A few moments after that awkward incident, Serelith and Evander chose to remain silent, lost in their own thoughts. From time to time, the girl who had her arms crossed still stole glances at the prince from the corner of her eye.
But the man still refused to look at her, instead rubbing his own several times. Serelith couldn't help but wonder—did it really hurt that much? But there was no way she could ask something that bluntly, right?
Feeling awkward and slightly guilty, Serelith finally mustered the courage to clear her throat and awkwardly spoke, "I— I'm sorry about earlier. That must have hurt a lot, but I really didn't mean to do it. So if possible, please forgive me."
For a moment, Evander gave no response at all. It was clear that it made Serelith anxious. If she offended the prince now, that definitely wouldn't be good for her in the future.
But while Serelith was still trapped in her thoughts, Evander suddenly smiled broadly at her. "It's just a small matter. Besides, I can recover from that quickly, so don't worry."
Oh, come on. Why did Serelith feel like this conversation was a little strange? Still, her body reacted completely differently from her thoughts. Her head automatically moved up and down in a nod she couldn't control.
"And don't worry. I wouldn't abandon a girl as beautiful as you just because of what you did." He suddenly leaned closer to Serelith until their faces were less than a hand's span apart. "But of course, that won't be free, Miss—"
"Serelith, Your Highness."
A bright grin spread across the face of the man wearing the golden crown when he heard Serelith's name. Who knew what went through Evander's mind at that moment?
But if Serelith had to guess, it definitely wasn't anything good.
"Don't worry, you'll be treated well in the palace later. I am the Crown Prince—no one would dare to disturb me or my guest," said Evander.
Once again, Serelith could only force a smile to hide all the strange feelings she had. She bowed her head again, whispering in her heart, "Treated well, huh? If they find out what I plan to do to you, they'll probably behead me."
Serelith hated being faced with the reality she was in now. Even though she had become an assassin, she used to be a mage. She used to fight from a distance, not dive directly into the field like this.
But what else could she do? She still had to accept her new life—at least until she figured out what had happened to this game and why she couldn't wake up.
That day, the carriage sped down the narrow path toward the grand palace in the heart of the city—with Serelith spending the entire ride cursing herself silently.
A few moments passed until the carriage finally stopped somewhere. When Serelith stepped out, she was utterly astonished by the magnificent and solid building standing before her.
It was a place she had never seen in her entire life. Well, Serelith had wandered and discovered many castles in the game before this.
But the beauty and grandeur of this castle felt different. Everything shimmered as if it had been made of diamonds. Even the courtyard itself looked like it was made of gemstones.
Let her emphasize it again—it was made of gemstones!
"Hey, are you okay?"
Serelith's trance broke when a hand waved right in front of her face. Embarrassment washed over her when she realized that Evander had been trying for a while to pull her out of her thoughts.
Then, for what felt like the hundredth time, Serelith could only smile gracefully while scratching the back of her head that wasn't even itchy. "Yes, Your Highness. Sorry, I was just a little captivated by this grand palace. I've never seen anything like it before."
Evander only nodded several times, a proud smile clearly etched on his face. Then he said, "Welcome to the Goldhaven Palace, where everything is made of gold and gems. So I'm not surprised you were too amazed to even talk."
Evander proudly introduced the palace to Serelith. But then he suddenly realized something and turned to her with a puzzled look. "There's no way you don't know about this Kingdom, right? Don't you live here too?"
"Ah, that—." Serelith left her sentence hanging. Now she was confused about what kind of reasonable excuse she could give.
"I'm new here. I'm looking for someone," Serelith continued. Luckily, she remembered that she had a mission to form a party. So, she wouldn't be accused of lying for saying something random.
After all, Serelith was looking for people to join her party.
"Looking for someone? You can tell me. I'll help you."
"Ah, no need. I'm sure I can find them myself. If you really want to help me, you should lie down in bed and let me handle the rest," said Serelith, still flashing her teeth in a sly smile with narrowed eyes.
Honestly, Serelith hadn't meant to say that. Because she was nervous, she ended up blurting out whatever popped into her mind.
Well, Serelith really needed to learn that nervousness sometimes brought new problems.
Because, of course, what was going on in Evander's mind was completely different from what Serelith meant. The man immediately smiled warmly, his face flushing red in embarrassment.
"Ah, come on. You're making me shy. I should've been the one saying that to you," said Evander. Now it was his turn to scratch the back of his own head.
For a moment, Serelith kept smiling—until her eyes widened in realization when she saw Evander's expression.
"Wait, did I say something wrong? Does he know I'm going to kill him?" Serelith said inwardly.
Meanwhile, the system—floating before Serelith since who knows when—could only facepalm with its round hand.
Well, luckily, the system could only be seen by Serelith. Otherwise, it would've been troublesome for her to come up with another excuse about what and who the system was.
But amid the chaos, Serelith suddenly came up with a brilliant idea. She smiled as she imagined what she believed was a clever plan.
Quietly, Serelith glanced at the system and spoke to it in her mind, "System, if I get the chance to be alone with the Prince, wouldn't that be advantageous? I could kill him without anyone suspecting a thing."
[What's wrong with you? If it's just the two of you, it'll be easier for others to suspect you! You'd be the last person seen with him before his death!]
"You don't understand. Do you think I'd act recklessly? Of course, I'll do it silently, so no one will ever realize I was the last person with him. System, do you know? A man's greatest weakness is always his own desire. And from what I can tell, this Prince is kind of a pervert. It shouldn't be too hard to lure him somewhere quiet, just the two of us."
There was no denying that Serelith was a smart girl. No one would ever doubt her when she said she had finished that game dozens of times—
Even though clearly, this wasn't the same game.
Ah, then a thought crossed her mind. The girl looked at the system again with a probing gaze before asking through her heart, "System, is this game actually a sequel to the first one?"
After waiting for a while, there was no answer. That made the girl blink several times, glancing awkwardly at Evander before looking forward again. "Come on, answer me. I need to understand how this game works if I want to win and return."
[Yes, this is a new game. But the missions are still the same. Every player must unite the fractured world—but not in a literal sense. This is the sequel to the first Shardrealm, titled Shardrealm: Legends Reborn.]
"Legends Reborn?" Serelith muttered unconsciously. "Does that mean this sequel game tells the story of a Legend who was reborn to unite the division that is not literal?"
And without realizing it, Evander actually heard that murmur, although it was unclear. In Evander's ears, it only sounded like incoherent babbling.
It was proven when the man now looked at Serelith with a puzzled expression. "What did you say? Do you need something?"
Serelith was startled when she heard a voice right next to her ear. But that only lasted a moment before she managed to neutralize her expression again with a smile. "Ah, nothing. I was just thinking about what His Majesty would say if he knew you brought me here."
Before Evander could open his mouth, Serelith's gaze was drawn to two figures who had just come out of the palace. The first was a tall, broad man with both eyes covered by a mask.
Well, there was nothing wrong with that man. It was just that when she saw him walking so confidently, Serelith realized how imposing he was, even though they hadn't exchanged a single word.
Judging from his appearance, Serelith could tell that the man seemed rather cold and indifferent.
Then behind him was a girl who looked like a princess. No, she wasn't wearing a graceful gown that swept the floor. The girl actually looked firm—just like Serelith.
But for some reason, Serelith could feel that the girl's aura was truly pleasant. And while Serelith was busy admiring her, suddenly the girl turned and looked straight into her eyes.
With difficulty, Serelith swallowed hard. That gaze was truly intimidating, even though the girl hadn't said anything.
And so, the two of them passed right by Serelith. But she didn't expect that they would stop directly in front of Evander, who was standing beside her.
The masked man glanced briefly at Serelith—making her smile awkwardly in an attempt to act polite—then looked back at Evander with a strange expression.
Was that man underestimating her? If that was true, then she regretted ever praising him and being unable to look away earlier.
Therefore, Serelith chose to keep her distance, folding her arms across her chest while still watching the interaction beside her.
"Again?" the man asked Evander after glancing at Serelith earlier.
The corner of Evander's lips lifted slightly, as if mocking. He looked straight past the man, toward the elegant girl behind him. "Why are you commenting on my life when you also brought this girl to our palace? What do you think Father would say if he knew his beloved son turned out to be not so different from me?"
The man looked at Evander for a few moments with his usual flat expression. "I'm also curious to see Father's reaction when the Crown Prince he chose—after sacrificing his other son—turns out to have never fulfilled his duties properly."
For the second time, the man cast his gaze toward Serelith.
Hey, what did that mean? Why did Serelith suddenly feel like these two were looking down on her and mocking her?
Alright, her defenses and the mask she had built so carefully finally collapsed. This time, she stepped right in front of the mysterious man and stared sharply at him. "Excuse me. Why do you keep looking at me with that strange expression?"
"Hey!"
Clearly, that wasn't a man's voice. And of course, it wasn't the masked man's voice either. From behind his body, the elegant girl suddenly appeared and faced Serelith directly.
Ah, this really looked like a showdown between two women defending their respective men.
"Lower your tone when speaking to Prince Christopher." The girl gave the warning firmly.
That was when Serelith felt a battle suddenly ignite within her. Her heartbeat went wild, even making her chest tremble. Her eyes immediately turned toward the masked man who apparently was Prince Christopher. "Prince?"