A week had passed since the duel that had shaken the student body of Zephyr Academy. The chatter about what happened was still going on, but for Albedo, his routine had remained largely the same.

The mornings began with training, especially with Ember, where he’d make her test and control her powers. She had quickly adapted to the environment, and her control had been growing quickly.

Though, she was attempting to put a dent in Albedo’s wallet. As a high quality beast, she ate high quality food, and that meant Albedo splashing the cash for high rank beast meat and other ingredients.

The daytime was spent at the Academy, mostly doing classes and interacting with the main cast. Aside from some relatively small run-ins with Professor Skye, nothing special had happened as of yet.

Once Academy was over, Albedo would do some evening training before meeting up with Gwen and spending time with her and at night, he would train with Raphaeline.

Today was no different. Albedo had just returned from his afternoon training, his shirt clung to him as it was soaked with sweat, and he arrived near the villa he called home.

The front wards pulsed in greeting as he crossed the threshold, Ember trailing behind him in a shimmer of collapsing flames.

However, just as he was about to enter, he stopped halfway through, his senses picking up someone inside.

No alarm had triggered, meaning it was someone authorized, but Gwen still should’ve been at her Academy for the next 25 minutes.

“You’re early today,” came a voice from the sitting room, smooth and composed.

Albedo turned the corner and spotted Killian, who was standing near the window, the Imperial Prince’s golden cloak draped over the chair beside him, arms crossed.

“Not a social visit, I assume,” Albedo said, calm but alert. Killian definitely had better things to do than to visit him just to have fun, and it was that fact that alerted and worried Albedo.

Killian’s expression was unreadable. His violet eyes glanced once toward the hallway that led to Gwen’s room, then back to Albedo.

“No,” he said,”I wouldn’t have come in person otherwise.”

Albedo’s eyes narrowed, “What happened?”

Killian stepped forward, a mana-sealed orb appearing in his hand. He passed it to Albedo without a word. The orb pulsed once, and Albedo’s vision was immediately overlaid with a series of flickering illusions, recordings taken through scrying.

Trees. A school path. Gwen skipping along, lunchbox in hand. In the far background, masked figures. Just barely beyond the wards. Always distant. Never moving directly, but definitely present.

But always there and watching. The visions changed with the days, and environment, but the men never left, they were just far enough to not be caught immediately, as they were skilled at escape, but close enough to see.

Albedo’s fingers clenched around the orb, magic crackling beneath his skin.

“My men noticed the first appearance four days ago,” Killian said, “They haven’t approached. Haven’t acted. But they’ve been consistent. Morning, midday, afternoon. Always watching her. Could be rogue mages. Could be assassins. Could be someone testing your response time.”

Albedo said nothing for a long moment, thinking in his mind.

‘Fuck, another one of these stupid plots,’ he muttered in his mind, as he thought that what was happening was similar to events in the original Novel.

In the Novel, not long after Lucian & Miranda had won, a similar incident had occurred. Professor Skye, growing wary of Lucian’s growing influence, would try to target those around him who had weak backgrounds.

She had investigated his past, and the primary target was a girl Lucian had become friends with after his parents death.

He had met her a random day after training with Raphaeline, and they had quickly become close friends, growing up together. She was a year younger than him, so she wouldn’t awaken until next year.

Professor Skye had targeted her too, eventually going as far as to try an abduct her, and they would have succeeded, if not for Killian’s intervention.

Instead of meeting with Albedo, after the Abyssal attacks, Killian would’ve met with Lucian and assigned men to protect this girl, which ended up being the difference between her life and death.

Now, it seemed history was repeating itself.

But this time, the target wasn’t only Lucian’s childhood friend, it was also Gwen.

Albedo slowly let out a breath, eyes focused on the last flicker of Gwen’s image in the orb. His jaw was tense, his fingers still wrapped around the device like he might crush it with sheer will.

Skye, that damn woman. Albedo quickly remembered why she was one of the most hated characters in the Novel by fans, she was just so annoying, constantly getting in Lucian’s way with petty tricks.

And now, he was on the receiving end of that.

“I’ll handle the rest,” Albedo finally said, handing the orb back to Killian, “Just make sure Gwen stays safe. No changes in her routine unless necessary. I don’t want to spook them off. Not yet.”

Killian nodded, “I’ll double the shadow perimeter around her without drawing attention. My best people.”

“Good,” Albedo said. “And Killian… if one of them steps out of line, just once, don’t hesitate.”

Killian’s violet eyes gleamed with silent approval, “I never do.”

The Imperial Prince gave a curt nod, draped his cloak over one shoulder, and vanished in a blink of distorted air, leaving behind a faint shimmer of golden mana.

Albedo stood there for a moment, staring at the empty space where Killian had been.

Gwen… She was already a target. Even though he’d tried to keep her safe and in the background, it hadn’t mattered.

He needed a long-term solution. The reality was, Killian could never send his absolute strongest men to protect her, and Albedo would feel much more comfortable if he had someone he knew closely as her guardian.

As he thought, his mind clicked.

There was one option, from the novel. It was an option that was claimed by William later in the Novel, when he had fully fallen into evil and was desperate for a way to kill Lucian.

It was a person, a madwoman sealed away long ago, a killer in the truest sense of the word. Locking herself away, it was only after passing all of her trials that the one who freed her will become her master.

Of course, becoming her master also came with all the karma she had, and you needed to complete a certain unspecified objective for her, but Albedo couldn’t think of that, all that mattered was keeping Gwen safe.

However, he needed an extended period of time away from the Academy to beat all the trials and claim her, and he needed to be at least High Silver Rank as well.

“High Silver it is,” he muttered.

That gave him around a month, as that was the time Mid-Term exams would be held, and once those exams were finished, there would be a 2 week break.

Until then, he’d let the shadows creep closer, and then he’d cut them all down at once.

But first…

He had to talk to Lucian. Since Killian didn’t have his men protecting Lucian’s friend anymore, the least Albedo could do was give him a small warning on what was going on.

Albedo quickly sent Lucian a message and headed back to the Academy to tell him.

[Albedo: Need to talk. Face to face. Outside East Campus training grounds. 30 minutes.]

Thirty Minutes Later – East Campus Training Grounds

The area was quiet, an open courtyard of dark stone and trimmed training circles surrounded by arcanic trees whose leaves shimmered softly in the twilight.

Lucian was already there when Albedo arrived, leaning against a rune-etched column with his arms folded. He looked relaxed, but the sharpness in his eyes told another story.

“You don’t usually message,” Lucian said without preamble.

“I don’t usually need to,” Albedo replied.

Lucian straightened, hands dropping to his sides. “So what’s going on?”

Albedo took a few more steps, stopping a few feet away, “I just wanted to warn you. Since the duels, there’s been some people people stalking around me and my sister when we’re outside the Academy, so if you have any friends who won’t be able to defend themselves well, I’d look into helping them.”

Lucian’s eyes immediately darkened.

“Stalking?” he asked, his voice sharper now. “How many?”

“Hard to say,” Albedo replied, “At least two. Maybe more. Killian’s men spotted them keeping tabs on my sister,”

Lucian went silent, thinking.

“…Diona,” Lucian said at last.

The name clicked in Albedo’s mind. Diana Vale, Lucian’s childhood friend.

“She’s been living in the outer district. She doesn’t attend the Academy, and her Awakening won’t happen for another year. I… I visit her once in a while, check up on her. She’s all alone now.”

His voice faltered at the edges, frustration barely hidden beneath the calm.

“I thought keeping her away from all this would be safer.”

Albedo exhaled slowly, his expression unreadable.

“You think she’s in danger?” he asked.

Lucian nodded immediately, “If they’re targeting your sister… then Diona’s at risk too. And unlike Gwen, she doesn’t have protectors.”

There was a pause.

Then Lucian took a step forward. “Albedo… I know you don’t owe me anything, but… if you could spare some eyes to watch over her, even just for a while,”

Albedo thought for a while and then said for a sigh, “Sure, I’ll have her stay with me, her and my sister can be friends.”

Lucian blinked, visibly surprised. “Just like that?”

Albedo gave him a look, “I wouldn’t like someone innocent like her getting hurt when I could’ve stopped it.”

Albedo said, turning and beginning to walk off.

“Albedo,” Lucian said, calling out to Albedo who turned around, “Thank you,”

Albedo nodded and walked off, but in his mind, he only had one thought,

“First it was the Final Boss, and now it’s the Future Saintess, I’m collecting influential characters like Infinity Stones.”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep