Chapter 1 Veronica

Although Hao Ren had long known about the whirlwind, rough-around-the-edges style of the knight princess, he never expected her problem to become even more serious after returning home. In fact, anyone who knew Veronica wouldn't be surprised, because everyone knew that all of the supernaturally talented princess's skill points were allocated to marching and fighting and personal combat. Once she left the battlefield, the chaos she caused could fill every book in the Tower of Mysteries. Even the kingdom's wisest scholars wouldn't want to figure out how much trouble this princess had caused since she was a child.

Anya stood in the flower bushes, immediately knowing that her sister had made a mistake again. This gentle girl, who looked exactly like Veronica but had an almost completely opposite temperament, smiled. "Sister, the imperial city is very safe—could you please not assume that I'm lost every time you can't find me in the room?"

Veronica looked at her sister and then at Hao Ren. Even she, as carefree as she was, couldn't help but feel embarrassed. "Uh... I mainly heard you were sick, and I was worried you'd faint somewhere if you ran outside in this condition."

"Thank you for your concern, sister. I'm already much better," Anya said with a smile. "Mr. Abaddon said I can get out of bed and walk around, which is better for my health."

Then she nodded to Hao Ren. "I apologize for making you laugh; my sister is always like this. Actually, I did get lost once when I was little, and she's been very nervous about this kind of thing ever since."

Veronica coughed twice. "Ahem, that was all in the past. Guardian, let's go inside and talk. I'll introduce you to my brother, Andrew."

Hao Ren was immediately curious and pointed to the little boy tucked under her arm. "Uh... then who is this?"

The little boy clamped under Veronica's arm was already red in the face, struggling with flailing limbs and making muffled noises. Only then did our knight princess seem to notice. She looked down and was immediately shocked. "Andrew! How did you get out?"

The young prince continued to struggle, using his hands to pry at Veronica's arm, and began to roll his eyes...

Veronica finally realized and frantically put the little prince down. The poor prince was already close to frothing at the mouth. He wobbled for a while after landing on the ground before finally stabilizing himself, then pursed his lips, ready to cry, but finally held it back and turned it into a series of violent coughs—he had originally been recovering better than Anya, but now he looked like the most seriously ill patient on the scene.

The nearby royal guards all looked into the distance without blinking, their faces red and their necks thick...

After this series of farcical episodes, the three royal family members and Hao Ren finally entered the room. The maids brought tea and delicate pastries, but the atmosphere in the room became a little awkward, possibly because the embarrassment from earlier hadn't passed.

Hao Ren also had the opportunity to observe Veronica's younger siblings more carefully. Anya didn't need much further description; other than her temperament and clothes, she was almost a slightly smaller version of Veronica, merely appearing slightly weaker because she hadn't engaged in martial arts. Hao Ren was mostly scrutinizing the little prince: Andrew looked to be around ten years old. Although he could be called a child, in the war-torn world of Collow, ten-year-old boys already had to prepare to stand on their own. However, this prince didn't show any signs of such ability. He appeared thin and weak, and his eyes didn't have the same lively light as Anya's. Like an ordinary little boy, he fidgeted in his chair, and crumbs of pastries fell onto his gorgeous clothes. He held a snack in one hand and a straw in the other: the prince was diligently blowing bubbles in his tea.

Seeming to notice Hao Ren's gaze, Andrew suddenly looked up and sat back rather restrainedly.

Clearly, he lacked the demeanor and courage expected of royalty.

At yesterday's banquet, Hao Ren happened to overhear some nobles whispering about Rudolf III's children. It was said that the king's twin daughters were the kingdom's jewels: Anya was exceptionally intelligent and had extremely high magical talent, while Veronica, although her personality was a headache, was a talented warrior and skilled in military strategy. Only the little prince, Andrew, was almost completely devoid of talent—including any kind of talent—and his personality was also unremarkable.

Now it seemed that the situation was as the rumors said.

However, the affairs of these royal heirs were not Hao Ren's focus. He was concerned about Anya and Andrew's health. When Rudolf III mentioned this matter that day, Hao Ren had keenly sensed that the king's worries seemed to be more than just his children's illness. Although he wasn't an expert at reading expressions, he had clearly noticed Rudolf III pausing when he mentioned Anya and Andrew's "illness."

These matters were not his concern, but they were, after all, Veronica's family, so he still wanted to pay some attention.

Hao Ren's gaze swept across the prince and princess's faces, noting that they were slightly pale, their lips were a little dry, and although they had recovered their spirits, there was still some fatigue in their eyes. But these were all normal symptoms of recovering from a serious illness, and there seemed to be nothing unusual.

Veronica happened to speak at this moment. "How could they suddenly get sick for no reason?"

Anya shook her head. "It was probably a cold from the recent weather changes. Mr. Abaddon said many people have been getting sick recently, all related to the weather. Although the dark side of Carnos can't be projected into the Barrier of Order, it still affects the climate of the orderly world. There have been frequent strong winds and sudden rain and snow on the plains recently, and the mages are already trying to artificially adjust the weather."

"I heard the king say it was quite serious. Would a cold keep you bedridden for so many days?" Hao Ren interjected. "Do you two get sick often?"

After hearing this, Anya couldn't help but glance at Hao Ren and slowly shook her head. "I've been weak since I was a child, but Andrew is very healthy. He hasn't been sick in years."

"I know a little bit about medicine," Hao Ren said casually, "especially some ancient diseases. Can you tell me what your symptoms were? I'm worried you might have contracted some kind of ancient infectious disease."

Veronica frowned. "That wouldn't be so unlucky, would it?"

Anya hesitated slightly before slowly saying, "The symptoms are very common: fever, weakness, and general fatigue, so severe that we didn't have the strength to get out of bed. Other than that, there were no traces of any lesions on our bodies. The warlocks once thought we were cursed, but that possibility was ruled out after examination. The mages also ruled out elemental invasion. In the end, the special medicine prepared by the alchemist worked."

"Special medicine?" Hao Ren asked with a frown.

Anya casually took a crystal bottle from a delicate box on the table. "This is it."

Hao Ren took the crystal bottle and found that there was about a third of a bottle of colorless, transparent liquid left inside. After unscrewing the cap, a wonderful floral fragrance floated into his nostrils. He put a little in his mouth, and there was nothing unusual about it.

He returned the crystal bottle to Anya. "Is the alchemist the Mr. Abaddon you just mentioned?"

"Yes, he was recommended by Duke Luen. It's said that his specialty is making various disease-curing potions."

"Duke Luen?" Hao Ren frowned. He wasn't interested in the upper echelons of Taros, let alone the kingdom's numerous nobles with their complex relationships. To exaggerate a little, even your own father would have to show his ID before you could be sure who was whose son. It was even more impossible for him, an outsider who had just arrived, to figure it out.

However, Duke Luen sounded like a highly influential person. There probably weren't many in the kingdom who could compare to him, and he should have some impression of him, but he couldn't remember anything about him at this moment.

Hao Ren thought carefully and concluded that the main reason was that he had run off as soon as the opening ceremony of the banquet ended last night, and hadn't participated in the later stages of making connections and recognizing relatives...

"It's normal that you don't know him," Anya said with a smile. "He's my father's most trusted right-hand man, the kingdom's leading power minister. You should have many opportunities to meet him in the future. He's not an easy person to get along with, but he's always fair, so maybe you can get along."

"Oh, oh..." Hao Ren nodded perfunctorily and asked, "By the way, did you come into contact with anything before you got sick? Like food you hadn't eaten before, or unfamiliar objects?"

"These questions have been asked many times, and of course the answer is no," Anya said, shaking her head. "We ate and used the same things as always, and even the people we came into contact with every day were familiar. It's unlikely that this is the reason."

At this point, even the slow-witted Veronica sensed the strange atmosphere surrounding Hao Ren and Anya's questions and answers. She frowned nervously. "Wait, Guardian, you don't suspect..."

Anya smiled at her sister. She waved her hand to dismiss the servants in the room and then said lightly, "He suspects that someone is trying to harm me and Andrew."

The atmosphere suddenly became heavy. The only one on the scene who didn't know what was happening was Andrew, who was still eating pastries. The little prince noticed that no one was talking, looked up for a moment, and then lowered his head to continue dealing with the pastries in his hand.

Hao Ren looked at Anya quietly. "It seems that you've thought about it yourself."