Thesmeris Royal Castle,

After Zane vanished, the corridor fell quiet.

Maera, Selene, and Drevin didn’t waste a second. They began moving forward, slow and controlled, keeping their steps light as they advanced deeper into the palace.

Selene knelt slightly and traced a small rune onto each of their shoes. The glow was faint—barely visible—and then it disappeared completely.

Maera felt it instantly.

No sound.

Even their footsteps vanished.

She leaned slightly toward Selene and whispered, “Nice.”

Selene replied in a low voice, unable to hide a bit of pride. “There are many things I improved during training. Small-purpose runes like this are just one of them.”

She continued softly as they moved, “The mana sensitivity here is high. If I use large or complex runes, they’ll notice. But these are small enough to blend in with the natural mana a person emits.”

A brief pause.

“They only last around fifteen minutes. After that, I’ll have to reapply them.”

Maera gave her a side look.

“I know, Selene. It’s impressive.”

Then she added quietly,

“But maybe save the explanations during a stealth mission.”

Selene froze for a second.

“…Right.”

A faint blush appeared on her face before she quickly composed herself.

Ahead of them, Drevin walked silently.

A small bead of sweat slid down his face.

These two really are the same…

He shook his head slightly.

Then suddenly—

He raised his hand.

Signal.

Stop.

Maera and Selene froze instantly.

Drevin moved slightly to the side and peeked ahead.

Two knights were approaching.

Their armor was worn, helmets in their hands as they walked casually, clearly off-duty or relaxed.

Their voices echoed faintly.

The first knight sighed. “Workload is getting ridiculous… are we even knights anymore? Feels like we’re just servants now.”

The second one snorted. “Forget that… have you even received your wages?”

The first shook his head.

“No.”

The second knight sighed deeply. “Of course not. All because of this wedding. They’re holding back wages just to make everything more luxurious… just to show off to those greedy merchant pigs.”

The first knight quickly looked around and hushed him.

“Quiet! If someone hears you talking like that, we’re dead.”

A pause.

“You know how much the king listens to the princess.”

The second knight lowered his head slightly.

“…Yeah.”

Then muttered,

“…Why is life like this…”

The two continued walking.

Drevin pulled back slightly and whispered, barely audible,

“I’ll handle them.”

“We need disguises.”

Before either Maera or Selene could respond—

His body began to sink.

Slowly—

Melting into the shadows beneath him.

Selene and Maera watched in surprise as Drevin disappeared completely into the darkness beneath him.

The two knights continued walking, still complaining quietly to each other, completely unaware.

Then—

From the shadow behind them, Drevin emerged.

Silently.

In his hand was a small pipe.

He raised it to his mouth and blew softly.

Two bluish needles shot out.

They pierced into the backs of the knights’ necks—the only exposed area they had since they weren’t wearing helmets.

Both men flinched immediately.

One reached for his sword.

The other started to turn.

But before either could react further, their expressions became dazed. Their bodies swayed, and then both collapsed unconscious onto the floor.

Drevin quickly looked around to make sure no one had noticed.

Then he signaled.

Maera and Selene rushed over.

Selene looked at the unconscious knights. “Did you kill them?”

Drevin shook his head.

“No.”

“Just knocked them out.”

“They’ll stay like this for a while.”

Maera glanced around and pointed toward a nearby door.

“We can hide them there.”

Drevin nodded.

Maera lifted one of the unconscious knights effortlessly over her shoulder, while Drevin took the other one with noticeably more difficulty.

They quickly moved to the room.

Selene entered first, checked inside, then signaled back.

It was a storage room woth many supplies.

The others entered immediately.

Drevin looked at them and said, “You two change into their armor.”

Maera blinked. “What about you?”

“We’ll find another one for me.”

A pause.

“And if not… I have another method.”

Maera nodded.

“Then turn around.”

Drevin immediately did.

“If you peek, I’ll kill you.”

“Don’t worry,” Drevin replied in the same neutral tone as always. “I won’t.”

Maera stared at him for a second.

Nearby, Selene looked between the two while picking up a piece of armor.

A tiny smirk appeared on her face.

…Am I seeing some spark here?

She didn’t say it out loud.

First, she used a small cleansing rune on both armors. The smell of sweat disappeared instantly, though even then she still looked reluctant to wear it.

They quickly tied and hid the unconcious knights..

As they changed, Maera spoke again.

“Using poison needles… I thought you were mostly an archer.”

Drevin stayed quiet for a moment before answering.

“Survival teaches everything.”

“To live as an adventurer, I had to learn different tactics.”

“Bow and arrow are just my main weapon.”

Maera looked a little surprised.

“You were an adventurer?”

Drevin didn’t answer.

Instead, he simply asked,

“Are you both ready?”

Maera frowned slightly.

She could tell he was avoiding the topic.

But she let it go.

A moment later, Selene and Maera stepped out wearing the knights’ armor. It fit well enough, though Selene still looked uncomfortable.

Drevin followed behind them quietly.

Selene adjusted the armor and muttered, “This thing is so heavy…”

Maera glanced at her. “Bear with it.”

Selene sighed. “Yeah, yeah… but seriously, this is heavy for m—”

Before she could finish—

Someone turned the corner in front of them.

Drevin instantly melted into Maera’s shadow without hesitation.

The man approaching wasn’t wearing a helmet. He carried it under one arm casually, clearly off-duty. But his armor was more decorated than normal.

An officer.

He had a rough beard and a gruff face.

His eyes narrowed slightly as he looked at them.

“What are you knights doing here?”

—

Meanwhile—

After leaving his students behind, Zane returned to his own room inside the inn.

He was still in his merchant disguise.

With a small snap of his fingers, his appearance shifted.

The merchant robes vanished and were replaced by elegant formal wear fit for a noble gathering. He wore a deep navy-blue suit with silver embroidery running along the edges, paired with a dark crimson vest underneath. The coat was long and fitted, with subtle silver patterns woven into the fabric that reflected faintly in the light. A white dress shirt sat beneath it, the collar open slightly for a relaxed but refined look.

Zane looked down at himself and nodded.

“Perfect.”

He left the room and walked to the one next to his.

Knock.

A moment later, the door opened.

Zayne stood there, already dressed for the event. He wore a luxurious black suit with silver trim and a neatly tied cravat, looking surprisingly handsome.

“Come in, brother,” he said.

Zane looked him over once and smirked.

“Looking sharp.”

Zayne grinned. “Hehe, thanks.”

Then Zane added,

“After all… it’s my face.”

Zayne immediately coughed awkwardly.

“Y-yeah, boss—I mean brother.”

Zane shook his head slightly.

“You ready?”

“I am,” Zayne replied. “Val is just getting ready.”

Zane nodded.

Then paused.

“By the way…”

Zayne looked up.

“Yes, brother?”

Zane looked at him calmly.

“It’s awkward for me to say this…”

“…But you should keep your voice down with your girlfriend in the bathroom.”

A pause.

“And improve your flimsy barrier magic.”

“I could practically hear everything.”

“Also… you are on a mission.”

Zayne froze.

Then his eyes widened.

His face turned red instantly.

At the same moment, Valeriana stepped out from inside the room, now fully dressed and clearly having heard everything.

She froze too.

Then turned completely red.

For a moment, both of them looked like tomatoes.

Zane looked at the pair and sighed.

“Anyway.”

“Give me the invitation.”

“You do have it, right?”

Valeriana nodded quickly, still embarrassed. She handed the invitation to Zayne, who passed it to Zane.

The moment she did, she quickly escaped back into the inner room.

Zane glanced toward the door and casually added,

“By the way… you were quite wild.”

Zayne’s entire face became even redder.

“Ok b-brother it’s your queue to leave.”

“W-We’ll meet you outside in five minutes!”

He slammed the door shut immediately.

Even with the door closed in front of him, Zane kept smirking.

He walked away slowly, holding the invitation in one hand.

“Man…”

“I’m glad I created him.”

He looked at the invitation for a moment.

Then made a perfect copy of it.

Five minutes later, Zayne and Valeriana met him downstairs.

Zayne still looked awkward from the earlier conversation, while Valeriana was trying very hard not to make eye contact with anyone.

Zane handed back the original invitation and showed them the exact copy he had made.

Valeriana’s eyes widened in surprise.

Zayne, however, looked completely calm.

Probably because he was already used to this sort of thing.

Zane slipped the invitation into his coat and smiled.

“Let’s see…”

“What this wedding has to offer.”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep