Chapter 1

The night was so deep and the streets could be perilous for a young man named Marcus who was walking cautiously with a metal tube in his right arm while his left arm was pressing on his wounded waist. He was staggering towards a narrow street until he met a dead end on his way. His senses began fading as he was gradually losing so much blood from his body, then his feet lost their strength, making him lean on the wall.

He decided to stay for a night there, because he worried that he might get caught and be killed if he went out. Only the light from a round moon glimmered the entire central region, and the breeze was so cold as it touched his bareskin. He thought that he had finally escaped from the group of criminals called "Ripper" trying to take his life, but they were able to track the trace of his blood on the street, and they saw him leaning on the wall, catching his breath.

The Rippers were a group of mercenaries and well-known for their heinous crimes, especially in assassinations. Marcus had no idea why this group wanted to kill him, he tried his best to make a way from them, but they were able to catch up with him. He saw them walking towards his direction, they were wearing a brown robe and each of them wielded a sword. Marcus noticed that the person in the middle of them had a longer sword, he unsheathed his blade and pointed it toward Marcus.

" What do you want from me? I'm just a commoner... So you can have nothing from me! ". Marcus took his metal tube and raised it against him as well. The 'man' grinned and said to him,

" Do you still want to fight? —"

The 'man' was startled when he saw Marcus' eyes blazing and fearlessly staring at him, then a crest began glowing a light-blue light from Marcus' chest. They were shocked when the light gleamed brighter.

" That Crest... ", the 'man' uttered. But the light gradually faded out, and it seems that it took a lot of Marcus' energy. Then the three men began murmuring on his back.

" Our Leader must know this. "

" Yeah, let us bring him over— ". The 'man' suddenly swung his blade and cut their necks. It was so fast that they couldn't react in time and just saw themselves collapsing on the ground while their blood splashing out of their neck.

" You...! "

Marcus glanced at them with a little strength left in his body. Then he saw the 'man' standing against the dead bodies of his comrades he killed. After that, the 'man' took off his hood and Marcus was surprised to see a face of a woman with long blonde hair and blue eyes holding a long blade tainted with blood. Despite losing so much blood, he was enchanted by her beauty, especially on how the moonlight reflected through her eyes. At that moment, he felt like an angel of death had come for his soul. But after a few seconds, he totally lost his consciousness.

The blonde woman drew near to him, and touched his face. And from her lips, she uttered,

" I've finally found you... Your Highness... "

The police patrolling in the area came and was shocked when he saw the blood flowing on the ground. He took out his gun and cautiously walked along the narrow path. He was startled when he saw the corpse of three men on the ground, and a young man leaning on the wall. The police noticed that he was still breathing and his wound from his waist had already been wrapped with cloth.

---

After 3 days, Marcus finally woke up and found himself lying on a bed in the hospital. He turned his head on his side and saw his little sister sleeping beside him. Marcus is 16 years old while his sister, Lianna, is 11 years old. Eventually, his little sister woke up as well, she looked at his brother's face smiling at her, and he said,

" Good morning Lianna! "

"... *Sob*... *Sob*... ". Tears dripped from Lianna's eyes. The despair and fear that she hid in her heart lighten up as she jumped towards his brother and embraced him.

" Sorry for making you worry, Lianna "

" I thought you're also going to leave me... *Sob* ". Lianna cried.

" That's not going to help, I promise... So please don't cry... "

Marcus and Lianna's parents died 5 years ago because of a car accident. After the burial, their grandparents took care of them. But that event put a grievous scar to Lianna's heart, so even now, Marcus was trying his best to comfort her. And because of what happened to him , he felt that he accidentally triggered her trauma again. However, Marcus was still confused on what happened, especially about the woman he saw that night, that kept his arms trembling in fear. It was the first time he experienced life-to-death situation, and he didn't expect that some people would chase out of his life, right after he left their school.

While Marcus was dazed, their grandmother came inside the room.

" I'm so happy to see you finally recovered, Marcus... After you get discharged, maybe you should explain everything to us, right? ". His grandmother was staring dagger at him, he couldn't help it but to get nervous and intimidated.

" Yeah, sure... hehe ", he replied.

" Well, Lianna, you should let your brother rest... By the way, Marcus, you have a visitor... He said that he was the principal of the school you applied with "

Marcus was startled.

" What!? I can't recall that I applied in any school ". He thought.

After Lianna and his grandmother left the room, a man wearing a suit came inside the room. He looked like a middle-aged man with a beard and white hair, and he cheerfully faced Marcus.

" It is nice to see you, I'm Jesse Benson, but you can call me Mr. White. I'm the principal of St. Celestine Academy... "

Marcus was surprised when he heard about the name of the school. St. Celestine Academy is one of the famous schools in the country located in the central region. And Marcus thought that it was impossible for a commoner like him to get involved with that prestigious school.

" I know you're still confused. But let me explain to you what's happening, Mr. Roscett... Or rather... the 5th Monarch. "