Chapter 04

The Pandenion Empire, with its long and storied history, firmly believed in a prophecy:

“Among the twins born into the imperial family, the second child will become the calamity that opens the gates of Hell.”

And in the year 341 of the Imperial Calendar, the prophecy finally began to unfold.

A tragedy occurred when the Empress gave birth to twins.

The second child, believed to be the ominous existence destined to open the gates of Hell, was secretly abandoned in the cursed Black Forest immediately after birth.

It was the doing of her father, Marquis Luteo, who believed the child would become an obstacle to the future of both the Empress and their family.

But the cruel fate foretold by the prophecy did not break as easily as they had hoped.

The beginning of everything was when the baby, whom everyone thought had died, was taken in by Hedius, the leader of the Shadow Thieves’ Guild, which had made its home in the Black Forest.

Leo was raised by the thieves’ guild, but a certain incident became the turning point that caused him to fall into darkness.

That incident was when Hedius, whom Leo had regarded like a father, suffered a terrible tragedy due to an unknown event.

‘Even the historians were never able to discover what that incident actually was.’

On top of that, when Leo eventually learned that he was a prince of the Pandenion Empire—the very empire that had abandoned him—and the seed of the cursed calamity, his fury grew beyond control.

After that, beginning at the age of fourteen, Leo joined forces with the Shadow Thieves’ Guild and began taking control of the Empire. By the time he was eighteen, he had become an emperor who held the entire continent in the palm of his hand.

Yet despite all those achievements, he was ultimately a tragic figure who, just as the prophecy foretold, opened the First Gate.

—Or so they said.

But no matter how I looked at him, the Leo standing before my eyes right now was nothing more than a small child.

Suddenly, I found myself thinking something I hadn’t considered before.

‘This isn’t exactly something I have the right to say when I was resenting you only moments ago, but… you really did have an unfortunate life, didn’t you?’

Now that I was facing Leo as a child who had been abandoned by everyone, rather than the emperor he would eventually become, my heart softened a little.

I let out a small sigh and murmured,

“But I couldn’t help hating you, either. I hope you can understand that.”

As I spoke, I carefully took hold of the child’s hand, which was suspended in midair, reaching toward me.

His small hand was slightly rough from the calluses earned through what must have been arduous training, yet it was still soft.

‘Whatever happens in the future, now that things have turned out this way, I can’t simply resent you for who you are right now.’

Leo might have simply followed an unwanted path because of the life and fate that had been given to him.

Besides, they said that divine protection still existed during this era, and that was why the prophecies were supposedly so accurate.

‘But the fact that I, someone who didn’t exist in the past, now exist here means that this child’s fate—and the future of the world—can change too.’

That had to be why I’d been given this quest.

If I remembered the historical records that described the incident that caused Leo to fall into darkness and prevented those events from happening beforehand, perhaps I could change his fate of opening the Gate as well.

And my future…

‘After completing the quest, I’ll start a new life here. A life where I can experience complete freedom and happiness.’

There was hope.

Only then did my complicated feelings finally begin to feel a little lighter.

“I sincerely hope that this time, you’ll be able to avoid the fate you’ve been given, Leo Astra.”

With a faint smile, I lowered my head and whispered beside Leo’s ear.

As if it had been waiting for that very moment, a gentle spring breeze brushed lightly through my hair.

After that, I didn’t hesitate any longer and blinked, tapping the (Accept) button.

The system window shook unstably for a moment before soon displaying a new message.

[System EVA: Quest accepted. From this moment onward, Hunter’s journey officially begins, and the ‘View My Status’ window has been activated.]
[(Confirm) / (Cancel)]

I quickly pressed Confirm.

<Real Name> Ibi
<Age> 21
<Class/Rank> Healing-Type Healer / F-Rank
<Skills> Heal / Shield
<Passive Skill> Holy Power
<Attack Power> 210 / 430
<Defense> 1520 / 1930
<Healing Power> 851 / 2610

‘What? My nickname and real name are the same? And all of my stats are exactly the same too…’

Apparently, although my body had changed, my abilities and soul had remained intact.

‘I suppose it’s better than having no abilities at all, but they gave me a quest to save the entire world and still left my stats exactly the same? Isn’t that a little unfair?’

I couldn’t help grumbling.

“If you’re going to do this, couldn’t you at least give me some ridiculously powerful abilities? Like, say, the stats of an S-Rank Hunter or something—”

That was when I heard a voice.

“Angel, what’s an S-Rank?”

What? Is there really someone who doesn’t even know what that is?

I’d momentarily forgotten reality while looking at the system window, so I slowly began explaining.

“Um, well, an S-Rank is—”

No. Before explaining that…

‘Wait. The stopwatch?’

I looked down with a dumbfounded expression.

Leo was staring at me with curious eyes.

Oh, right. This is the Empire in the past!

“What’s a Hunter, too? Is that a word from Angel’s country?”

Apparently, the stopwatch had disappeared the moment I accepted the quest.

‘What do I do? He probably heard everything…’

Leo stared at me strangely as I repeatedly opened and closed my mouth like a fish out of water.

Then, all of a sudden, his pretty brows furrowed.

“I’ve been wanting to ask you this for a while, but… are you really a human, Angel? I really thought you were an angel. If you’re actually human, though, that could be a problem…”

The sparkle in the child’s eyes changed in an instant.

I could tell exactly what was going through Leo’s mind just from that.

Someone who stared into empty space and talked to herself was already strange enough. But if she kept spouting bizarre words that made no sense even when heard aloud, it was only natural that she would seem suspicious.

And this Black Forest was rumored to be cursed. Unless someone had completely lost their mind, no one would casually wander into a place like this!

‘Ugh. If I were him, I’d be suspicious too.’

At this rate, I might not even be able to start the quest, let alone complete it.

Before I knew it, the words simply burst out of my mouth.

“I-I am! Yes, I’m an angel! I came down here… to protect you!”

I awkwardly lifted the corners of my mouth and smiled brightly.

‘Well, it’s technically true, isn’t it? I’m going to protect you from now on, after all.’

Unexpectedly, Leo’s eyes sparkled with innocent wonder.

“Really?”

“Of course. Angels don’t lie, you know?”

“The adults said that guardian angels only descend upon children chosen by God. I guess it really was true.”

At my words, the child’s cheeks flushed with emotion, and I suddenly felt a stabbing pang of guilt.

That was probably something the adults had told him to encourage him to grow up into a good person.

But to think that that Leo actually believed such a fairy-tale story without question.

I’d assumed that being raised by thieves would have made him rough and hardened.

But unexpectedly, Leo seemed even more innocent than a child his age should have been.

‘This is going to be easier than I thought.’

Having gained confidence after telling one lie, I promptly raised a finger to my lips.

“But shh. It’s a secret between us. If everyone finds out that I’m a real angel, I’ll disappear in an instant.”

“—Ah! I understand! I won’t tell anyone. I’ll definitely keep Angel’s secret!”

Just as Leo finally realized the gravity of the situation half a beat late, I hooked my pinky around his and sealed our promise with my thumb.

That was when—

“Leo!”

A deep male voice suddenly echoed from within the forest.

Leo flinched and grabbed my arm, shaking it as if asking me to put him down.

The moment his feet touched the ground, he scurried behind my back and hid there.

Soon, men dressed in thick leather clothing began emerging one after another, quickly surrounding us.

“We found Leo. But he’s with some suspicious woman, ain’t he?”

Their sturdy physiques and scar-covered hands and faces showed that they had undergone extensive training.

The moment I saw them, I realized.

‘They’re the Shadow Thieves’ Guild.’

The very group that would soon take control of the continent alongside Leo.

As if a small, delicate woman like me wasn’t even worth noticing, a middle-aged man with a thick beard suddenly bellowed,

“Leo, just when are you planning to stop causing trouble?! There hasn’t been a single peaceful day because of you!”

But the answer that came from Leo’s mouth was completely unexpected.

“Take everyone back, Hustler! I’m not going back to the village!”

“…Huh?”

Unable to understand what was happening at all, my face went pale.

‘The thieves’ guild is supposed to be on Leo’s side. So why?’

It seemed there was some story between Leo and the thieves’ guild that I knew nothing about.

“What do you mean, you’re not going back?! If you’re afraid you’ll be punished for running away from home, then—”

“It’s not like that. The Guild Leader wouldn’t punish me over something like this.”

As he spoke with his face buried against my waist, Hustler slapped a hand against his forehead in frustration.

Meanwhile, a freckled man glanced at me before speaking to Hustler.

“Vice Guild Leader. Could that woman be the kidnapper who lured Leo away and tried to abduct him?”

As though only now realizing that I existed, Hustler turned his wrinkled face toward me.

“That’s right. I was wondering why some strange young woman was here with Leo… Grab that suspicious woman!”

Ah.

I knew something felt ominous.

‘I-I should run first…’

I awkwardly smiled and began slowly backing away.

That was when—

“Eek!”

As if issuing a warning, a black object was suddenly thrown down in front of me.

Dark red blood instantly soaked the wild grass at my feet.

Looking closer, I realized it was the very beast that had charged at Leo earlier, trying to kill him.

“Guild Leader!”

A moment later, a man with black hair billowing behind him strode forward.

In an instant, the people surrounding us parted like the Red Sea, and the atmosphere around us sank into a heavy silence.

“What is all this commotion? Leo.”

With a voice as low as the depths of a cave and a cold, imposing presence that could have frozen even birds in flight, the man silenced everyone simply by appearing.

I knew who he was.

He was none other than Hedius, the leader of the Shadow Thieves’ Guild—and the man Leo would come to regard as a father.