"What explanation do you want from me?" Darian asked after swallowing his food and wiping his mouth.

Tetoya roared in fury: "You've just arrived at my mansion and already made me spend three days in solitary confinement! You've got the nerve to play dumb?!"

"What does your being in solitary confinement have to do with me?" Darian said lazily. "It was your undisciplined subordinate who tried to take my life. Am I not allowed to fight back? It's all your responsibility and has nothing to do with me. Besides, since we signed a contract, you need to give me an Instructor status plate. Now that you're free, hurry up and do it."

The plate he'd received before was from being one of the princess's soldiers. He would only get an Instructor plate from her afterward.

"You've got the balls to ask me for that, you bastard?!" Tetoya was so furious that she was breathing heavily. Just looking at his confident, mocking face made her even angrier. She couldn't believe what she was seeing.

"It's written in the contract. If you wanna throw it away and go back on your own words... well, that's up to you." Darian spoke indifferently.

"You're my Instructor now!" She huffed and threw the new status plate at him. On one side were the words Instructor; on the other, the mark of the princess's mansion, along with her name.

In other words, this status plate had been issued under the princess's approval. If anything went wrong, she'd be the one held accountable.

Darian sighed, then smiled mockingly. "Much appreciated."

"Don't thank me yet. I'll personally put you in your place! In two hours, we're going to the Berserker God Array!" she shouted, her eyes glowing with a bloody light.

"You shouldn't. Your Bloodline's weak, your mind's in chaos, and your body's completely exhausted. You won't be able to fight properly today. Pick another time," Darian said casually.

He didn't know exactly what solitary confinement involved, but Tetoya was clearly worn out — even her strong Bloodline was in bad shape. For someone like her to be this weakened, it was as if she'd been tortured.

Tetoya shot back sharply, "According to the contract, you have no right to refuse! Even if I'm not at my best, I can still beat you!"

"According to the contract, there are conditions that I can refuse. For example... my body's not doing too well right now," Darian said, waving lazily.

Hearing that, her eyes shifted completely. She stared at him and spoke in a lower tone, "What do you mean, 'not doing too well'?"

Darian noticed the change and snorted. "It's a human thing, so it might be hard for you to understand. Physiologically... how should I put this... human men feel uncomfortable for a few days every month."

Tetoya's eyes widened. Then... she remembered hearing something like that from half-beasts with human blood...

...but seeing Darian's mocking look, she immediately realized something was off. It didn't take long before she understood — and roared, almost bursting into flames.

"You—!" She swallowed the rest of her words mid-sentence, realizing that yelling too loudly would draw attention in the city and get her arrested again. Her face twisted, and she pointed a trembling finger at him, trying to calm down.

"Do you have no shame?!"

Darian sighed — that was close.

Tetoya's hair practically stood on end from how angry she was. The other soldiers in the mansion stared at Darian, dumbfounded. Meanwhile, the half-human women who heard his ridiculous excuse covered their mouths, trying not to laugh.

"Fine, since you're not 'feeling well,' I order you to guard the main gate of the forest!" Tetoya's voice was almost a howl.

…

According to the contract, once someone became a soldier or an Instructor, the prince or princess was required to provide a good training environment, safety guarantees, and a generous salary.

But some princes and princesses just used their subordinates for random tasks. Because of the royal soldier or Instructor status, no one dared to complain.

Outside the capital was a massive forest, full of towering trees and dense vegetation. All kinds of plants and precious herbs grew there.

It was essentially a gigantic medicinal field, personally maintained by the royal family because of its great importance. Later, the herbs would be sold to alchemists through the Merchant Guild.

Taking care of and protecting that place was a vital task — and right now, it was under Princess Tetoya's management. All princes and princesses could request to oversee certain royal businesses and earn extra income that way. But if they made any mistakes, the royal family could reclaim everything at any time.

If they relied only on the salary they received as royal family members, they wouldn't be able to get everything they wanted for themselves while also supporting their subordinates.

Of course, it was optional. Princes and princesses could simply choose not to have any mansions or subordinates, living comfortably with just enough for themselves.

But all of them chose the opposite. It fed their egos to have people under their command and to be seen as important. After all, who would choose to stay locked up in a small room inside the royal castle, just training alone day and night?

Niara was the weirdest princess for making that choice. She was used to being alone and had seen people's cruelty too many times before. To her, it was better to be alone than surrounded by those who didn't really want to be by her side.

That day, Darian arrived at the main gate of the forest. Since he refused to fight Tetoya, she ordered him to guard the place like a regular watchman.

It was a pretty humiliating job for an Instructor, but he was fine with it. Before coming, a kind woman soldier had told him a few things. He'd heard about a type of spiritual creature called the Celestial Fox.

They were small beasts covered in colorful fur, born with an affinity to some natural element. That kind of race was known as Heavenly Beasts — close relatives of the Heavenly Elemental Spirits.

The Celestial Foxes weren't particularly strong, but they had insane speed, which made them incredibly hard to catch.

These foxes often sneaked into the forest to steal fruits and herbs, so someone had to guard the entrance. The whole area was sealed by an inscription, and an external connection was essential — if they sealed everything, the ground would lose its natural link to the planet, and the forest would slowly die.

Darian stood still in front of the gate. A few minutes later…

He saw a group of small, fluffy foxes watching him. They didn't show the slightest fear and slowly came closer when they noticed his calm gaze.

Darian was confused, but he didn't chase them off — he just started talking.

"So this place used to be your home?"

He listened to their story. In a distant past, long before Painita became immortal and founded the capital in that region, this land had been home to the Celestial Foxes. The soil there carried a special natural energy, unique across the planet. But they had been mercilessly driven out.

Their lives depended on absorbing natural power sources, so they had no choice but to steal from the forest to survive. Over the years, their numbers dropped — most of them starved to death.

Now, only about three dozen remained, all desperate and hungry, trying to sneak into the forest or find some miracle somewhere on the planet.

That's why they begged Darian to bring them a few fruits.

"Big brother, we feel a connection with you. You're definitely a good person. Please… we just want to survive."

"Connection?" Darian muttered, surprised. Tetoya and the other princes also had the Heaven's Will blessing — so why weren't the foxes asking them for help? That couldn't be it.

The creatures couldn't explain it; they just felt it. They were pure, but not very intelligent. Even so, Darian didn't mind.

"Gather your family and take as much as you can. Bring it back to your dens. Anyway, this stuff isn't mine."

Darian said calmly and sat down, closing his eyes.

...

Half a day later, Tetoya came running toward him, completely frantic. When she saw thousands of Celestial Foxes raiding the medicinal field, she went pale with rage.

"DARIAN! What are you doing?!"

He lazily opened his eyes. "Guarding the gate, aren't I?"

"If you're guarding the gate, why didn't you stop all those thieves from stealing everything?!" She pointed at the invaders, now fleeing at full speed, darting past Darian and vanishing like lightning.

"You told me to guard the gate, nothing else. Tell me — did I lose the gate? Did it break under my watch?" Darian asked, pointing at the open gate behind him, perfectly intact.

"You…!"

Tetoya felt her blood boil. Her Bloodline, mind, and soul all went into chaos. Suddenly, she dropped to her knees and coughed up a mouthful of blood. The next moment, the world spun around her — and she fainted.

"What the—?" Darian's eyes widened, startled.

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