Chapter 5: The wicked saintess won’t laugh and joke with you.

The conference ended. Isabelle lowered her head and rubbed her brow.

She knew raising the Rose Knights five levels in one month was nearly impossible. But if she couldn’t manage this, how could she expect them to defeat the abyssal dragon in six years?

The next day, she arrived early at the Rose Knights’ training camp.

Since the young knights were still mostly rookies, training focused on fundamentals. Today: stamina.

At this stage, she didn’t expect them to kill enemies with refined techniques. She only required that, when danger came, they had the stamina to flee.

This prepared them for the abyss demon battle in one month. They might not defeat the demons, but they must not die to them.

That was her sole demand.

But when she reached the training ground and saw the Rose Knights jogging around the central field, her beautiful brows furrowed.

Aside from the leaders, the girls looked relaxed. Some even chatted and laughed while running.

How could this be?

On the battlefield, abyss demons wouldn’t chat with them.

Standing on the high platform to one side, Isabelle gave a light hum.

“You all seem quite leisurely. Let me increase the difficulty.”

With a wave of her hand, space twisted nearby. A massive monster radiating violent magic emerged.

It resembled a wild bull—pitch black, its horns gleaming sharply under the sun.

“This is a rather irritable little cow. Not fast, but decent endurance. If it catches you, those horns might punch a hole right through.”

Under the girls’ terrified gazes, Isabelle covered her mouth and smiled.

“Don’t worry. The training ground has an excellent corpse disposal system. After you die, your bodies will be properly buried.”

“That’s all. Have fun.”

She turned and left, leaving an elegant silhouette.

Cruel. Vicious!

Isabelle’s image grew more terrifying in the girls’ minds. But they had no time to huddle and vent fear. The monster charged straight at them.

Run!

That was the only thought in every girl’s heart.

Perhaps suppressed by Isabelle’s magic, the monster wasn’t fast. Even the slowest girl could keep distance.

But its endurance was unmatched. Isabelle never said when training ended.

So even if they pulled far ahead at first, exhaustion later let the monster close in.

These moments tested their will.

Many girls had lost feeling in their limbs. They moved on instinct. The desire to live kept their legs pumping.

Melin, running last, was one of them.

Slender and frail-looking, her stamina was clearly poor. She had lasted this long on sheer willpower.

But the body has limits. After persisting a bit more, her legs buckled. She fell face-first.

“Melin!”

Captain Leanna’s panicked cry reached her ears. She knew the monster’s horns were closing in. If she didn’t get up, she’d die here.

But… her limbs wouldn’t move.

She smelled the foul wind as the monster neared. At that moment, she lowered her eyes. The world felt utterly unfair.

Born into a wretched commoner family, her father was a gambler. He owed huge debts and vanished one day after some unknown fate.

Her mother worked day and night to pay them off. Then she fell ill. The family burden landed on Melin.

At thirteen, she juggled several jobs to treat her mother. One or two meals a day. Three or four hours of rest.

Even so, if she missed payments, debt collectors beat her.

A life like that… without her mother, she would have ended it long ago.

But just when she thought this was forever, the local imperial governor approached with flattery. He gave them money and promised to heal her mother if she joined the Rose Knights.

Happiness came suddenly. She thought her efforts had moved the gods. She and her mother could live worry-free.

Only here did she learn…

This was hell.

Inhuman training and constant death threats hung over them like swords. Even the strongest mind neared breaking under endless torment.

Why? Why was the world so unfair?

If she were born noble, would she face this pain?

The monster loomed behind her. Its massive shadow engulfed her. Melin’s vision blurred. She could think no more.

She didn’t want to die. Truly didn’t.

But she could do nothing. Only wait for those sharp horns to pierce her chest.

As she waited, hurried footsteps sounded. A girl in white pulled her into her arms. Warm, soft hands stroked her cheek.

“Are you okay, Melin?”

She couldn’t see the girl’s face clearly. She only knew this girl was gentle—like her mother.

Tears welled. They slid from her eyes. Melin slowly regained awareness. Only then did she realize the girl holding her was Saintess Celis.

The monster that should have impaled her was now bound by countless magic chains. It lay struggling helplessly on the ground.

As the knights’ training ground, it naturally had anti-monster magic. Saintess Celis had activated it to save her.

She had survived.

A survivor should be overjoyed. But her heart felt little.

Clinging tightly to Celis, breathing in the lavender scent from her body, Melin slowly closed her eyes. Like a child whining to her mother.

“Melin?”

“Mmm. I’m fine.”

“Really okay?”

“Really.”

Feeling Celis’s concern, Melin’s nose twitched. Her arms around the girl tightened slightly.

She was indeed fine.

She just missed home a little.