[Dunha's POV]
"I wonder what's going on right now..." Dunha wondered. "My mother is acting as if I went missing for years and the people around my father are acting like they saw a divine being..."
While Dunha was wondering, her mother interrupted her internal talking.
"Dunha, why are you up this early?" Seo-Yeon asked.
"I-It was because I wanted to read a book!" Dunha answered. "I can't tell them that I was reading a book about war and lust... This answer should be good enough," she thought.
"Oh my?" said Seo-Yeon. "Well, it's good to read books. Would you like me to read it to you?"
"N-No! I-It's okay!" Dunha stuttered as she blushed. "I can't even imagine the amount of uproar I'll hear if they catch me reading that book! I'll have to keep everything to myself for now, since they won't believe me if I say that I was trying to find a way to save mother's life."
Seo-Yeon looked at Dunha suspiciously while smiling but decided to shrug it off.
"Alright then! Let's go have some breakfast. I'm sure you're hungry right now," said Seo-Yeon as she lifted Dunha off the ground.
Dunha silently nodded several times while internally sighing in relief.
"Phew! Crisis averted!" she thought.
As Seo-Yeon carried Dunha towards the exit, Henry was still with the guards and Dunha noticed that there was a sheathed sword planted in front of her father.
"Where did he get the sword from?" she wondered. "Oh, he got it from one of the guards."
Henry was currently standing tall with the planted sword between his feet.
"Is he trying to pose for a portrait?" Dunha wondered. "Was my father always this silly?"
"Darling, I think it's time to leave this place to eat. Let's not make her wait for too long," said Seo-Yeon as she placed her hand on Henry's shoulders.
"Oh? Very well," said Henry.
He then looked at Dunha's guards.
"From now on, one of you will let me or the queen know where Dunha goes," said Henry. "Did I make myself clear?" he asked.
"Yes, you're Majesty!" the guards shouted.
As Dunha held onto her mother, she gently smiled and did not hear what Henry said.
"I never thought I'll have this opportunity ever again..." Dunha thought. "It feels nice to be held like this."
Dunha did not have a lot of memories of her mother due to her early death shortly after her brother's birth, however, the few memories that she did have with her was filled with warmth and joy. Her most favorite moment was when she was held like she was right now.
At the thought of possibly witnessing her mother's death once more, she held onto her mother even tighter. Her eyed were suddenly filled with determination.
"I will find a way to prevent my mother's death, no matter what. Once I save her life, I will slowly prepare myself for the future," she thought.
Suddenly, Seo-Yeon pinched Dunha's left cheek.
"Ow!"
"You're making that serious face again," said Seo-Yeon. "But you're still my cute little cinnamon bun."
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[50 Minutes Later]
Dunha patted her filled tummy with a satisfied face.
"I still can't get sick of Omar's cooking. It's so good~" she thought.
After having breakfast with her parents, Dunha was heading back to the library while her parents had to leave to attend some sort of meeting related to yesterday's incident.
"Ha..." Dunha sighed. "There's going to be more assassination attempts in the future if I fail to get Clover to stay with us... What a pain."
After spending most of her life dealing with rebellions, wars, and even an undead invasion, it mentally tired Dunha. She had no intention of going through all of that pain if she's given the chance.
"While I still don't know why or how I ended up going back to the past, I'm not complaining. I'll make sure to avoid making the same mistakes that'll get so many of my people killed," she thought.
As she walked, she suddenly stopped.
"Is something the matter, princess?" a guard asked.
"Coming to think of it, where's Lily?" Dunha asked.
I remember that she ran away when I mentioned something about washing up, but I ended up losing sight of her when my parents appeared.
"Oh, we saw Lady Lily run towards the east hallways. One of the idle guards followed her and told us that she encountered her mother," the guard answered. "She is doing well, princess. No need to worry."
"Ha... Thank you," said Dunha. "At least, she's okay. Our home should probably be safe from any intruders at the moment but it's still better to be wary, just in case," she thought.
"The princess shouldn't be so formal to the guards! It is natural to answer any questions that the princess asks!" said the guard.
Dunha internally clicked her tongue.
"Tsk, it's so annoying when they do this," Dunha thought. "I remember that I literally had to order them to speak comfortably with me in my first life. However, I shouldn't say that yet, considering I'm still 5 years old right now."
She then began to chuckle.
"It'll be weird if a 5-year-old was chatting with adults as if they're old companions," she thought. "For now, let's head to the library and finish the rest of the book."
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[Abandoned Village, Tierra Kingdom]
Meanwhile, in an old abandoned farming village, a total of 5 people with face masks gathered inside one of the old huts. While the hut looked very old from the outside, the inside was surprisingly clean.
There were currently 4 males and 1 female. A large man with tattoos all over his right arm was the leader in the room while the only woman in the room was his assistant. The remaining males were there as the tattoo man's bodyguards.
"Is that man here yet?" a tattooed man asked.
"Yes, boss. He should be here in just a minute," a masked black-haired woman answered.
These people were members of an infamous assassin guild in the Tierra Kingdom.
They were currently gathered in the abandoned village to discuss their newest job request from a certain Count in the Star Kingdom.
"He's coming," said the woman.
Just as she said that a poorly built man with the appearance of an old man, entered the hut.
"You're finally here," the tattooed man grinned. "Take the ring off," he ordered.
"Very well," said the old man as he took off a ring that had a red gem in the center.
The moment he took it off, his whole body started to glow and once the glowing faded away, the old man was replaced with a young man. His real appearance revealed that he was far more built and taller than his old man disguise.
The reason behind this was because of the ring with the red gem. It gives the wearer the ability to change their appearance.
"I assume that you got our message?" said the boss.
"Aye. I just need to secretly kill this woman called Jun Seo-Yeon?" the young man calmly asked.
"Correct. But there's also one more thing you must do," the boss said.
"If you want me to kill her child, then forget about it. I won't take the lives of anyone under the age of 15, no matter the price," the man refused. "That is my rule."
"Oi, I know you're the boss' favorite pawn but you shouldn't be so disrespectful to him." said one of the bodyguards.
Just as the bodyguard menacingly approached the assassin, the boss raised his left hand to signal the guard to halt.
"Sorry, boss."
The bodyguard instantly apologized and returned to his spot.
"I wasn't planning on ordering you to kill the child. What I want you to do is to capture her instead," said the boss. "Our client is offering 10,000 gold for the assassination of that woman and another 15,000 gold for capturing her daughter."
The woman whistled after hearing the reward.
"That's quite a large amount. Boss, are you sure that this client has that amount of money? What if it's a trick?" the woman asked.
"He already paid half of it in advance. I'm confident that he's the real deal." the boss laughed. "So anyways, head to the village near the foggy hills and there will be a man called Leon Gilson, he'll give you more details," said the boss.
The young assassin silently nodded and was escorted out of the room.
"He's not very talkative. I guess that's why people call him "The Silencer"." said the boss.
Although it didn't make sense, the woman simply agreed with the boss.
"Indeed but are you sure you can trust him with this mission? I doubt he'll be able to take on the entire Starian royal guards by himself," the woman asked. "Did you even inform him that the woman he's sent to kill is the queen of that kingdom?"
"Let me worry about that. I have everything planned out. We just need to be patient now," the boss laughed. "Just worry about the one who's called the "Silver Ghost". I don't know if we've met before but that bastard has been attacking several of my businesses and making me lose profit. I want him found and I want him dead."
"There's already a team who's tailing him, so it'll only be a matter of time," the woman said.
"Very well. I'll be heading back. Once you finish today's work, report back to me," he said.
"Understood, boss," the woman nodded.
(To be continued)
2020/06/08