"Looks like she’s already asleep," Edmund said.

"You can ask her tomorrow," Leonor replied.

Edmund nodded at Leonor’s suggestion. Just before Leonor turned to leave and return to her room, her steps stopped again when Edmund called her name once more.

"Did you and the others continue training after finishing the guild mission?"

Leonor turned around and looked directly at Edmund with a smile. "We decided to train while doing guild missions. It’s more challenging that way."

"That’s good to hear," Edmund replied. "Don’t push yourself too hard, Leonor. Always remember to take care of yourself."

"Of course. I’ll always listen to your advice."

"Wait a second," Edmund said.

He raised his hand and pulled away the blanket covering half his body. His eyes could see several parts of his body wrapped in bandages to cover his wounds.

Leonor was shocked to see Edmund standing in his current condition. She quickly stepped forward and tried to support him while he walked.

"Where are you going? You’re still injured."

"Help me get to that table," Edmund requested while pointing at the wooden table in his room.

Leonor looked toward the table and nodded briefly, guiding Edmund until they stood beside it, where several stacks of documents rested on top.

Edmund reached down and pulled open the drawer of the wooden desk, opening the upper compartment and taking out a small wooden box.

"What is that?" Leonor asked.

Edmund turned and handed the box to her. Leonor accepted it but had not opened it yet.

"Open it."

The girl quietly nodded without saying anything. She opened the wooden box and saw what was inside.

Her face immediately turned shocked and emotional, her eyes widening as tears formed.

"T-This...?"

"Happy birthday, Leonor."

"I was supposed to give it to you on the nineteenth, but it seems..."

HUG!

Without hesitation, Leonor wrapped her arms around Edmund and hugged him tightly.

Her arms clung to Edmund’s back while her face buried itself against his bandaged chest.

Even so, Leonor could still hear his heartbeat, feel his warmth, and sense the strength within Edmund’s body.

Edmund was slightly startled, but he slowly realized what was happening.

His right hand braced itself against the side of the wooden table while his left hand gently stroked Leonor’s hair.

"Thank... you, Edmund," Leonor whispered softly.

"I’m glad you like it," Edmund replied.

"I really love it," Leonor answered as she lifted her face from Edmund’s chest, "This is the first birthday present I’ve ever received in my life."

What exactly did they do to Leonor for her to see this as such a special celebration?

"I remembered your birthday."

"From now on, I’ll always be the one giving you birthday presents."

Leonor nodded happily and stepped back, releasing her embrace from Edmund.

Her hand wiped away the tears from the corners of her eyes before she looked again at the high-grade monster core in front of her.

She picked up the round blue monster core with her hand.

Her eyes could see the aura of dark mana energy inside it, and the scent of the energy was much more pleasant, neither rotten nor foul-smelling.

"This is the best gift I’ve ever received. Thank you, Edmund."

Edmund nodded, pulled out a chair, and sat down while leaning back against it. "You can do whatever you want with it. I won’t stop you."

"What if I use it to summon a pet for myself?"

"A pet?!" Edmund asked in shock.

"You didn’t know? Monster cores above medium-grade can be used to summon pets," Leonor explained, "The summoned creature will definitely be the same race and type as the original monster core."

As far as I remember, the process of obtaining pets was different. People usually had to buy eggs and wait for them to hatch. Luck played a huge role.

"Could it be... that method only works when someone uses crimson energy?"

"That’s right, and it also requires the proper magic chant," Leonor answered.

It’s pretty risky letting Leonor have a pet without knowing what kind of pet it’ll become.

"What do you think, Edmund?"

"You should consume it for now. As for summoning a pet from a monster core, I’ll choose the best and most suitable one for you later."

"Alright."

Without arguing, Leonor accepted Edmund’s decision. She said goodbye with a bright smile on her face, waved her hand, and walked away from Edmund’s room.

Edmund was finally able to relax, though his thoughts still lingered on their earlier conversation.

He looked up at the ceiling of his room while raising his hand to massage the space between his eyes.

There are still so many things I don’t understand about dark arts magic. Looks like I need to study again.

***

The next morning.

That morning, Sebastian and Sera came to Edmund’s office. They opened the door and saw Edmund already awake and recovering, though his body was not fully healed yet.

"Edmund? I’m glad you’ve recovered," Sera said as she walked in.

"You two came too late. I almost died because of that woman named Morgana."

"HAH? You think that forest is small? The savanna field was practically at the far edge of the forest. You’re lucky we even made it there!" Sera snapped, returning to her usual attitude.

"About Morgana. Do you know anything, Edmund?" Sebastian asked. Sera also looked at Edmund curiously.

Edmund fell silent for a moment before explaining that he had already learned everything from Leonor.

Sebastian and Sera sat in front of Edmund’s desk, listening carefully as he explained the entire situation in detail.

Sera and Sebastian widened their eyes in shock. Not only had they learned that Leonor was part of the Demon King’s family, but they were also shocked about the existence of the sigils.

Edmund turned and glanced toward Sera. The woman had dedicated her entire life to magic and being a mage.

He was certain she knew something about the sigils.

"Do you know anything about those sigils?" Edmund asked.

Sera remained silent for a moment, crossing her arms beneath her chest. The cleavage visible through her dress became more noticeable.

"During all my years studying and training at the Gaelion Magic Institute, I never found any records about those sigils."

"However..."

"When I went on a mission with other mage researchers to explore ancient palace ruins, we found many carvings similar to those sigils," Sera explained seriously while looking at Edmund and Sebastian.

"We started investigating further and sought confirmation from Grandmaster Wallace. In the end, I discovered strong evidence."

"What evidence?" Edmund asked.

"They are spells similar to formations or magic runes, except they’re used by people who possess dark arts magic."

"There’s a secret organization within Gaelion that is suspected of cooperating with demons," Sera explained.

A secret organization? What is that?

"What organization?" Sebastian asked.

Sera remained silent for a moment while staring firmly at both men. Edmund and Sebastian were clearly waiting for the answer.

"It is... the Salvation Order!"