In a magnificently gilded room, a man with brown hair and green eyes, dressed in a robe, took a sip from an exquisite coffee cup.

A cold voice emanated from the computer. "Find her and tell me."

The man was about to chat a little more, but the person on the other end decisively hung up.

The man looked momentarily stunned, then chuckled. ’He’s as cold as ever.’

He pressed a bell on his desk, and someone soon pushed the door open and entered.

"Lord Dees, what are your orders?"

"Send men to the coastal regions to search for any trace of this girl."

He turned his computer so his subordinate could see the girl’s face on the screen: slender, almond-shaped eyes with slightly upturned corners, a well-defined nose, and lips pursed into a thin line. Although her face was expressionless, her beauty was breathtaking.

The subordinate stared, captivated. Only when the man coughed twice did he hide his astonishment and quickly turn to leave.

「Meanwhile.」

Enzo and Aurora Sinclair were waiting at the gate for Dees’s men to arrive.

But Dees was too busy to see them and sent someone to turn them away.

"Mr. Enzo, the Prince is very busy right now. The estate isn’t hiring at the moment, so please look elsewhere."

"Sir, she might be a female warrior from the Northern Continent. If she joins the Prince’s boxing ring, she’s guaranteed to make you money..."

This made the man hesitate. He glanced at Aurora Sinclair’s petite frame. "But can she even last a single round?"

"Absolutely. People from the Northern Continent are known for their strength. Even their women are formidable."

"Alright, bring her with me. I’ll test her strength. If she’s good enough, she can stay."

A glint flashed in Enzo’s eyes.

He’d always been a good judge of character. From the moment he first saw her, he’d sensed there was something special about this girl.

Later, when checking her pulse, he had faintly detected an energy in her meridians similar to his own. She had to be a warrior who had fallen on hard times.

’The best place for someone like her is a fighting pit. I’m going to make a fortune off of her.’

Soon after, Aurora Sinclair was led to a circular venue that resembled a gladiator arena.

In the center was a square boxing ring, surrounded by concentric rows of spectator seats.

The venue was packed, with everyone craning their necks to scream at the two men in the ring.

Aurora Sinclair watched as a hulking, muscular brute mercilessly beat a man who was already down on the canvas. A flicker of emotion crossed her eyes.

She glanced at Enzo and instantly understood his intention: to sell her to this underground fighting ring.

Just then, the man who had led them there pointed to the brute in the ring and said, "If she can beat ’the Beast,’ I’ll take her."

Enzo’s expression tightened. "Sir, can’t you pick someone else?"

"He’s just fought five matches, so his stamina is almost gone. It’s the perfect time for her to fight him. If you’re having second thoughts, you can take her and leave."

Enzo glanced at Aurora Sinclair, gritted his teeth, and dragged her by the arm toward the entrance to the ring.

He shoved Aurora Sinclair through the gate.

An announcement suddenly blared over the speakers in both the international common tongue and the local language.

"Ladies and gentlemen, we have a special bonus match for you today—Beauty versus the Beast! And now, let’s welcome our beautiful challenger to the ring..."

The moment the announcement ended, the entire arena erupted. Countless shouts and whistles echoed from all directions.

Aurora Sinclair, still cloaked, slowly approached the square ring.

A staff member rushed over to fit her with boxing gloves, while another tried to give her headgear, which she refused.

She climbed the steps to the ring one by one, glancing at the man being carried off on a stretcher before pursing her lips.

The brute opposite her had blood trickling from the corner of his mouth and his body was covered in bruises. He was panting heavily, clearly exhausted.

But he still glared at her with a vicious, menacing expression.

The moment the referee’s whistle blew, he charged. Aurora Sinclair moved with incredible speed, felling the man in a single move.

The crowd erupted in cheers. Outside the ring, Enzo was grinning from ear to ear.

’I knew I wasn’t wrong! She really is a warrior from the Northern Continent.’

After being thrown to the ground, the man quickly scrambled back up, a flicker of caution now in his eyes.

But again, Aurora Sinclair slammed him to the ground with blinding speed.

She spoke in the international common tongue, "You can’t beat me."

The words seemed to provoke the man. He let out a roar, scrambled up, and attacked Aurora Sinclair in a frenzy.

But Aurora Sinclair kicked him back down, her forearm swiftly pinning his throat as her small fist hovered over a fatal pressure point.

"Surrender—" 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝔀𝓮𝒃𝙣𝓸𝒗𝒆𝒍.𝙘𝒐𝒎

The man stared into her cold, clear eyes and froze completely.

The referee finally blew the whistle, signaling the end of the match.

Aurora Sinclair stood, leaped down from the ring, and slowly walked toward the exit.

The man from the fighting pit paid Enzo 200 gold coins, officially taking ownership of Aurora Sinclair and giving her the name Rose.

She was led to a comfortable lounge with attendants to see to her needs. Her only restriction was her freedom.

’However, this gives me the perfect opportunity to recuperate.’

***

In the waters between Veridia and Niphoria, the sea was crowded with Veridian salvage ships.

It had been nearly half a month since Aurora Sinclair fell into the sea, and all they had found was the watch she had lost to the waves.

"Sir, we’ve been searching for over ten days. Aurora might have been rescued by someone else by now," Benjamin Morgan said hesitantly, looking at his master’s haggard face.

He didn’t dare suggest anything terrible had happened to Aurora Sinclair, because the person who told them she’d fallen overboard had been adamant that no harm would come to her.

That was why his master was searching day and night, sitting in front of a computer and endlessly calculating the possible drift patterns after Aurora Sinclair fell into the water.

His master had barely slept for half a month. If this kept up, his own health would fail before they ever found Aurora Sinclair.

Suddenly, Benjamin Morgan took two steps forward and chopped the back of his neck.

"Mr. Beta, hurry and take him back to Kingsford..."

But this time, Beta Morgan didn’t move. "Pip, he can’t go back..."

"Why not? If he goes on like this, his body will collapse."

"Going back would be the death of him."

Benjamin Morgan froze, then gave a bitter laugh.

’Here, at least there’s still hope of finding her. If we go back, there will be nothing left at all.’

"BEEP—"

A communication alert sounded from Alvin Morgan’s computer.

Benjamin Morgan immediately stepped forward and opened the voice file.

"Black, I’ve got good news and bad news. Which one do you want to hear first?"

A flicker of hope lit up in Benjamin Morgan’s eyes as he quickly typed back: [The good news.]

"The good news is, a girl was in fact rescued from the sea a short while ago."

Startled, Beta Morgan rushed over, his eyes filled with hope.

Benjamin Morgan pursed his lips and typed back four words: [And the bad news?]

"The bad news is, another group was already investigating the girl’s whereabouts before I was..."

The expressions on Benjamin and Beta Morgan’s faces instantly fell.

According to their master’s deduction, if Aurora Sinclair hadn’t drifted toward Veridia or Niphoria, she would most likely have ended up on the Continent of Southeland or the Continent of Boreas.

Based on the wind direction on that day, their master had determined that the Continent of Southeland was the most probable destination.

But it seemed The Shadow had already made its move, one step ahead of them.

Now it was a race to see who could find Aurora Sinclair first...