Inside Helena's dorm room.
"I heard you'll be joining the journey to meet the Dragon with the Guardian of the Nightmare Forest."
Helena sat calmly in her chair, nodding as she looked at her father sitting across from her. "As Roswell Academy's top student, Headmaster Theo has assigned me to join this expedition on behalf of the academy, since this year's student trial can't be held in the forest."
Count Raul Kamal, whose strong aura reflected his noble blood, looked very much like Helena, except his black hair was streaked with dignified gray, combed neatly backward. He handed her a small wooden box, about the size of an adult's palm, decorated with intricate carvings and dark green gemstones on each side.
"Good news after the academy canceled the exam students entered The Nightmare Forest. You know our family's history, don't you? The Nightmare Forest belongs to the Kamal family. Kill the Singing Witch, she stole what rightfully belongs to us."
Helena stared silently at the wooden box.
Count Raul stood up, glancing at her one last time. "Don't disappoint the Kamal family."
Helena bowed her head slightly. "Yes, Father."
His footsteps echoed softly across the room until the door closed behind him, leaving Helena alone, her gaze fixed on the small wooden box in front of her.
★★★
While the world was busy talking about the official opening of the Nightmare Forest's entrance, Tsana slowly opened her eyes, only to realize that the morning sky had already turned into the colors of dusk.
She shifted her position from lying down to sitting on the sofa, looking around in confusion.
She remembered the last thing that happened, Cayn was transferring the curse from her body into his own.
Tsana could feel that the curse energy within her had weakened slightly, confirming that Cayn had truly transferred a small portion of it to himself.
"You're awake, Master?" asked Zephyr, who had just entered the house.
"Yes," Tsana replied softly, lowering her legs until her feet touched the floor.
Zephyr placed a bamboo basket filled with freshly picked forest fruits on the table, pulled a chair in front of Tsana, and sat down. His sharp gaze locked on her face.
"For the first time last night, you didn't leave the house and actually slept peacefully. What happened when Duke Ennel came here yesterday? And why did the Kingdom suddenly announce that the entrance to the Nightmare Forest will be opened to the public? I worked so hard yesterday to make sure no one could enter, did I just waste my time?"
Tsana frowned slightly upon hearing a new name from Zephyr's mouth. "Duke Ennel?"
"You don't know Duke Ennel? The man who governs the northernmost region of the Zivilia Kingdom?" Zephyr asked.
Tsana shook her head.
For the past hundred years, ever since she became the Guardian of the Nightmare Forest, she had locked herself away in her home. She knew little about the outside world, neither the rulers of the kingdoms nor even the king himself. She only went out occasionally to gather information about the Dragon of Light's whereabouts.
Zephyr began explaining who Duke Ennel was, and only then did Tsana understand.
"He's the Dragon's friend," Tsana suddenly said, "and he's the one who requested the forest entrance to be opened to the public."
Zephyr's eyes widened. "HAAA?!"
Tsana nodded calmly. "Didn't you hear what the Dragon said that time? That I had just met one of his close friends? And the only person I met at the bar that day was Sir Cayn."
Zephyr placed his hand on his chin, deep in thought. "But how could the Dragon know that you met Duke Ennel? And how could Duke Ennel possibly be friends with the Dragon of Light? Wasn't the Dragon of Light just recently revealed to exist after centuries of being considered a myth? Besides, Duke Ennel himself only returned from an expedition to another continent a few years ago."
Tsana fixed her messy hair, slipped on her wolf leather boots that crafted by her own hands after a hunt months ago, and stood up. She put on her black cloak and picked up the waist high wooden staff leaning against the cabinet.
"It's likely that Sir Cayn can communicate with the Dragon over long distances using high level telepathic magic," she explained. "As for why they became friend-"
She paused for a moment, then continued as she fastened her cloak. "Didn't the Dragon appear in the northern region of the Zivilia Kingdom just a week ago? I'm not entirely sure, but perhaps at that time, Sir Cayn had also just returned, and they happened to meet."
Zephyr nodded slowly. "I see… that makes sense."
"Zephyr," Tsana called. Her tone was quiet but firm. "Do not make an enemy of Sir Cayn. He's far stronger than you think."
For some reason, Zephyr could sense a hint of caution in her voice. "What do you mean, Master?"
Tsana explained, recalling the oddities she had noticed every time she was near Cayn. "He can completely hide his mana from me. I can't even detect his presence. His control over mana is extraordinary, far beyond my own. I can't even measure his strength. And also-"
She remembered the moment Cayn transferred a portion of her curse into his body. That was an ability only a handful of beings could perform, those of immense power.
"I feel like he's not truly himself," she murmured.
Zephyr was stunned by every word his Master said about Duke Ennel. He couldn't believe that someone in this world could make his Master, someone unmatched in power sound so wary. But what confused him most was her last sentence. "I don't understand what you mean."
"He's mysterious, and it's as if he's hiding many secrets, He seems fake. Do you know what he did yesterday?"
Zephyr shook his head.
"He transferred a portion of my curse into his own body."
Zephyr's eyes went wide. "W-What?"
"That's why I want you to come with me on this journey to meet the Dragon. I want you to keep an eye on him."
A storm of emotions swirled inside Zephyr, confusion, shock, relief, and fear all at once.
He was confused and terrified by the frightening information about Duke Ennel, relieved that the curse's pain in Tsana's body had lessened, yet deeply unsettled by the thought of what kind of power the Duke possessed, and what his true intentions were.
He didn't know whether Duke Ennel was on the side of good or evil.
And Tsana's next words made him even more uneasy.
"Zephyr, every time I face Sir Cayn, for the first time in my life, I feel weaker than someone else."