12: Kalliste’s Decision

Due to the urgency, Kalliste failed to notice a huge animal that flew past her.

The eagle went straight to a nearby part of the forest, where Rique Grakobuldo's group was.

"Change of plans. I do not care about the mission anymore. Kill the target on sight!" Rique now had a serious look on his face. In just four days, he had already lost Lucas, and Porteur remained missing. Not even his body was found. Looking at the remaining members of his group, his brows furrowed. He would not let any of them lose their lives.

"It seemed like we underestimated the boy too much. If he was powerful enough to kill Lucas, then he was even more dangerous than we thought," Terrence stated as he held his chin, analysing the current situation.

"Hmp! Dead or alive, I still wanted my share of the reward once we caught him!" Scipione's brows met at the center. The sudden change of plans had him worried. They might not be able to get the promised bounty. Nonetheless, he already began to formulate his own plans. 'I needed to be the first one to catch the target. But how?' Scipione secretly glanced at the twins. They had an uninterested look on their faces. He was sure that those two would not side with him.

Then was Terrence. The guy had a serious look on his face, making it impossible to read what was in his mind at all. However, Scipione knew that unlike the twins, the guy was only interested in mastering his sword arts. Since he had reached the bottleneck of his sword art style level 4, he only needed a little push to reach the next level. With that, Terrence would finally be able to rise to the rank of knight in the Empire.

Scipione's eyes finally landed on the leader, Rique Grakobuldo. He could almost see the murderous aura oozing out of his body. His face screamed of death, and he was sure that the man would not change his plans once he gave an order. That's just the way he was.

'I needed to think of a way before they got him! I won't let my reward money turn to stone!'

As the group was occupied with their own thoughts, Scipione slowly slipped away from them, and ran towards the direction of the village with only one thing in mind.

'Wait for me, little prince. Sooner or later, you'd become bars of gold for Scipione.' He was now grinning madly. Just thinking about the sparkling gold made his heart race faster.

Meanwhile, Rique finally noticed that Scipione was missing. "Where is that lunatic?" He asked as he quickly turned around, looking for him.

When the others shrugged, realisations suddenly hit him like a ton of rocks.

"That moron!" He yelled out in anger.

Amidst the confusion and gloomy atmosphere that surrounded the group, they did not notice a messenger bird that landed on a nearby tree. It eyed them one by one, as though it had its own mind. It watched the group for a while before flying away.

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A voluptuous, pretty woman, who appeared much younger than her actual age, slowly opened her eyes in a large room filled with various caged animals. She was sitting next to the window, overlooking the emerald forest, basking in the moon's grace. Her body trembled slightly as soon as her soul returned to her. It was an ability that only she had. A secret that could end her life once found. She hailed from a nearly extinct line of dark witches, whose natural abilities allowed their souls to inhabit the bodies of animals.

The strongest of them could even enter a human's body and be in complete control for a few days at most. However, it required a lot of energy and preparations. That was the reason why they would use animals instead. It was a lot easier, as the animals had no intelligence of their own.

The beautiful woman now had a gentle smile on her face as she gently patted the eagle.

"So that brat decided to betray me and do things behind my back." The gentle smile on her face was now gone. It was replaced with a devilish grin that hid a lot of hidden meanings and intentions. She emitted a dark aura that scared all the animals in the room.

"Mother! You're here. I was looking everywhere for you."

The woman was only brought back to reality upon hearing the familiar voice. Her face instantly changed back into a gentle one. She quickly looked back and saw a dark-haired boy around six years of age running shakily towards her. She quickly grabbed the boy before he tripped.

"My lovely prince. How many times do I have to tell you to never run, or you will fall? I don't want you to get hurt." Even when she said such words, she still could not help but smile at the adorable child.

"What are you doing here, my prince? Where is Achar? I thought I told you to never wonder outside of your palace without me or Achar beside you. Why won't you just listen?" The woman quickly hugged her son. The only reason she continued to live to this day. Her only purpose in life. She would die if something bad happened to him.

"But mother. Achar was sluggish! I am hungry and wanted to eat lunch with you, mother." The boy pouted cutely as he blinked his eyes.

The sight of her son's adorable expression and deep, emerald eyes nearly knocked her out. She could only sigh in defeat. She knew that she would never win against him.

"My Queen! Pardon my tardiness, but the little prince really ran swiftly!"

A ragged voice suddenly echoed in the room. The Queen narrowed her eyes on the newly arrived man. The man was huffing so hard that he was almost out of breath. She gave him a scrutinising gaze before speaking.

"If only you were not a pig! Then maybe you could do your job right. If something happens to my prince, you know better than anyone what I could do to you, right?"

Achar stayed silent. Even if her words hurt his feelings, he had no right to talk back or even get angry. He could only lower his head to see his bulging stomach. The reason he was always ridiculed. He knew that he would have to somehow control his appetite; however, he just can't control himself in front of food.

"My prince is hungry. Go tell the kitchen to prepare all of his favourite dishes. Don't you dare mess this up."

Seeing the Queen's terrible expression, Achar felt his heart almost stop.

"As you command, My Queen." He quickly bowed before them before running away like his life depended on it.

Meanwhile, Queen Luana immediately turned to her son with a loving smile on her face.

"Come, my love. Let us have dinner in the gardens. Would you like that?"

"Yes, mother!"

Seeing the beaming and cute smile on her son's face made her heart jump in joy. Guiding him to the garden, she only had one thought as she watched her beloved son run around.

'Do not worry, my prince. I would make sure that you would be crowned the future emperor, even if it's the last thing I do!' Her face suddenly darkened. 'Rowan's death would only be the beginning.'

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Meanwhile, Kalliste ran as fast as she could toward the explosion site. Her heart was pounding so much. The sight of the shattered barrier heightened her anxiety. Not only that, but some of the bodies of beastmen were scattered throughout the area.

"Darling! Where are you?" She was desperate. She continued to scream his name, but her loud shout only reverberated in the area.

"Please be safe!" Kalliste already searched everywhere, but to no avail. As she ran, she suddenly stopped when she saw a familiar piece of clothing. The torn clothes had blood all over them.

"No! This could not be happening!" Her legs suddenly gave in at the sight. Her body trembled uncontrollably as she slowly picked it up and hugged it tightly. Her eyes moistened. The next thing she knew, tears rushed down her face. Kalliste fell on the ground, not minding the small rocks that hit her knees.

She had no idea how long she was in that state when she suddenly heard a familiar voice.

"Kally? What are you doing on the ground?"

Her entire body was instantly frozen. She could not even move her body, let alone her fingers.

"Here. Let me help you…"

Before Rowan could finish his sentence, he was instantly taken aback when she suddenly launched herself at him. The sudden action made them fall to the ground. When he felt her trembling body, he immediately understood.

"I am fine now. Do not worry." He gave a reassuring smile before his expression became serious.

"We better get out of here first. I would explain to you later." Without any hesitation, Rowan effortlessly carried her bridal style. The surprise on her face made him chuckle.

"What are you doing? Let me down, now!"

"No. This way, you would never disappear from my sight, ever again." Despite Kalliste's protests, Rowan only laughed it off as he walked towards the mountain.

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That night, as Kalliste watched the boy sleep on her legs, thoughts about the past events suddenly entered her mind. She realised something important. 'What was I even doing here again? I was supposed to leave!'

She carefully analysed their current situation. This scene was not even included in the original plot. She knew that everything changed the moment that she laid her hands on all those monsters.

According to the original plot, Rowan would meet the female lead in this very mountain. Though the scene was not detailed and was barely mentioned as a quick flashback, she was sure that they met when they were young.

The beginning of their love story should have occurred when the female lead rescued Rowan from the monsters on these very mountains. Another significant shift occurred when nearly a thousand monsters were massacred approximately eight years into the future.

That event marked the true beginning of the story. It was supposed to be done by a teenage Rowan, earning him the title of Crown Prince, as well as the ticket to becoming the future Emperor. However…

"The boy's future was already ruined because of me!"

Though Kalliste wanted to scream in frustration, she held herself. She only contented herself on pulling her own hair for her stupidity. Even though she committed the act prior to discovering the truth, the damage had already been done!

'As I thought! Someone like me who should not exist in this world should never involve myself in any of them. If not, then I would only ruin their written destiny.'

Kalliste glanced down on the boy's sleeping form. He was sleeping soundly and peacefully. Like he had never experienced anything bad in his life. Kalliste could not help herself and gently caressed his hair. The boy she had come to care for as if he were her own son. She could not help it. Though she was physically younger, she was already an old grandma when she died. Upon contact, Rowan let out a moan and smiled unknowingly.

"Sleep some more, my dear child. Tomorrow would be a long day," Kalliste whispered in his ears as she continued to caress his hair. Watching the boy in her care prompted to make a final decision. 'Do not worry. I would stay by your side to care for and protect you. At least until I know that you are in safe hands. Only then would I say my goodbyes.' Despite her strong desire to remain with the boy, she was left with no other options. She had to stay away from him in order for the story to continue according to the plot. Her mere existence had already brought about significant changes, and she had no intention of interfering with the boy's happiness with the real female lead.

'Tomorrow, we would have to go to Marquis Chatilet's mansion. You would be safer there.' She already made her decision, and nothing could make her change it.