Colin and Max’s faces hardened as they unsheathed their swords from their belts.

“…Madam, stay here. We’ll be right back.”

Then, they followed the maid who had come inside asking for help, without even giving Yelena a chance to hold them back. Yelena, now alone in the bedroom, furrowed her brow with a troubled expression.

‘What’s going on outside?’

Seeing how the knights were called, the situation didn’t look good.

There were so many things she needed to confirm. Yelena looked for the call bell at the head of the bed, but before she pulled its rope, the door opened again. Two familiar faces appeared.

“Yelena!”

“Yelena, you’re awake.”

“Mielle… Uncle.”

Mielle ran over to the bed and pulled Yelena in for a hug. Yelena, caught off guard, hugged her back as she watched Marquis Linden approach.

“I see that you’re here too, Uncle.”

“Indeed, after pandemonium broke out at the capital… I fled here right away,” Marquis Linden replied, his face darkening. “This isn’t the time to be talking about this. Now that you’re awake, I’ll call a doctor.”

“No, that won’t be necessary.”

“Weren’t you unconscious for two days? Of course you should be examined by a doctor.”

Two days…

‘I was unconscious for two days.’

Yelena shook her head.

“I know my body well. I don’t need a doctor to look at me, so don’t worry.”

Yelena could now feel the energy flowing in her body clearly. It felt like something was filling her body from head to toe.

‘This must be divine powers.’

Was it because of the divine powers that she felt light, her head was clear, and her vision was sharp-sighted.

Marquis Linden studied Yelena’s complexion. She certainly looked like how she usually did—no, she looked even better.

“Very well, then… If you say so, Yelena.”

“More importantly. Uncle.”

“Yes?”

“How is the situation outside? What about the capital?”

“Ah, about that…”

Marquis Linden hesitated and then opened his mouth. He heaved a heavy sigh.

“There are monsters everywhere outside. You must have seen the monsters on your way here. They’ve occupied the outside of the castle, and the capital…”

He continued bitterly.

“I don’t know what’s going on there. I can’t get a hold of the capital, or anywhere, for that matter.”

“What? You can’t reach them?”

Yelena’s eyes widened.

“Indeed. Of course, I can’t send anyone to relay messages with what’s going on outside. The carrier pigeons are useless because of the flying monsters… And the magic communication devices aren’t working.”

As soon as Yelena heard that magic communication devices weren’t working, she studied the bracelet on her wrist.

‘…!’

She could see a crack in the mana gem. She fiddled with the bracelet with urgency, but it didn’t react.

‘This can’t be.’

Yelena’s face went white.

She had to contact her husband. If the bracelet was broken, then how…

“For now, we’ll have to get rid of all the monsters outside, but there are so many of them. It’ll be too much for the troops stationed here to handle.”

Marquis Linden wiped his face with a troubled expression.

“We’re waiting for the royal palace to send us soldiers, but…”

At that moment.

Crash!

The bedroom window broke with a loud noise and a large beak squeezed in through the gap.

“Kyaaak!”

It was a bird.

No.

‘A demon!’

Black feathers on a large body. Inside its beak were shiny teeth that were much too large and sharp to belong to a bird.

“R-run! Hurry, run away!”

Marquis Linden turned deadly pale. He took Yelena and Mielle with him and escaped from the bedroom.

Kreeeee!

Flap!

In the meantime, the window shattered completely and the demon infiltrated the bedroom, flapping its wings as it followed after them.

The corridor was too narrow for the demon’s wingspan. The demon kept bumping into things as it struggled to spread its wings, which fortunately, slowed it down. But still, its vast size couldn’t be ignored. Humans wouldn’t be fast enough to get away from it.

“Ah!”

At the most inopportune moment, Mielle twisted her ankle and fell. The monster caught up to her in the blink of an eye.

“Mielle!”

The monster’s beak fell over her head in an instant.

“No!” Marquis Linden screamed.

At that moment, Yelena slapped the monster in the face.

Boom!

The monster was blown away with a unbelieveable sound.

“…Y-Yelena?”