The moon had already climbed to thirty degrees. Stars twinkled above, barely offering enough light in the darkness surrounding him. Lucien had already released his aura, which would fend off any beast who might have attacked. He did not want to stop and fight when he could have used that time to reach the saintess earlier.

  A village finally appeared. He did not know exactly where the saintess lived, since it was only vaguely mentioned that her home was somewhere near the imperial academy in the northwest.

  ?

  Lucien had questioned several villages and uncovered some clues about the general direction. The last village he visited had heard of the saintess, though she was not known by the title of the ‘saintess’. Here, she was simply called the girl who could heal any wound.

  ?

  Lucien neared the village where the saintess lived after inquiring at several villages. Small boundaries of tree trunks marked the edge, and a village guard, barely armored, seemed to be dozing in his chair at the entrance.

  ?

  The guard, sensing the horse’s approach, woke abruptly and sprang to his feet, suddenly wary of Lucien.

  ?

  "Guide me to the house of the girl who can heal any wound, now." Lucien ordered. He was disgusted by the guard’s lack of vigilance and wanted to punish the man for neglecting his duty, perhaps even cut off his hand. He restrained himself.

  ?

  This body did not like weak people and he hated those who did their work halfheartedly.

  ?

  "W-Who are you?" the guard stammered, his voice shaking as he drew his sword.

  ?

  The guard was not entirely incompetent; his stance was decent for a place as backward as this.

  ?

  "I am Lucien Duskbane," Lucien answered. Since most knew his nickname rather than his given name, he added, "Northern Blade." Lucien was famously known as the Northern Blade, being the son of the northern duke.

  ?

  The guard trembled at the mention of the Northern Blade. Bowing deeply to Lucien, he said, "My lord, you are welcome. I will personally guide you to her house." His voice was resolute with servitude. This area was part of their territory, so it was only natural to obey the lord’s command.

  ?

  ***

  Melissa Waters smiled and hummed a tune as she stirred the boiling pot of potato soup on the stove. "Mom, I think the soup is ready."

  ?

  Melissa’s mother placed the cooked pot of rice on the table. "Sure, let me check it first."

  ?

  Her mother approached the stove, took the ladle from Melissa, and poured a little soup onto her hand to taste. "Mmm, it tastes good. Melissa, you are getting better at this. At this rate, you’ll please your future husband."

  This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

  ?

  "Mom, how many times do I have to tell you? I don’t want to get married yet. I want to attend the academy and explore the world." Melissa’s eyes sparkled at the mention of the academy and exploring the world. Ever since she read the story of the hero king who killed the demon god, she had wanted to attend the academy and have an adventure of her own.

  ?

  Melissa felt she was too young to marry. She also wanted someone who was charming, handsome, and powerful—someone who could shoulder through anything.

  ?

  "Oh! What are you thinking about so deeply? Go, hurry up and wake your father. We should eat before the food gets cold." Melissa’s mother broke her from her daydream. Melissa wiped away her imaginary drool and left the kitchen. Their home was not large enough for separate cooking and dining rooms; a small table was set in the corner of the kitchen for the family to eat together.

  ?

  Melissa reached her parents’ room and saw her father sleeping peacefully, muttering in his sleep. "You are too ugly to ask for my daughter’s hand. Take this kick, you bastard." Her father lifted his right leg as if to kick.

  ?

  Thud.

  ?

  And then he fell to the floor.

  ?

  Melissa laughed. "What kind of dream were you having, Dad?" she asked as she approached her father, who was lying on his back on the floor.

  ?

  "Instead of helping me, you’re laughing at me," her father grumbled.

  ?

  Melissa reached out her hands, and bright golden light flowed from her palms, spreading across her father’s body and healing any pain he had.

  ?

  "Even though I have seen it millions of times, your magic is always beautiful," Melissa’s father said.

  ?

  "Take this for laughing at me." He added as he reached out and pinched her cheek. Melissa quickly escaped, putting distance between them.

  ?

  "Aww, you are so awful. Don’t you feel any remorse for making your grown-up daughter cry?" Melissa said, covering her face with her hands and pretending to cry.

  ?

  Her father, instead of saying anything, stood up and left the room.

  ?

  "I hate you, Dad. I truly hate you," Melissa shouted as she watched his figure disappear through the door.

  ?

  She ran to the kitchen, where her father was already sitting and her mother was by his side. Melissa sat down with a grumpy expression. One seat was empty—her older brother was not present. He had become an adventurer and was somewhere in the empire, exploring dungeons. She wanted to follow in her brother’s footsteps.

  ?

  "What took you so long?" Melissa’s mother asked, raising an eyebrow.

  "Dad fell on the ground, and I was just trying to help him by healing his pain, but he pinched my cheeks. See how red they are?" Melissa said, showing her mother her cheeks. Her cheeks had indeed turned red. She could have used her healing magic on herself, but she wanted her mother to reprimand him.

  ?

  Instead of scolding him, her mother turned to him and asked, "How did you fall on the ground?"

  ?

  "Aww, Mom. Don’t you love your daughter?" Melissa complained grumpily.?

  "I just had a dream where some ugly guy was asking to marry Melissa. I kicked him in the butt, and that’s how I fell to the ground," her father answered, smirking at the end. He seemed proud of kicking someone in a dream, unaware that he had kicked so badly that he fell off the bed.

  ?

  "Dad, you did a great job. Give me a high five!" Melissa smiled, and they slapped hands together.

  ?

  "You and your dreams. Let’s eat dinner first," Melissa’s mother interrupted, not particularly pleased with the story.

  ?

  Soon, Melissa and her mother served the food onto the three plates.

  ?

  They all joined their hands in front of them and prayed together. "Thank you, goddess of light, for giving us food and shelter. Please keep your eternal love over our heads."

  ?

  Just as Melissa was about to dig her hand into the rice and potato soup,

  ?

  A man—no, not just a man, but a strikingly handsome man—stood in the kitchen doorway. He seemed tall, around six feet, with pitch-black hair perfectly slicked back. His bright silver eyes scanned the room, and his porcelain-white face betrayed no emotion. He wore an impassive expression, as if uninterested in the affairs of mortals. He looked like a statue come to life from one of the adventurer’s books Melissa had read.