Joan wanted to scream. It's been a few days since she found the weapon, and Hadwin still hasn't returned.

It is likely that the Demon Lord is preparing to awaken the god of hell. Time should be taken to find each chosen one before it is too late. Their world is time-limited, and every day wasted is a day that disappears forever.

On her desk were piles of old books and scrolls, gifts from the Queen. Legends about the aristocratic families and heroes of the past.

Unfortunately, they didn't keep her distracted for long.

The heroes came, defeated some huge monsters, and then there was peace. Usually, heroes die in the final battle, and even if they don't, they usually go on to change the world. Most have even established their own kingdoms or taken control of human empires. Unfortunately, there isn't a lot of information about the smaller details, and too much of it has gone over time.

There is information that the seven chosen ones are standing up against the Cloud of Death and its summoners, but there is no information on whether they have an eighth. With so many vague details, it's simply impossible to tell if there is someone like her, a failed hero.

She was mentally exhausted. With each step forward, it's as if ten more questions come up. She wished she could go back to the way she was.

Joan threw the book on the table and sighed. She couldn't read anymore. She needed to do something to get her blood flowing. Her eyes were drawn to the window of the room, and she slowly slid out of the bed, walked to the bed, and peered through the glass. She stared at the ground and sighed softly. Where is he?

"Hardwin, keep me waiting every time." She whispered, and her eyes were drawn to a small fenced field. A few figures stood inside, samurai training?

"It seemed like a great way to clear my head." She reached out and tried to hold the sword in her hand.

Nothing happened. "Seriously? Am I too weak to even use those ...... Oh," Joan said after a moment, then shook her head.

Joan almost ran to the closet and pulled it open. There were several pieces of clothing inside, even though they weren't what she was looking for, so she quickly pushed them aside and began to search in the drawers. She almost gave up hope when she opened the bottom drawer, which contained her own clothes. Cloaks, tunics, breeches. She threw her clothes onto the bed and quickly changed them. She folded her clothes and put them on the bed, then walked to the door and pulled it open.

Seeing a woman standing outside the door, she quickly closed the door. "Miss Joan?"

Hurry up and stabilize your emotions. A guard was waiting outside the room. She wondered if she was trapped here. Maybe a captive?

She slowly opened the door again, poking her head out. "Uh, hello. Who are you? ”

"Queen Emmeline has asked me to protect you here, and you will not be alone. My name - "

"You're my bodyguard?" "What's wrong?" Joan asked, trying to keep her voice calm.

"Of course, do you want to go out? I can—"

"No," Joan said quickly, interrupting the woman again. "I just...... Uh......" She looked around the room for a moment, then her eyes fell on the empty tray with a dirty cup and bowl on it.

"I'm done eating, hoping to get a servant to bring it to the kitchen."

"Oh, of course. If you need to call a servant, all you have to do is ring the doorbell. The woman asked.

"Oh yes. Yes. Bell. I completely forgot and I'm sorry," Joan said. "I think I'm going to take a nap, okay? Can you guarantee that I won't be bothered? ”

"If you wish. Although I-"

He closed the door, leaned against it, and sighed softly. She felt trapped. Her heart pounded, and panic soon began to kick in, even as she desperately tried to suppress it.

The queen had protected her. She once fought for days at a time without rest, and the last thing she needed was a few days off because of some minor injury. She feels good and now has no broken bones.

Joan glanced out the window again. Minute by minute. Hardwin should be back by now, but he didn't. She couldn't wait, there was no such thing in this world.

"But what if I go to him?" She whispered, her eyes widening slightly. She could only think of a few places he might go, either his home or, more likely, the front line. If he had come back sooner, they would have met on the road. Then she doesn't have to wait, just go to another chosen person.

Joan sighed, lay back on the bed, and gave up on the idea. "It was a stupid plan," she said to herself. "You don't know where he is, even if you know what kind of threat he's dealing with right now, it's a bit confusing. You're likely to make everything worse, stop being stupid," she told herself, trying to force herself to listen by saying the words. But she couldn't just sit here and wait. She felt like she was slowly going crazy.

"That's enough." She finally spoke, then stood up and took a few more steps towards the door. She paused, quickly changed her mind, and walked to the servant's door against the wall.

It blended almost seamlessly with the wall, with a small latch, which she kept locked, not liking the fact that someone sneaking near her, opened softly, and she poked her head into the hallway inside. "Hello?" She shouted.

There was no response. She walked in and closed the door behind her, a slight "click" as the lock was in place. Unfortunately, she soon realized that she had made a small mistake. Only a few tiny rays of light entered the passage through the tiny cracks in the stone.

She leaned against the wall and fumbled, trying to find a candle, but nothing.

"We always rush in, don't we, heroes?" She asked herself, and slowly walked down the passage.

After walking a few steps, the mood began to relax. Even though it is not visible, the walls are smooth and obviously well cleaned.

She had only walked for a while before she came to an empty room with an unlocked passageway. She's not a prisoner here. If she were, they wouldn't have opened such an obvious escape route.

She felt nervous and excited and began to walk a little faster.

Joan screamed and tried to reach for the wall, but it was smooth and there was nothing to hold onto. She plunged into the darkness, propping herself up and covering her face, ready to land wherever she landed.

With a snap, she fell face down to the ground. The drop is only a few inches, which is embarrassing. At least no one saw it, which made her breathe a sigh of relief.

There was a click that made her look up, and then she was blocked by a door that opened in the passageway. She quickly covered her face again, trying to clear her vision and look up at the blurry scene.

"Who are you? What are you doing here? An angry voice asked. She felt something hard poking her arm, but in the glare light she could only make out a vague figure.

"Joan," she whispered, then tried to push the thing away from her arm. It sliced into the cold metal of her cloak, the blade.

"Joan? I don't know, and you're not one of the servants. The voice said firmly. The sword pushed forward a little more, causing her to take a step back. "You're a bit small for an Assassin, aren't you?"

However, the word "assassin" made her feel a little panicked. "Wait, no! I am a guest of the Queen under Lord Hardwin Duscram. ”

Her eyes finally adjusted, and she could see the figure. He was dressed in fine clothes dyed dark green, a nobleman? Judging by the wrinkles on his face and his bushy beard, he was even older than Hardwin. However, what she was most worried about at the moment was the sword. She felt an adrenaline rush when she saw his arm strained.

Instinct works like it did a thousand times before. The sword stabbed at her, and she had moved. Magic surged through her body, increasing her strength and speed, and she was able to pull back enough distance to keep the blade from hitting her. She then kicked hard and tried to hit his hand.

He took a step back, turning the blade toward her feet. She pulled it back, barely touching the edge of the boot.

He did another push. Luckily, with the lights in the room, she can now see what's in the hallway. She folded her knees, rolled over, and stood up. The blade was only inches away from her, but she couldn't help but laugh.

He's just another person like her. If it weren't for her magic to enhance her body, he would probably be faster than her, but as long as she can maintain her spells, his only advantage is his sword.

However, when he pushed it against her again, she took a step back and dodged the knife. That gave him plenty of room to throw his fist again.

Such a small passage, when he stepped forward and swung his knife to slash people, the blade was stuck in the wall, making him vulnerable for a moment.

Her left hand flashed upwards and struck him under his wrist, and her right hand jerked upwards and pierced into his solar plexus. The slam sent him stumbling back down the passage. Unfortunately, he neither dropped his sword nor fell. He raised his sword again, and she burst through the door and into his room.

She was ready, and he caught up, but he didn't attack again. He had been defensive before, but to her surprise, his guard had relaxed slightly. "You're just a kid," he said.

"That's what I said," she said quickly, quickly scanning the room for anything that could be used as a weapon. Blankets on the bed, maybe. The chair next to the table looks light. She also saw some bags, though she doubted she could find them quickly enough and rummage through them to find the weapon before he stabbed her.

"No, you don't," he said coldly. "Why do you ...... Wait a minute. You're that kid, aren't you? He asked. It's the person His Majesty has been stammering! ”

"I did say that!" She said quickly. "Do you still want to kill me?"

"What? No! Of course not," he said, slowly lowering the blade. "And I'm not trying to kill you. If I were, kid, you wouldn't be alive. I thought you were an assassin and just stalking around the wall. ”

An irritation rose in Joan's heart. Didn't you want to kill her? She knew someone was trying, and there was nothing in his movements but killing intent. "Of course it feels like you."

"If I wanted you to die, I would never allow you to get so close. I must admit that your speed really surprised me. You almost got hurt with that blow. Maybe in a few years you can try your luck again in the ring. ”

Now she could also see the bruises on his wrists and the fact that he was short of breath. "You only say that because you feel pain from being beaten by a child."

This made him pause, and he puffed up his chest slightly, then coughed lightly. Thinking of this, she couldn't help but feel a little complacent. "Hit by a child? Never. Maybe you don't know me, I'm the first sword of Count Ivan. ”

"The first cut?" Joan asked. Here we go again, that familiar feeling. She swore they had seen it before. Maybe in her past life?

The old man's eyes narrowed. "The protector of the coming of the apocalypse. He- wait. I know you now. You're that kid. That prodigy. What are you doing sneaking through the walls to come here? ”

"I was brought here by the electorate." She wondered if it would be considered rude to hit him again. She was pretty sure she could get close and stop him from drawing his sword if she wanted to.

She quickly put those thoughts aside and kicked herself hard in the heart, if she hadn't been in enough trouble if she hadn't been beaten up for being treated like a child.

"I see," Ivan said, crossing his arms. "I didn't expect Your Highness to be so infatuated with you as a child. That doesn't explain why you'd want to sneak through the walls, though. ”

"I felt like I was stuck, I wanted to go out for a walk, but I didn't want to be watched. His Highness's protection of me is incredible, so I think sneaking out is a must"

"yes. Of course," he said, his tone much softer now. "Your Highness always wants to do whatever he wants, doesn't he? I can't say that I particularly blame you for wanting to be free. ”

A glimmer of hope rose in Qiao An'an, and he nodded hurriedly. "So I don't think you can pretend that this never happened?"

He sighed softly and shook his head. "I can't. I fear that if I let this matter go, it will bring shame not only to me, but also to my master. ”

"But-"

"I'm not without kindness, though," he said firmly

"Thank you. I swear I won't try again. She whispered.

"Good," he said, and walked towards the door. "I hope you understand, I have to escort you back to your room."

She nodded softly again and sighed softly. "Of course."

On the way back through the halls of the castle, she felt nothing but shame. She gets some confused looks, which only makes things worse. After a moment, he glanced down. "Can I make one more suggestion?"

"Yes?"

"The next time you decide to walk through such a dark passage, you should bring a weapon to protect yourself. If someone thinks they're being attacked and accidentally hurts the Queen's guests, that's not okay, isn't it? ”

This made her cheeks flush, and she quickly looked away from him. "My sword was recently shattered in a terrible battle. I haven't replaced it yet. ”

"Really? It's a shame. I remember a few games you had in the academy and it must have been difficult not to have a knife of your own. ”

Joan nodded slightly. "You don't know."

Of course, by the time she returned to her room, the guards stationed outside had reached a point of frantic, almost pushing her onto the bed and making her vow to call her if she heard anything else.

Although the battle was short, it was exciting. What's more, she won. Even if he denied it, she knew she could take him.

She glanced out the window and sighed. Although the guards insisted that she rest after that "ordeal", she doubted how long she could hold out. It wasn't dusk yet. Although she felt a little tired, she would take a break and then continue to read those books.