After school, as promised, Sofie was waiting to pick up Ania and take her to Old Nicholson's office for a little chat. On the way there, she passed by the hunter's conference room. From the door, she could see how serious and hardworking the recruits were—being able to hide their identities well while socializing with normal people.
Their lives had changed the moment they decided to be hunters. Everyone was so dedicated to their work. As one of the founders, she just wanted them to enjoy life as it is. Their dream of taking down the Hellgazers had become the topmost priority if they wanted peaceful lives.
"Big sis Sofie, is something the matter?" Ania pulled her sleeve, not quite understanding why Sofie had stopped walking.
"Nothing, I'm just thinking about a day when we don't have to fight against the Hellgazers and can live a happy life."
She then patted Ania's head and held her little hand on the way to Nicholson's office.
Arriving at the front door, Ania gave a few gentle knocks and a smiling Carolina opened the door for them.
"The guests have arrived. Oh, how I missed this little adorable princess."
Carolina kissed Ania's cheek and also greeted Sofie.
"The little investigator is here. I'm not quite ready to be interrogated though. How about we eat a few snacks before getting into the main reason for your visit?"
Nicholson handed over some chips and cookies for Ania to eat.
"Okay. An empty stomach won't get me anywhere, though."
Ania giggled.
As Ania ate her snacks, Carolina sat beside her to keep her company, while Nicholson handed over some documents related to Volton's sponsorship for Ania's upcoming school activity.
"This man must be up to something again. Sponsoring such an event—knowing that Ania's involved—he must be preparing some kind of trick that day."
"That's why I showed it to you beforehand. Having Ania connected to all of us will put her in danger. But no worries, I already planted some people as part of the school activity's organizing team.
Also, having all of you there will stir up a lot of attention, so I'm asking for the hunter society's help that day. Being too careful isn't a sin."
"Thanks a lot, Nicholson, for the help. So, are you ready to answer our little investigator?"
"I just hope she'll be satisfied with the answers—because they'll satisfy you, for sure."
"You seem to have found out some good information, I guess."
"It's not something trivial."
Both of them sat next to Ania, who had just finished a bag of chips.
"Are we ready now?"
Ania wiped the crumbs from her mouth and sat up properly, smiling at Nicholson.
"As you wish, Your Highness."
Nicholson smiled back.
"So, what do you want to know, Ania?"
"Well, I was just wondering—how come the shadows appear and disappear at will?"
"Actually, they follow only one master they see fit."
"What do you mean? Is Big Sis Sofie that master?"
"Alright, little one, listen up. Before the Queen—Sofie's mother—passed on the title of ruler, it all started with a simple pact. A pact made by humans with great minds.
Sofie's ancestors were the richest royals the world could ever have. With the ability to fund expensive laboratories in the old times, their wealth was unimaginable. The royal family wanted their bloodline to continue, especially since every time the Queen gave birth, she only bore daughters.
This caused chaotic disputes among the royals about the rightful heir. They couldn't accept mixing the bloodline with that of a commoner."
"Ahmm, I don't really get it at all."
Ania's face was completely confused.
"Oh dear, how am I going to explain it to you..."
"How about I listen to him on your behalf, Ania? You seem sleepy as well."
Sofie gently laid Ania's head on her lap and tucked her hair behind her ears. The sleepy Ania only nodded and fell asleep right away.
"Go on, Nicholson. I'm listening."
"Okay, as I was saying, the problem of the royal bloodline nearing extinction caused a huge blow."
"Wait a minute, I've heard I still have a royal uncle and aunt. And cousins. So how come they encountered such an impossible case?"
"Queen Sofie, the story has just begun. I'll tell you the deeper truth."
"Okay, I won't interfere."
"The royal family at that time consisted of the King, Queen, two young princes, and a princess. It seemed like the cruelty of the world rained down on them.
Their castle was overrun by an enemy nation. The King and the two princes were imprisoned. The Queen and the princess were locked in a separate room. Those cold-blooded invaders raped both the Queen and the princess, then murdered them.
The barbarians showed the lifeless bodies of the King's beloved women to him, flaunting their crimes. In a rage, the King attacked the leader of the invaders but was killed.
As for the princes, both were ordered to be beheaded in front of loyal followers. But what they didn't know was that the younger prince's chambermaid was clever enough to switch the two boys' clothing. It was a mother's desperate sacrifice.
When the attack happened, the Queen had already hidden the youngest prince in the basement, together with the loyal chambermaid. The chambermaid's own son, of the same age and frail health, was sacrificed in place of the prince.
The enemies believed they had wiped out the entire royal line. The chambermaid and a soldier escaped with the prince.
What no one knew was that the real culprit was the King's half-brother, who had orchestrated the attack. And the Queen wasn't actually dead. Instead of killing her, the King's brother—Uldeir—kept her alive. He had raped her, choked her until she lost consciousness, and faked her death.
Queen Nimpha recovered at the new castle and pretended to have amnesia. She wanted revenge and knew one of her sons was still alive. Uldeir crowned her as Queen after usurping the throne.
In secret, Queen Nimpha sent messages to her loyal chambermaid through a remaining loyal soldier. They began forming a plan.
However, a new complication arose—Queen Nimpha became pregnant with Uldeir's child. She couldn't bear the thought of raising it, so she aborted the pregnancy in secret and staged an accident to cover it up.
Months later, she received word from a laboratory her late husband had funded. The research was complete. Despite its risks, the Queen approved the initiation of the experiment."
"What experiment?" Sofie asked, confused.
"This is the old blueprint and some recovered research materials."
Sofie looked through the pages, stunned. Who would've thought something like this existed way back?
"So this experiment—what happened exactly?"
"It was made to secure the King's bloodline by preserving his pure blood through another royal. The prince was the sole survivor and the best candidate to extract blood from.
They collected and stored his blood for years, preparing it for a blood transfusion. But the experiment failed, and the lab exploded. Six elite soldiers died. They were supposed to be drained of their blood and replaced with the prince's, but the explosion occurred midway.
The Queen committed suicide after the failure. The prince was freed from the lab and lived as an ordinary man.
What no one realized was that the six soldiers who died in the explosion had their souls bound to the prince's blood. From then on, they followed him in the shadows. Once they found suitable bodies to possess, they regained their human consciousness and loyalty.
With their help, the prince reclaimed the throne and married a new Queen. But perhaps cursed by the heavens, they only bore daughters.
And you, Sofie, came from that bloodline. Your mother was the daughter of the prince.
Even if your blood isn't as pure as the prince's, as long as you carry his blood in your veins—even the smallest amount—the shadow guards will continue to follow and protect you. Until you pass it on to the next generation."
"Everything's so hard to understand. I'm still confused."
"Even I am. There are still gaps in the story. But we'll uncover the rest along the way."
"Thanks a lot, Nicholson. I guess this is all we can work with for now. I hope you can lend me these documents. I'll show them to Harry—maybe he can understand some of it."
"Great idea. Well, make sure to call me when he figures something out."
"Okay, we will. Thanks again."
Sofie carried the sleeping Ania in her arms and headed to her car. She buckled Ania safely in the back seat and carefully drove home.
New information awaited her for sure. She just didn't know how she would absorb all of it.
Never had she thought her ancestors' lives were so complicated.