Gloom and anxiety prevailed over the entirety of Daemonorops due to the death of their only princess. The King of Daemonorops drowned himself in either paperwork or the search for his granddaughter's corpse.

The Duke and Duchess Mantissa wanted their daughter to return home but Hestia refused, saying that it was partly her fault for failing to protect the princess.

Crown Prince Maxentius further widened his network in Coelacanth, reaching the other kingdoms as well. He searched every nook and cranny for the possibility that his beloved could be fine and is now safe from death.

Caedmon helped his father in his overflowing paperwork so they could organize a search squad of their own.

"Sese-chan..." Maxentius whispered, for the hundredth time for a week. As always, he was answered by the cold breeze brushing past him. "Where are you, hm?"

His assassination squad, the Purple Orchid which consists of ten people, came in his office.

"Greetings, sire!!" They said and bowed in unison.

"If you're here, then that means--" His underlings only lowered their heads to apologize. Maxentius was angered by their frivolous act that he threw his weapon at them, but they quickly dodged so the sword only hit the wall and it cracked. "Get the f*ck out of my face!!"

"Understood..!!" They all left.

Hestia was resting her chin on her hand as she stared lifelessly on the documents placed on her table. There were dark bags under her eyes and her face lost its youthful color.

"Sera-chan, am I gonna lose another friend again..?"

*sniffle

"First, Kuroha-chan and now, you?!"

"Tia-chan, are you there?" Hestia hurriedly sat straight and fixed her hair because it looked like a bird's nest. "Tia-chan..?"

"Co-Come in..!" She stuttered.

Caedmon took careful steps as he was holding a tray with a kettle full of tea and a pair of teacups on it. Hestia just gestured for him to place it on the table and sit down.

"Tia-chan, you should rest..."

"No, it hasn't been confirmed yet that she's dead so there's still a possibility that she's alive..!" She said and held her temple.

"If you say so, drink some tea first..." He poured the contents of the kettle to the cup. He placed it before her. "Here..."

"Thanks..." She gave him a wry smile. "She was a great friend for a short time that we've been together..."

"I know..."

"I can't imagine Maxentius-ouji's feelings right now..."

"Focus on yours first..." He caressed her cheek.

"Hngg..."

"Please don't overwork yourself and worry me, okay?"

"Hn..."

***

Unknown POV

I was trekking through the thick trees in the forest with a bamboo basket on my back and a knapsack filled with a piece of stale bread and bottle of water on my waist.

I halted my steps when I saw a young girl, lying on the side of the river. Oddly enough, her long silver hair had lost its shine and her purple dress was torn all over.

*gasp

Is she dead?! Why is a girl's corpse here?!

I touched her neck under her ear and breathed a sigh of relief when I felt her weak pulse. I swallowed my hesitation and carried her into my arms.

Her blood, which was still wet due to the water, got smudged on my already dirty tunic.

"Haizz, really..." I muttered and headed back to my house.

My wife, Viche, prepared a bed in a hurry and placed the girl's unconscious body there. My son, Jansen, stared curiously at the girl.

"Ottousan, who is she?" He curiously asked.

"I don't know..."

"Anata..." I turned to my wife, she just got finished on treating the almost dead girl. "Where did you find her?"

"In the river..."

"I... see." We set our eyes on her but to our surprise, her lustrous silver hair slowly turned into auburn. "What just..?"

"Hngg..." We heard a groan from the bed.

"She's awake!" I exclaimed and we hurried to the bedside. "Hello, what's your name?"

Her puppy-like golden eyes also turned into green like emerald crystals. She tilted her head to the side and even with all the blood she lost making her look like a corpse, she looked adorable.

"What's your name?" I awkwardly asking, refusing the urge to pinch her cheeks.

"... name..?" I nodded. "What's name?" We all turned to stones.

She lost her memories!! How will I return her if she doesn't know her basic information, like her parents' name?!

Viche and I looked each other and have the same thoughts.

"Your name is Selestine Villin, and you are our daughter."

"Me, daughter?"

"Yes, you fell into the river erasing your memories. But it's fine, since okaasan and ottousan as well as oniisan will be here to help you remember..."

"Hn..."

*yawn

"It seems you're sleepy, why don't you rest?" She nodded and dozzed off. Viche dragged me and our son outside.

She crossed her arms and her left foot was tapping on the ground.

"Anata~~" One might think that it's a call from the angel, but it's the opposite for me. "Why did you brazenly bring an unknown girl here? Based on her clothes, she's clearly a noble..!"

"It was just my father's instincts, okay..!"

"I believe you, I believe you..." Her gaze turned sharp. "But how will we explain to our son and neighbors?"

"Let's just say that she stayed in her grandma's house..." I said as I shifted my gaze to the ground. "Ca-Can't we do that, my beloved Viche~?"

"She's not our daughter, Leon..!"

"Bu-But, think about this..! Maybe someone wants to kill her right now. Shouldn't we do something about it as concerned citizens?"

"Fine..." Viche sighed in frustration. "But I'm leaving the explanation to you..!"

"I will, I promise~~" I hugged her and kissed her hair. "I knew I won't regret marrying you~~"

"Hmph, you're just saying that because you needed something, you idiot..!!"

"Oh, am I really an idiot? So I guess my smart wife has an idiot husband~~"

"It's not like that..!"

My wife is such a tsundere~~