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After news of the rogue attack reached the Ferbache Royal Mansion, the knights hurriedly prepared and set out for support.

The number was ten.

At first glance, it seemed like a small number, comprised of knights of various ranks from first to fourth, but their combat power was unquestionable.

These were knights known to be one against a hundred in battle. And with a first-class knight capable of using Mana Blade among them, their strength was undeniable.

However, Fransia couldn’t join them. As Johan said, her safety was the top priority.

Clop, clop.

The ten knights rode their horses and scanned the surroundings.

When they arrived at the place where Johan was, they were met with a scene that made their eyes widen.

“Oh my God.”

“What is this…?”

They discovered a complete mess along the road.

Although the Ferbache Royal Mansion had “royal” in its name, it was quite a distance from the main city.

The size of the mansion required a large plot of land.

As such, the roads leading there had to pass through undeveloped areas like unpaved paths or forests.

But now, it was wide open.

There were traces everywhere, like gigantic craters, and broken trees and shattered rocks lay scattered across the path.

“Is this the mark of battle?”

“With this level of destruction, did Harsen Young-Sik do all this by himself?”

“That might be possible. It’s completely wrecked.”

“…No wonder he’s called an Archmage. The power is insane.”

The knights slowed down and cautiously advanced while scanning the area. They then arrived at a clearing where the black ashes burned due to magical power. There, they spotted Johan.

“Harsen Young-Sik!”

The knights dismounted and hurriedly drew their swords as they approached him.

Johan swept his bangs back.

“You’re late.”

“I’m sorry.”

“It’s fine. I handled everything anyway.”

With ashes swirling in the air, making his eyes sting, Johan waved his hand in front of his face and frowned.

“I dealt with the leader and let the lower ranks go as a warning.”

“Did you figure out their identity?”

“Yeah. They are hyenas operating in the underworld.”

“Hyenas…”

They were the filthy remnants of the Great Families, taking care of all the dirty work in the Empire.

“Let’s discuss the details later. How’s the princess?”

“She arrived at the mansion safely.”

“Good.”

Johan mounted one of the horses they had brought and nodded his head.

“Let’s head back.”

*

Meanwhile, Fransia was in the lobby of the mansion, biting her nails in anxiety.

‘Why did they move so soon?’

There were two things she worried about.

Johan’s safety and the fact that the hyenas of Kasys Lenokhnen had started to move.

Even if she had faith Johan would return safely after defeating an Archdemon by himself, her anxiety wasn’t entirely relieved.

The fact that the hyenas of Kasys Lenokhnen had already begun to act was a different matter altogether.

‘Could it be that becoming Johan’s lover caused a huge butterfly effect?’

The timing of the Kasys Lenokhnen’s actions coincided with when Crown Prince Fedelian began to deepen his schemes and the two started their rivalry.

However, this time there was no rivalry, and they hadn’t even made significant contact, yet the hyenas started to move. And they were doing so very boldly.

‘…They aren’t targeting me. They’re targeting Johan.’

Comparing the past and present made her quickly arrive at the answer.

Unless they eliminated Johan Harsen, who was in a romantic relationship with her, they couldn’t fulfill their goal. That must have been their conclusion.

‘…If that’s the case, I have no choice but to move faster.’

Fransia had information about an unpredictable future. She knew the locations of several secrets hidden in this world.

Though it wasn’t the right time yet, and nothing had happened to shake society, she remained quiet.

‘This won’t do.’

Just recently, during the dungeon reconnaissance mission, wasn’t it the same? Things had drifted entirely differently than expected.

Originally, Fransia was supposed to be assigned to a different unit with Fedelian, and the demon beasts were supposed to swarm toward her.

Then, Fedelian would appear to save her, and that would be the end of it.

But this time, not only was she assigned to the same unit as Fedelian, but the movements of the demons all headed towards Johan.

She felt the urgency kicking in from here.

‘If they both move at the same time, Johan won’t be able to handle it.’

She had to support him in every way possible. Johan was working desperately for the both of them.

‘I’ll have to bring that out.’

She headed towards the safe in the Ferbache Royal Mansion.

Since giving Johan the Book of Calamities that was hidden within the Ferbache Duke House, she hadn’t been able to provide him with any additional benefits. Even though she had several pieces of information she couldn’t share with anyone.

But this time was different.

‘If the flow has started, my goal is not to just shift it, but to break it completely.’

From the very start, she had been too complacent. A moment of peace and happiness had lulled her into a false sense of security.

Fransia pulled out a pendant she had secretly kept hidden in the safe. The seven stars within the red gem sparkled beautifully.

An artifact.

Its name was “Rubyon,” a mythical artifact that granted seven chances to evade death in dire situations.

This artifact had saved her countless times before, so it would be a great help to Johan as well.

But that wasn’t all. She needed to elevate Johan’s title and status to levels far beyond what they were now, using the events that were about to unfold.

‘Johan, I’m sorry. I’ll do my best.’

*

Johan returned to the Ferbache Royal Mansion in a disheveled state.

Fransia was waiting anxiously for him at the front gate.

“Johan!”

As soon as she saw him, she rushed over and hugged him.

“Fransia.”

Johan gently patted her head, smiling.

“What did I tell you? I told you I was stronger than you thought.”

“Being strong and rushing headlong into danger are two different things…”

Fransia gazed at Johan with her shimmering red eyes.

“We promised not to do this again.”

“Still, it was the best I could do.”

“….”

“I can’t let Fransia fall into danger.”

Fransia, puffing up her cheeks, couldn’t find the words and instead buried her face into Johan’s embrace.

“It’s unfair. I’m just worried about you, and if you say that, I can’t say anything anymore.”

Johan chuckled lightly and wrenched himself free from the clingy Fransia.

“Anyway, I’ll go wash up. I can’t stay in your arms smelling like this.”

“Oh, right. I’m sorry. I’ll tell them to prepare right away.”

Turning her gaze, Fransia gestured to the head butler, who quickly ushered the servants into the mansion.

“Take a rest. We can talk later.”

“Sure.”

Johan entered the mansion.

After a moment, the butler finished preparing the bath, and Johan was able to head in to wash up.

Splashy.

Lying in the tub, Johan stared at the ceiling, replaying the previous battle in his mind.

‘It was much tougher than I imagined when fighting against humans.’

If the enemy had been a top-level hyena, he would have struggled quite a bit without the combination of All-Flow Perception and Shadow Flow Array.

As it stood, Johan still wasn’t used to using magic and was far from being proficient in combat.

What good was overwhelming affinity and utilization? What was the point of mastering devastating Archmage Magic if he couldn’t handle the important battles?

‘I need to focus more on training.’

He had dabbled in things like martial arts as a hobby since childhood, but using magic properly was a recent development.

‘Still, I’ve learned a lot, and I’ve confirmed the performance of the Point of Rupture.’

It would have ended much quicker if he had wiped everything out with a distortion sphere in one go, but where else would such an opportunity arise? He had to test things when he had the chance.

‘In any case, I clearly realized my level.’

While he was strong enough to take out an Archdemon alone in a beast battle, his skills in human-to-human combat were severely lacking.

This was obvious due to his lack of experience.

‘For now, rather than learning more Archmage Magic, I should polish the magic I know.’

And it would also be good to eliminate shadows or hyenas so that Crown Prince and Kasys couldn’t play their tricks. He needed to sharpen his practical sense.

Finishing his thoughts, Johan stood from the tub. After drying off with a towel prepared by the servants and putting on a robe, he stepped out of the bathroom to find Fransia waiting for him.

“Oh, you’re out.”

Fransia smiled warmly, patting the space beside her on the bed.

“Sit down.”

“Sure.”

Johan shook off his wet hair lightly and sat beside her.

“Take this.”

“What is this?”

Fransia handed him a gemstone like a red ruby. It radiated an unusual amount of refined mana.

“It’s a talisman passed down in the Ferbache family.”

“…Am I allowed to accept this?”

“Of course you are. You’re going to become part of the Ferbache Duke House after all.”

Fransia said this with a smile and kissed Johan’s cheek.

“Always carry this with you. The Ferbache Duke House will protect you.”

“Thank you.”

Johan held the heart-shaped red gemstone and smiled lightly.

With a concerned expression, Fransia leaned her face against his shoulder.

“Doesn’t it make you wonder why this is happening repeatedly?”

She casually remarked.

“I know. Many nobles dislike that I’m Fransia’s lover.”

Even without Fedelian and Kasys finally moving into action, many people felt displeased that Johan was in a romantic relationship with Fransia.

Noblemen from the Empire and even old guards from the royal family felt this way.

Moreover, there were loyalists who believed Fransia should become the Empress…

“The Duke told me as well. He mentioned that many noblemen are targeting Fransia, and asked me to protect her. Naturally, I replied that I would.”

Fransia slightly bit her lip, then closed her mouth again. It seemed she had something she wanted to say but found it difficult to express.

“You don’t have to apologize. I want to be with you just as much.”

Johan instantly sensed Fransia’s feelings and gently stroked her head.

“I’m a lucky guy. I’m dating the most beautiful woman in the Empire, Fransia, aren’t I?”

Then he smiled cheekily.

“…I’m sorry. Thank you. And I like you.”

Fransia hugged Johan again, burying her face in his chest.

“I’ll work harder.”

“You can just be yourself.”

“No, I must try harder.”

“Why is that?”

“Because…”

Fransia rolled her eyes before eventually avoiding his gaze.

“Because I’m Johan’s lover?”

“…I see.”

Johan chuckled and leaned back against the bed.

“Maybe it’s because I’ve used a lot of mana, but I do feel quite tired. Should we get some rest?”

“Sure. I’ll stay by your side tonight so you can sleep peacefully.”

“Haha. You’ve always been by my side, haven’t you?”

“…Well, that’s true.”

They met each other’s eyes and soon broke into laughter.

It was a night where the moonlight was exceptionally beautiful.

*

“…I’m ashamed.”

The battered hyena knelt and bowed its head.

“Hmm.”

Kasis seemed to contemplate for a moment, but then he fixed his darkened amethyst gaze on the hyena and drew his sword.

“I really don’t appreciate this.”

Swish!

As a black horizon was drawn, blood was scattered into the air.

“You dared to say you would kill me one day, and I can’t accept that.”

Thud.

The hyena’s head fell, its body collapsing like a marionette.

“Clean it up.”

“Y-Yes!”

At Kasis’s command, the knights hurriedly moved to clean up the corpses. They were from the Black Knights’ Order, which operated under the House of Lenokhnen.

‘I wonder how they found out I was behind this.’

There was no evidence left behind. The only hint was that the hyenas were moving among the Great Families.

Could they deduce from just that that he was the one orchestrating things from behind the scenes?

His conclusion was uncertain.

‘I might have an information network.’

Kasis slowly wiped his sword as he murmured.

“By the way, considering there were first-class knights mixed with the public affairs officers and a decent number of them, did he manage to take them out alone?”

It seemed Johan Harsen was far from being an ordinary Archmage.

‘It’s unfortunate that I can’t move immediately since the situation might become known.’

Kasis quietly sheathed his sword.

“I’ll wait for another chance, Johan Harsen.”