Losing one Holy Sword is a sad story.

Losing two Holy Swords is a disgrace beyond measure.

Ivan was utterly dejected. A phantom pain throbbed faintly between her thighs, as if the departed sword spirits were making one final cut with her.

What was the point of dwelling on what had already happened?

I’ll remember this grudge.

Steeling herself, Ivan continued listening closely to the soldiers’ conversation.

Was it over already?

She looked back and saw nothing but empty space behind her. A few men, arms slung over one another’s shoulders like they were leaving work, were heading around another corner of the royal palace.

Follow them.

Ivan settled on a plan almost instantly. Taking tiny steps, she followed the blabbering old men ahead of her. As the distance between them shrank, her nerves wound tighter and tighter.

Luckily, they didn’t look back. They just kept walking.

After passing a checkpoint, they disappeared around the far corner.

Ivan stayed where she was instead of following. The guards were patrolling the road so thoroughly that no one could slip past unnoticed. Getting out without removing her cloak wouldn’t be easy.

But if she took off her cloak, wouldn’t she give herself away immediately?

Ivan was starting to lose her nerve when a carriage suddenly stopped nearby. A little girl with a sword at her waist climbed out.

More importantly, the patrolling soldiers seemed to be heading over there. It was a once-in-a-lifetime chance to make a getaway.

Ivan didn’t hesitate. While the soldiers were busy greeting the carriage, she darted away.

“Did something just run past me?” The sword-carrying girl blinked in surprise.

“No, you must’ve imagined it, Miss Susie. The match is about to start. I’ll take you to the arena.”

……

After escaping by the skin of her teeth, Ivan let out a breath. She’d run so fast that her stomach was full of gas, and now it really hurt. Rubbing her bloated belly with one hand, she took the chance to look around.

Unlike the solemn atmosphere of the Royal City, this place felt more like a bustling market district. Stalls selling all sorts of small goods crowded the storefronts, and hawkers’ cries filled the air.

Remembering the direction the soldiers had gone, Ivan made her way to a lively-looking venue. She peered inside and saw all kinds of demonkin. There were Blood Clan members, of course, along with other monsters waving flags and cheering.

Were the Blood Clan really this open-minded?

Ivan thought back over what she’d seen on the way there. The palace district had been full of Blood Clan members, while other monsters were more common in the market district. That meant this was still Blood Clan territory, and those other monsterfolk were probably immigrants.

That seemed to explain it.

After looking around for a while, Ivan guessed this was the arena everyone had been talking about.

Curious, Ivan blended into the crowd and followed everyone to the spectator stands.

She deliberately chose a seat near an exit. That way, even if Vivian spotted her, she could make a lightning-fast getaway.

To be safe, Ivan glanced toward the exit again. Once she confirmed people could come and go as usual, her tense heart finally settled.

The arena was exactly what its name suggested: a place filled with sweat and blood, where skilled fighters from the same or different races faced off.

Watching all this made Ivan hesitate.

It wasn’t quite like the descriptions she’d read in books.

Her kingdom’s textbooks said that people suffered under monster rule. The monsters were always fighting, or on their way to fighting. They pillaged, slaughtered, and committed every kind of evil, so humanity had to wipe them out and bring them light and hope.

That was what the books said.

But why… was what she saw so different?

Ivan decided to watch quietly. The thought of stepping into the arena to show off never even crossed her mind. She hadn’t trained in sword intent to act cool. She was working toward the beautiful world her master had described.

She wanted to protect the human kingdom and fight for a better tomorrow.

But in reality, her closest teammate had betrayed her and sold her to the notorious Blood Clan Queen. After the Queen pulled a series of wild moves, Ivan had ended up becoming her daughter.

No matter how she looked at it, she was drifting farther and farther from the goal she’d set for herself.

Disappointment flashed through Ivan’s eyes, then was quickly swallowed by a blaze. Her gaze grew firm again. She hadn’t lost yet. She would take back what she’d lost with her own hands.

“Where’s the doctor? We’ve got an injured person down! We need help!”

Ivan and the other spectators were drawn to the commotion in the arena. A white-haired little girl with a sword stood there, hands on her hips, looking delighted as she called out:

“I’ll take on ten!”

Ivan vaguely recognized the white-haired girl. She seemed to be the one who’d gotten out of the carriage earlier. She hadn’t expected to run into her here.

She thought her name was Susie.

Ivan’s thoughts wandered as the noise all around her rose and fell. Just then, someone nudged her.

“Mister… no, miss, would you like to buy a newspaper?”

Ivan lifted her head and noticed a little girl walking past with a basket. Since Ivan was sitting by the aisle, she quickly caught the newspaper seller’s attention.

“No, thanks.”

Ivan waved her away. This time, it wasn’t like with the maid, when she simply hadn’t wanted one. She had no money.

The saying that money makes the world go round was absolutely true.

With no money to her name, Ivan probably couldn’t even afford a boat ticket if she escaped.

“Then I’ll give you one, miss. Think of it as an apology for calling you the wrong thing.”

And just like that, a newspaper landed on Ivan’s cloak.

Free things always felt extra precious, and Ivan was no exception. She raised a hand to stop the little newspaper seller.

“What’s your name?”

“Are you asking me, miss? I’m Rosa. If you want to buy a newspaper, you can find me at Beimulande Bakery on Wintermoon Street. But please don’t come by at night—unless you want a box of matches that can light up the dark.”

Rosa smiled and hugged the newspapers in her arms. Her innocent, carefree expression left Ivan stunned for a long moment.

Once again, she began to question what her textbooks had said about the Blood Clan.

The Blood Clan didn’t seem as bad as she’d imagined.

Ivan stayed quiet and kept watching the commotion in the arena. From what the people around her were saying, the girl named Susie really had taken down ten burly men in one go. In the end, she seemed to have gotten carried away, and the soldiers had led her away from the ring.

“Let go of me! I’m not done having fun!”

“Miss Susie, you’ve already won by a landslide. Give someone else a chance.”

“Fine. You’re impossible to argue with.”

After Susie left, the arena’s excitement only grew. Ivan found it strange. After all that commotion, shouldn’t things have quieted down for a while? Why did the energy here keep climbing?

At that moment, a girl in a formal dress appeared at the arena entrance and slowly made her way down. Every step drew countless eyes.

Under the crowd’s eager gaze, the girl slowly descended the steps. Just as she was nearly at the bottom, she suddenly stopped beside a cloaked figure and stood still.