N-No… that’s impossible.

It has to be fake!

Ivan immediately dismissed the thought. She had no desire to own such a strange name as “Wei Yue.”

In her panic, her little hand nearly knocked over the plate of breakfast. Ivan hurriedly reached out to steady it, narrowly preventing a disaster.

She hadn’t eaten in days. Of course she was hungry.

Her snow-white little hand picked up a slice of bread. As if remembering something, Ivan raised her hand and summoned Aster again.

“Want to have breakfast together?”

“Sword spirits don’t need to eat.”

So it was the same as before. In that case, she’d just have to eat for both of them.

Ivan happily dug into breakfast. It wasn’t exactly a feast, but to a little Blood Princess who hadn’t eaten in ages, even a steamed bun tasted like the finest delicacies.

Once she’d eaten her fill, Ivan’s little hand drifted to the blood bottle on instinct. That was when she froze.

Drinking blood was practically taboo for humans.

Especially fresh, untreated blood products like this. They came with a much heavier sense of guilt than chicken, duck, or goose blood.

As Ivan’s little hand rested on the blood bottle, Aster silently watched everything.

The more silent Aster remained, the more awkward Ivan felt.

It was like copying answers right in front of your teacher while they pretended not to notice.

“Do you think I look weird right now?” Ivan turned to look at Aster.

The golden-haired girl nodded, then added gently, “Even the ancestors of the Blood Clan couldn’t overcome their thirst for blood. It isn’t your fault.”

Aster’s reassurance cheered Ivan up quite a bit. Thinking about it, if she hadn’t had Aster around to chat with, she might really have gone stir-crazy cooped up in her room all this time.

It wasn’t as if she could go have a heart-to-heart with Vivian, right?

She’d be better off knocking her out cold with a stick.

As Ivan sat there thinking, she drained the bottle.

She wanted more.

Her stomach was so hungry~

Aster seemed to notice Ivan’s gaze. She tugged the holy robe covering her upward, revealing her snow-white arm.

“That’s not what I meant.”

“Oh. You’re still hungry, aren’t you?”

“That doesn’t mean I need to drink your blood. You’ve already suffered so much by following me. If I started using you as a blood bag too, wouldn’t you think I was some villain who only took advantage of you? Haven’t you ever thought about running away?”

“I don’t know. A sword spirit follows its master forever. That is my life’s mission.”

Ivan froze for a second, then slowly parted her lips. “Thank you.”

Having someone understand you during hard times was always a happy thing.

As she cleared away the plates, Ivan remembered something else. What was she supposed to do with the rest of her life?

She was definitely going to get revenge. But she couldn’t even get out of the Blood Clan’s imperial palace right now, let alone return to the human kingdom.

The more Ivan thought about all this, the more her head began to ache.

She should go for a walk. It’d be a good chance to get familiar with the layout of the Blood Clan’s imperial palace. Sitting in her room and thinking about escaping wouldn’t get her anywhere.

You have to step outside before hope can find you.

That was the motto of a senior from Ivan’s team. Even though that senior had already turned into light, those words still guided Ivan onward.

After tidying up her appearance, Ivan realized there was a big problem. If she went out just like this, she was bound to attract some unwanted attention.

Ivan rummaged through the wardrobe and found a robe with a layer of dust on it. She took it out and looked it over. Why did it seem so familiar?

Whatever. She’d put it on first.

Once she’d changed into fresh clothes, Ivan felt inexplicably better. It was a completely new feeling, one she’d never experienced before.

But before heading out, she still needed to bring one precious thing.

Ivan lifted the covers and tucked the wooden sword at her waist. Then she put her cloak back on and smoothed it out as much as she could.

Once everything was ready, Ivan pushed open the door, which had been left ajar. She waited a moment, then poked her head out and looked both ways. Seeing no guards, she crept toward the light.

“Who’s there?”

A sharp male voice reached Ivan’s ears. Her body stiffened at once, and cold sweat trickled from behind her ear down her neck. She stood frozen in place, not knowing what to do.

“Cats and dogs aren’t allowed in the palace! Someone, catch that cat wandering around!”

Oh, it was just cats and dogs.

Ivan let out a long breath and headed straight for the light.

Freedom seemed just within reach.

Not long after she left, a soldier bowed toward the shadow in the corner and said:

“Your Majesty, I’ve followed your instructions and let… helped Her Highness Wei Yue leave her bedchamber safely.”

The soldier quickly corrected his wording. If he’d really said he’d “let the princess out,” his own head might have been given an indefinite vacation.

“You did well. Continue according to plan. Have your men spread the word that I’ll be attending the arena’s tournament.”

“Yes…”

The captain lowered his head, not daring to ask too much about the Queen’s decision.

Before long, the palace was abuzz with talk of the tournament.

Walking ahead, Ivan quietly pricked up her ears when she heard the discussion behind her.

“Have you heard? The Queen’s going to the arena for the tournament today. I never thought Her Majesty would come play at some common folk’s game.”

“What do you know? The Queen must be making a secret inspection in disguise. Just watch, okay? You really think you’d dare to beat her?”

“But I heard Her Majesty isn’t the cold, heartless type. Maybe she really just wants to have fun with the people.”

“Who do you believe—them, or me when I say I’m the Blood Emperor?”

“I think I’ll believe him.”

…

The conversation reached Ivan’s ears, and her little head began rapidly processing what she’d heard.

The arena?

Vivian was going to compete too?

What was that thousand-year-old fox up to now?

Never mind. Better to ignore it. It might be a trap.

Taking into account all the strange things happening in her room, Ivan was sure this was all one of Vivian’s traps.

Otherwise, there was no way all these things could’ve lined up so conveniently.

But just as she was about to leave…

Another voice by her ear caught her attention.

“There’s another piece of news. I heard it from the captain. The Queen’s going to announce something important tonight, something that concerns the future of our Blood Clan. Apparently, the Queen has a daughter, and she’s right here in our palace.”

A daughter???

They couldn’t mean her, could they?

A hundred thousand alpacas stampeded through Ivan’s mind. She’d been a perfectly respectable demon-slaying swordswoman—when had she become the daughter of a monster? If word got out, people would laugh their heads off.

Ivan remembered asking her master, who was telling her a fairy tale when she was little, “What happened to the human hero in the end?”

Her master had replied with a sorrowful expression:

“To save humanity, the hero faced the Demon King and tragically lost his loyal Holy Sword forever. Without him, humanity would have no future.

“You must learn from his fearless spirit in the face of powerful enemies. That is what a swordsman should strive for throughout their life: to keep uncovering the mysteries of sword intent, until their heart is still as water and their resolve unbreakable, even when their sword is broken.”

As Ivan recalled the story, it started to feel more and more familiar.

Wait…

Wasn’t this exactly what was happening to her right now?

And it wasn’t as if she’d lost just one Holy Sword!