“Knight Evelyn, if you'll forgive my presumption, would you mind taking off your mask?”
In the side chamber, Sir Jaden spoke with a smile.
“My apologies, Sir Jaden. I must refuse.”
Even when facing an heir to the Grand Duchy of Rose, Evelyn still kept her golden mask on.
“No, it was a presumptuous request of mine. Please think nothing of it.”
Jaden shook his head, then pulled open a nearby drawer to search through some documents.
“Knight Evelyn, you came to Hera City to purge the Headhunter Cult.”
“As the city lord here and a noble myself, I have an obligation to assist you in purging the Headhunter Cult.”
“My failure to provide any decent help until now has been a dereliction of my duty.”
Flora, standing to the side, watched Jaden. Her heart did not relax in the slightest.
After all, even Jaden was suspected of colluding with the Headhunter Cult.
“Allowing me to freely investigate your territory and granting me the highest authority to search has already been the greatest help to me.”
The golden mask concealed Evelyn's expressions, preventing anyone from reading her face or thoughts.
“It is only my duty.”
“And this is some additional intelligence I have procured. I hope you will halt your investigation of the nobility.”
“As a Sacred Circle Knight, even just a simple investigation by you will bring unfavorable impacts upon their prestige.”
Jaden looked seriously at Evelyn and handed over a document.
What nobles valued above all else was their own face and the prestige of their family.
An investigation related to the Headhunter Cult touching upon the nobility would be a black mark on both the family and the noble themselves.
This was why, during the banquet earlier, Evelyn had been shunned to a corner by everyone.
However, Flora suspected that Evelyn had done this on purpose so that she could avoid troublesome socializing.
Evelyn did not answer. Instead, she took the document and flipped it open to scan through it.
“The Headhunter Cult is colluding with the monsters in the Great Hera Forest?”
“I see... So it is with monsters...”
Some of the confusing pieces of information Evelyn had gathered suddenly clicked into place with this new intelligence.
“The Headhunter Cult in Hera City cooperating with monsters is a severe scandal.”
“I hope you will keep this to yourself, Knight Evelyn.”
Evelyn put the document away and nodded.
With monsters and the Headhunter Cult working together, Evelyn would have to go deep into the Great Hera Forest to conduct a thorough investigation.
“Knight Evelyn, are you of the Golden Race?”
Jaden suddenly spoke up. This abrupt question felt as casual as an everyday greeting.
Evelyn's light blue eyes beneath her mask locked onto Jaden, but she did not answer.
For a Sacred Circle Knight, a lack of answer was sometimes an answer in itself.
“My apologies for the offense. As an apology, I am willing to dispatch a squad of knights to assist you in entering the Great Hera Forest for your investigation.”
“...Thank you, Sir Jaden.”
Evelyn did not return to the banquet hall. She left the castle directly, boarded a carriage, and headed back to the inn where they were staying.
“So, when are we heading to the Great Hera Forest?”
In the quiet carriage, Flora broke the silence.
“Tomorrow. There is no telling what the Headhunter Cult is planning in the Great Hera Forest.”
“We must go and investigate as soon as possible. We cannot give them any more time to let their plans brew.”
Evelyn looked at Flora, who seemed to have something else bottled up inside.
“You want to ask about the Golden Race, don't you?”
Flora had not expected Evelyn to bring it up so directly. Just as she was about to speak, Evelyn readily admitted it.
“I do indeed carry the bloodline of the Golden Race, but I have not awakened the power within my blood.”
Flora sat up straight, looking at Evelyn in awe.
The Golden Race was a clan possessing the power of the Golden Bloodline, inheriting a unique power of blood.
They were an extremely powerful race, though they had vanished in wars during the early days of the Sacred Circle Calendar, causing the Golden Bloodline to disperse.
As a result, this powerful strength hidden deep within their veins had become even harder to awaken.
The eyes of those from the Golden Race were usually blue; the purer the bloodline, the closer the color was to a grayish-white.
Once their bloodline awakened, a dark-gold “Golden Eye” would open.
The “Golden Eye” not only fed back a massive amount of mana and granted exceptional dynamic vision and observational skills, but it also came with a powerful learning ability and photographic memory.
The Golden Eye also possessed the ability to manipulate metal, harden the body, and strengthen physical attributes.
After awakening the Golden Eye, one could freely choose to open or close it, though keeping it active would continuously consume mana.
Even the most mediocre member of the Golden Race, as long as they awakened the “Golden Eye,” would become a certified genius.
Whether they were learning magic or swordsmanship, they could easily grasp and master it.
As for awakening the Golden Eye, it required a strong emotional stimulus.
Or continuously pushing one's physical body past its limits to squeeze out the power latent within the Golden Bloodline.
“Not only do you have a profession only spoken of in legends like the Sacred Circle Knight,”
“but you also have the legendary lost Golden Bloodline...”
Flora murmured under her breath.
“If you told me right now that you stepped out of a fairy tale book, I'd believe you.”
Evelyn sighed.
“I only possess the bloodline of the Golden Race; the purity is not high, so it is impossible for me to awaken the legendary Golden Eye.”
“Furthermore, High Elves are naturally highly emotionally stable and have high endurance, making us difficult to stimulate.”
“The probability of awakening the Golden Eye is therefore even lower.”
Evelyn was not a purebred High Elf, but rather a half-blood of human and High Elf descent.
She had inherited the advantages of both races, such as the lifespan and resilience of the Elves, and the growth potential of humans.
However, alongside these advantages, she also had genetic flaws.
Just as a mule born of a horse and a donkey was infertile, she lacked the ability to reproduce.
For Evelyn, however, this was actually a good thing.
While exposing her Golden Bloodline could be a bit troublesome, she didn't have to worry about anyone coveting her bloodline for reproduction.
And she now possessed the power to protect herself anyway.
“Then why do you wear a mask?”
Despite living together, Flora had never once seen Evelyn take off her mask. She even suspected that Evelyn wore the mask even while sleeping.
Evelyn placed her hand on the golden mask.
“Since you ask.”
For the first time, Evelyn removed her mask...
The carriage arrived at the inn. Stepping down, Evelyn put her mask back on.
Flora followed behind Evelyn with her head slightly lowered, her cheeks flushed with a faint pink.
Once back in her room, Flora walked over to the window, picked up a bouquet of flowers, and placed them on the sill.
She recalled an interesting anecdote recorded in a miscellaneous book belonging to her family.
‘In terms of physical beauty, the Elven race is exceptionally handsome regardless of gender. Among humans, the Golden Race is the same.’
And a half-blood Elf who possessed the human Golden Bloodline...
“Too incredible... My little brother, what a pity you died before living to see such a magnificent face.”
Flora let out a long breath with a blushing face, then drew her sword.
Her daily sword practice could not stop for even a single moment!
...
Late at night.
Flora heard a rustle near her bed. Before she could react, a hand covered her mouth.
“Stay quiet. We're leaving tonight.”
“Hmm?”
Hearing Evelyn's familiar voice, Flora relaxed, though she still let out a questioning hum.
“Why leave in the dead of night? Did you discover something? Is there something wrong with Sir Jaden?”
Flora spoke in a low, disbelieving whisper.
How could there be something wrong with Sir Jaden? It was not that his character was exceptionally noble or trustworthy.
Rather, it was his status that inspired absolute trust.
Jaden was the third son of Grand Duke Jacob, the ruler of the Grand Duchy of Rose.
How could a person like that ever be in league with the Headhunter Cult?
“Just in case.”
Evelyn had hunted Headhunter Cultists for many years. Keeping up her guard at all times was the very reason she had survived until now.
“Understood.”
Hearing Evelyn's words, Flora did not pry any further. She swiftly changed into her clothes.
Then, she climbed out the window, slipping through the shadows until she reached the rooftop.
One after the other, they leapt across the rooftops, drawing close to the city walls.
For two people who held the class of Mid-tier Warriors, scaling a city wall like this was no difficult feat.
Once over the wall, they dashed toward the Hera Plains to the west.
Rate on N.U.
