duke’s presence back then?’
He was the only person whose presence had ever eluded her. Frowning slightly around her eyes, Roshanne placed her palm against the teacup.
Then, she jerked back in surprise, immediately withdrawing her hand. It was hot.
“…This is the only issue.”
Everything else was the same, yet she couldn’t fully defend against external blows or stimuli. It meant that even if she fought skillfully, a single hit from an opponent could kill her outright.
The one silver lining was that her ability to wield power remained intact, allowing her to protect herself to some extent.
However…
“If the hero’s blessings imprinted on my soul are still there, it might be best not to use my power unless absolutely necessary.”
The fact that the blessings resided in her soul also meant that the sealing spell engraved there was equally intact.
The moment her identity was exposed, she could lose her freedom again at any time and be sealed once more.
‘I have to hide who I am.’
This magic wouldn’t be broken simply by killing the emperor. Centuries ago, she had tried to assassinate the emperor to shatter this seal.
But a powerful protective spell activated, preventing her from laying a finger on him.
Moreover, strangely enough, even if the current emperor died, the magic would recognize the next in line for the throne as its new master.
Unless the seal itself was completely destroyed, killing anyone would be pointless.
‘I should avoid mages altogether.’
The Magic Tower must have been the one to cast the sealing spell. Getting involved with the tower or any mages could risk them discovering the magic bound to her soul.
Roshanne turned her gaze outward.
The cancellation of the wedding had sent shockwaves through high society. Especially since it was Lady Railaten who had called it off.
Some whispers suggested that Duke Railaten had begun shielding his daughter.
With such rumors circulating, the duke had claimed illness as an excuse and shut himself away in his bedroom entirely.
Whether out of embarrassment or not, he showed no inclination to boast outside about the power Roshanne had displayed.
‘I need to be cautious around the entire imperial family, including the emperor who directly oversees the Guardian’s seal. They’ve likely already noticed that my soul has vanished, so they’ll be searching for me.’
Roshanne carefully grasped the teacup. The bitter taste of the tea, which she was experiencing for the first time, was surprisingly agreeable.
To achieve complete freedom, she had no choice but to shatter the seal.
Roshanne’s eyes gleamed with resolute determination.
Roshanne was a hero, yet she knew little about what it meant to be one.
She had simply been born that way.
Just as some were born with immense holy power for no reason, or others with vast mana.
Roshanne had been born with tremendous strength, a body as durable as steel, and the agility of a wild animal—and she had grown up accordingly.
Her parents, terrified of such a daughter, had abandoned her, leaving Roshanne to survive on her own.
At seventeen, she volunteered as a soldier in her first war and made her mark by beheading the enemy general.
For a seventeen-year-old girl with no formal sword training to achieve such a feat alone was nothing short of astonishing, and the emperor of that era had taken early notice of her exceptional nature.
Thus, the emperor of the time had sealed Roshanne.
He collared her with a life that was neither death nor true living, one from which she could not even die.
That was the entirety of the story she knew about herself.
‘What happened to the people who joined me in subduing the mad dragon ten years ago?’
That had been the last time her seal was released.
She had confirmed that Cheyton, the youngest among them at the time, was still alive, but she had no way of knowing about the others.
If they had fought alongside a hero back then, perhaps they knew something about heroes.
Roshanne set down her teacup and rose to her feet.
There was no need to rack her brain searching elsewhere. The person who could answer her questions was right nearby, after all.
With an elegant stride, Roshanne made her way naturally toward Duke Railaten’s bedroom.
However.
“I’m sorry, but the duke is currently resting.”
She was stopped right at the bedroom door. The butler stood firm, blocking Roshanne’s entry.
“I have something to ask the duke.”
“You must call him Father, my lady.”
Call him Father? To the man who, as a child, had cried in terror at the sight of a leaping frog?
Roshanne’s face twisted in disbelief.
“The duke requires rest. If you do not observe proper etiquette, I cannot allow you to enter, my lady…”
“I have something to ask Father.”
At the words that she couldn’t meet the duke, Roshanne swiftly corrected herself to “Father,” cutting the butler off mid-sentence.
“Now, is that enough? Hand over my father.”
Roshanne spread her palm wide in front of the butler, as if demanding the return of Duke Railaten from some villain who’d kidnapped him. The butler was flustered by her attitude.
“It’s the first time you’ve come looking for the duke yourself, miss… I’ll go ask him first.”
The butler stepped into the bedroom. Roshanne stared quietly at the massive bedroom door.
‘If he doesn’t open the door, should I just break it down and go in?’
Her habits as a hero still lingered in her body.
After a moment of hesitation, Roshanne shook her head. She’d just decided to hide her strength and conceal her identity— she couldn’t go around smashing doors right away.
Roshanne calmly waited for an answer from inside.
One, two, three…
No, still not coming out?
‘How on earth do other people endure and be patient like this?’
Roshanne glared at the unopening door, tapping her fingers impatiently.
Always fighting, smashing things, and charging ahead, Roshanne had never learned patience.
Just as she was considering knocking on the door, the butler who had gone inside finally emerged.
“Miss, the duke says you may enter.”
No sooner had the butler given permission than Roshanne stepped inside.
The duke’s bedroom was incomparably larger, more comfortable, and more ornate than the one where Roshanne stayed.
“Roshanne.”
In a corner of the spacious bedroom, a desk was set up for reviewing documents at any time, and the duke was there.
“Duke… No, Father. Did you hurt your hand?”
Glancing at the butler, Roshanne hastily corrected her address and pointed to the bandage wrapped around the duke’s hand.
It wasn’t Duke Railaten who answered Roshanne’s question, but the butler.
“There was a minor accident on the day of your wedding, miss, and he injured his hand.”
“…My wedding?”
“The duke’s condition is strictly confidential, so it was decided he’d rest until the wound heals.”
Roshanne narrowed her eyes, staring intently at the duke’s bandaged hand.
‘That hand… it looks like the one that shook mine…’
As if reading Roshanne’s thoughts, the duke subtly lowered his bandaged hand out of sight.
“…You have something to ask me? Ask quickly and leave.”
Duke Railaten replied coldly. Roshanne tore her gaze from the bandaged hand and fixed it on Duke Railaten’s face.
“I read that a subjugation team was formed ten years ago to seal the Mad Dragon.”
“You’re interested in things like that?”
“No chit-chat if you want me to ask quickly and go, Father.”
“Ha. Where on earth did you pick up that strange way of speaking? Who taught Roshanne something like that? Butler.”
Duke Railaten grilled the butler beside him.
“The only person the miss has met recently is Viscount Zichelia.”
“I can imagine. Thinking about how he dared come before me after the wedding was canceled, veins bulging in his neck, still makes me angry… Sigh. Fine, continue, Roshanne.”
“Yes. I read that a subjugation team was formed ten years ago to seal the Mad Dragon… Where are all those people now?”
The duke showed no particular reaction to Roshanne’s question.
“You came all this way just to ask something like that?”
It was a nonchalant response. So utterly casual that Roshanne found herself smiling for a moment. A sense of relief washed over her—they must all be alive and well.
After all, they were comrades she’d fought alongside, and the atmosphere in the subjugation team back then had been good.
If they were all alive, she could get information about the hero, and maybe even go further and receive help from them.
“They’re all dead.”
But the hope wasn’t Roshanne’s to have. Her brightly smiling expression shattered like glass at the duke’s indifferent words.
Without even glancing at Roshanne’s face, the duke rested his chin on his hand and continued flatly.
“Ah. There is one survivor, though.”
“…”
“Duke Barpheus.”
Roshanne recalled the back of the man she’d met a few days ago.
