Chapter 5

I was still sitting by the window. Though I could put weight on my foot now, my ankle still throbbed. It wasn't as bad as I had first thought, but it was uncomfortable enough to make me clench my jaw with every wrong movement.

I wasn't used to these kinds of "accidents," but I figured I had to adapt quickly.

Tiredly, I tilted my head back, letting my gaze rest on the windowpane. The faint light reflected my face—greenish-brown eyes staring back at me from the darkness, blurred as the lamp's glow barely touched my features. I smirked slightly. I liked liking myself—even with the odd pimples peeking out from beneath my few freckles. I was nothing more than I needed to be. That was the only way to win a real battle—once I had already fought the one with myself.

Outside, the night was thick and motionless, the lights of the castle glowing faintly in the distance.

Dark figures moved beneath the walls. Some were training, their quiet movements blending into the shadows, while others stood completely still, like statues. A few whispered to each other, but most remained silent, simply watching.

I couldn't imagine the strength they possessed. How much endurance it must take to remain motionless, guarding the castle while others had long since gone to rest. Like pillars in an icy ocean, unshakable.

My eyes lingered on the castle's lights.

"Is he in there?"—I wondered, pressing my forehead against the glass like a child watching the first snowfall.

The ruler. The one who didn't want to let me leave. I didn't know exactly why, but as I stared at the dark walls, I felt as if something invisible was keeping me bound.

For some reason, at that moment, I wanted to know everything.

What decisions had been made within those walls? What secrets lay hidden in the depths of those halls? How difficult was it to maintain the illusion of balance? How much did the leader struggle with the uncertain fate of this world?

My thoughts dragged me deeper and deeper, as if the shadows of the castle were slowly closing in on me. I squinted unconsciously, as if believing I could see inside.

Good thing the window was made of reinforced glass—otherwise, I would have already fallen out from straining so hard.

But then, my nostalgic trance shattered.

A sudden knocking broke the silence.

No… not knocking—pounding.

I flinched.

A moment of silence. Then, again. Someone wasn't just knocking—they were demanding to be let in.

Before I could react, the door burst open, and a short girl rushed inside.

Her short brown bangs stuck to her forehead, her face flushed red, and her wide eyes darted around desperately until they locked onto mine.

"I'm sorry!"—Her voice was quick, breathless, gasping for air. "I know we don't know each other, but your room is closest to the back entrance, and… there's a huge problem!"

That was all I needed to hear.

I was already on my feet, despite the pain in my ankle.

"What happened?"—I asked, my heartbeat quickening.

"Intruders… they attacked the back garden!"—The girl was still panting. "And a recruit is out there… but everyone else is on the other side of the castle…"

That was the moment when common sense should have told me to find someone qualified.

A guard. A trained fighter. Anyone who actually knew what to do.

Because looking back at my recent actions, I was definitely not the trained warrior who should be handling this.

But there was no time for logical decisions.

I saw it in the girl's face—this was urgent.

I saw it in her eyes—we didn't have time to wait.

So, leaving everything else behind, I ran with her toward the back corridors.

My face flushed from the sudden rush of adrenaline, my mind racing even as I ran.

My pulse pounded in my ears, my footsteps echoing against the stone floor as I chased after her. My thoughts scrambled, trying to make sense of the situation, but everything was a tangled mess under the weight of urgency.

The only plan I could come up with was to veer slightly toward the castle to reach the nearest guards. If I could get their attention, maybe we'd have a chance at calling for backup.

But time… Time was against us.

It was unbelievable to think that since I'd arrived here, I hadn't had a single moment of peace.

It was as if the entire world was constantly testing me—my instincts, my choices, my very way of thinking.

And now, here was another trial.

My ankle was still far from healed, reminding me with every step that I wasn't at full strength.

But that didn't matter now.

The only thing that mattered was reaching the recruit before it was too late.

And if it was already too late…

I clenched my teeth.

I couldn't let doubt paralyze me.

This was the moment to prove that all the years of training, every move, every strategy I had learned from Clara and the others—it all meant something.

This time, I had to step up.

This time, I was needed.

Deep down, however, I hoped that help would arrive faster than I could. I never stopped for even a second, but I knew running back to the other side of the castle was no longer an option. We didn't have time.

I could only hope that whoever was out there in the darkness… it wasn't too late.

The whole situation just seemed impossible to me. A facility this large, with so many dark-clad soldiers, guards, and armed men… how was it that no one noticed what was happening? It wasn't exactly easy to get through the gates. So how was this even possible?

As I ran toward the garden gate, deep inside, I hoped one more time that maybe… maybe it wasn't too late. That by the time I arrived, there would already be plenty of armed men there, and I wouldn't even have to do anything.

And then we stepped outside.

My foot slipped on the dewy grass, but I managed to keep my balance. The brown-haired girl arrived beside me, both of us panting as we looked at each other. Then I saw him. The stranger.

With a black blade at the throat of a young, dark-uniformed boy.

The air froze inside me.

But I had no time to panic.

I quickly assessed the situation. The stranger was holding the boy, but in the background, in the distance, there was movement. Many dark-clothed figures were running toward us. The guards. Very good. Then now… now I had to move.

And this was the moment when I couldn't decide whether what I did was incredibly well-thought-out or simply incredibly foolish. But I didn't know which was the better choice in this situation—to wait or to act. My body chose the latter.

In the blink of an eye, I went from playing the hero to becoming the victim.

Because the moment I ran to pull the boy from the man's grip, the stranger moved. Lightning fast. The boy broke free and collapsed in front of the brown-haired girl, who immediately bent over him to check if there was a cut on his throat.

And I…

I felt a cold blade press against my own throat.

I didn't move. I didn't dare. I could even feel a small cut as the knife's edge pressed against my skin.

For a moment, the world seemed to stop.

I could hear the approaching footsteps of the soldiers, their shouts, but I didn't expect what the stranger did next.

In an instant, he pulled me up with him.

To the rooftop.

Even now, I can't imagine how he did it. He moved so fast, so effortlessly, like a panther. By the time I grasped what was happening, we were already up there, alone.

Or… almost alone.

I managed to wrench the knife from his hand, and for a second, I thought I had the advantage. But then… then I saw someone else.

Another figure.

His blonde hair glinted in the moonlight. He stood behind the man, looking down at the crowd of dark-clad soldiers below, and signaled to them that everything was fine, that they didn't need to come up.

And I stood there, my heart still pounding from the adrenaline, trying to understand what was happening.

The blonde man looked at me.

— "No problem, recruit. Go back to your room. This is my business, not yours."

His voice was calm and indifferent. Only the hands-in-his-pockets stance was missing.

Then, coolly and matter-of-factly, he turned to the stranger.

— "Hello, Michael. This wasn't the way you should have handled your entrance."

At last, the stranger spoke. His voice was calm but visibly tense.

— "You didn't show up at the meeting, so I had no choice but to come to you. The recruit was just in my way."

Then he glanced back at me.

— "Recruits…" he added. "I had no intention of hurting you, but if I hadn't made a scene, you wouldn't have rushed over."

He smiled faintly.

And I still stood there, completely unable to decide whether this was a friendly conversation or something entirely different.

My body was exhausted, my mind racing, and there was only one thing I wanted: sleep.

Sleep, without passing out. Without waking up on a marble table or in a completely different room.

I just wanted one peaceful night.

Now that the general was here, I finally felt a little safe. So I was about to head down from the rooftop… But.

As I looked down, I tried to figure out how to get off in one piece. There was no staircase, no obvious way down, and since I couldn't bounce around like a deer, I tried to cautiously step my way off the roof.

I was examining a narrow ledge when I heard the blonde man's deep voice. Reflexively, I lifted my head, but I barely had time to process his words before the stranger spoke again.

— "You didn't keep your promise."

The blonde general's voice was cold and quiet:

— "I invited you here so you could come and go as you pleased and be respected as you deserve. But this should have been discussed in private."

They spoke dispassionately, about business, about something that clearly didn't concern me. This was an Angel Guardian matter, not a recruit's.

So I decided to focus once again on how the hell I was going to get off this damned roof. I was just about to take a different route when a sharp sound struck my ears.

I turned around.

The blonde was on the ground.

The stranger had taken him down.

But a moment later, the general bounced back, and a bloody fight began—one I was completely unprepared for. Though, given the past few days, I wasn't really prepared for anything, so this didn't surprise me either.

The dark-clad soldiers still stood below, motionless, because the general hadn't given them the order to intervene.

I saw that the blonde was pushing the stranger back sufficiently, but then the man retaliated. They fought more and more brutally.

And I…

I was just tired.

Tired because I didn't want any more excitement today.

Tired because I just wanted to get down.

Tired because I just wanted to sleep.

And when the stranger made a massive move to strike the general in the chest, something snapped inside me.

— "Oh, that's enough," I muttered, rolling my eyes.

Frustration and exhaustion blurred together inside me, and throwing all rational thought aside, I simply let my instincts take over.

I leapt forward.

And with a spinning kick, I sent the stranger flying off the roof so hard that he literally spun in the air before crashing down into the crowd of dark-clad soldiers.

Silence fell.

The soldiers stared at me in shock, then at the stranger, then back at me.

And I…

I just looked down at them, tired and annoyed, then back at the blonde.

Then I managed to say only one thing:

— "Holy shit."

A deep silence settled over the entire place. The air was practically frozen.

I felt the adrenaline slowly drain from my body, as if an invisible force had been keeping me moving until now but was finally letting go. My body filled with leaden exhaustion, and suddenly, I was so drained that I could barely keep my thoughts together.

I just stood there, trying to regain my balance.

Then my gaze met the general's.

And in that moment, as I looked into his eyes, my conscience returned, and my brain started working again. What had I just done?

Slowly, I let my eyes drop toward the ground, as if that could somehow absolve me of responsibility. I hoped this wouldn't have serious consequences. Maybe a scolding, maybe a punishment… but maybe, just maybe, I could finally go to sleep…

The blonde general stared at me. I couldn't tell if he was angry or just trying to process what had happened.

Then, with slow, deliberate steps, he started walking toward me.

I tried to scan the ground, but as he got closer, I involuntarily glanced up at him. For a brief moment, I thought I saw satisfaction flicker in his eyes, but it disappeared so quickly that I might have imagined it.

Then, in his cool, matter-of-fact tone, he spoke:

"You do realize that angels are meant to be protected, not kicked in the ass, right?" He raised an eyebrow, a hint of cynicism in his voice.

I didn't want to answer. No response seemed right. Yet somehow, the words slipped from my lips:

"I… just wanted to sleep."

It almost looked like he smiled. Or at least, there was a slight shift in his expression, but he quickly returned to his usual cold demeanor.

"Given the circumstances, that's not the worst attitude," he finally said, as if complimenting me, though his tone remained neutral. "But don't get too full of yourself. That wasn't a fair fight. Your opponent wasn't expecting your attack, he had no time to prepare. A fair fight requires eye contact and a ready opponent. It makes the battle harder, but victory all the more glorious. You still need to learn that… we'll refine your technique. But for a start, it wasn't entirely disgraceful."

I couldn't tell if that was praise or a warning.

Then he helped me down from the roof, and by the time we reached the ground, the man I had kicked off and the black-clad soldiers were gone. As if the night itself had swallowed them up.

Only the brown-haired girl and the rookie remained. They looked at me gratefully, the girl even thanked me for helping them. The rookie gave me a nod before the two of them quickly disappeared into the building.

The general stayed with me, escorting me back to my room. I was just about to step inside when he followed me in and closed the door behind him.

I stopped and looked at him. My expression made it clear: Now what's going to happen?

"This won't take long," he stated firmly.

Gathering all my strength, I stepped back and sank onto the cushioned bench by the window. The general pulled up a chair and slowly sat down.

"The man you kicked off the roof is Michael," he began, his tone measured. "He lives among humans as an angel and is the head of a mafia cartel. He's one of the key links between angels and humans, which makes him an important figure. Word of what happened is likely already reaching the ruler. You'll probably be summoned tomorrow."

I took a moment to process this before he continued:

"You'll also need to go to the humans and apologize to him."

"But—" I interrupted before he could go on. I didn't want to be disrespectful, but I had to clarify my situation. "The girl desperately asked me to help!"

The general met my gaze with a cool look, his voice precise as he responded:

"Only those above you can give you orders. That means me and the leaders. That girl was a rookie as well, and the same rules apply to her. She'll have her own punishment. This place remains safe for us only as long as we don't break our laws."

I was silent for a moment, trying to make sense of this system. Then, with his usual cynicism, he added:

"I didn't expect you to throw in a circus act tonight… but at least you improved upon your initial entrance."

I sighed tiredly, but he wasn't finished yet:

"You need to learn that this place is far more unpredictable than you think. We must always keep our composure. And we cannot get entangled in others' affairs."

His voice was completely serious now as he delivered the final statement:

"We have never been threatened, and we never will be. I am an angel, but I reinforce your defenses. We are the ones who protect angels from threats. We do not need protection from them."

Silence settled over the room. I just stared at him, but I had no energy left to argue.

Finally… maybe I could finally sleep.

Clinging to that thought, I felt a spark of hope as I saw him moving toward the door and opening it.

"You may scatter your clothes, but never your mind! A lifesaving piece of advice—you'd do well to remember it!" he remarked. Then, as my eyes started crossing from exhaustion, he added, "Oh, and by the way… after breakfast tomorrow, you're coming with me. You'll show proper respect to the angel you kicked."

My brain barely processed his words. I knew he was saying something important, but the fatigue was pulling me down, making my limbs feel like they were made of lead.

"After breakfast tomorrow…" I repeated in my head.

Great.

The moment the door closed behind him, I finally let myself relax completely. The cool touch of the pillow pressed against my face, my body sank into the mattress, and I let all the tension drain out of me.

My thoughts still swirled, throbbing at the back of my mind: Michael… I have to show respect… the angels… the rules… But these scattered words slowly faded, slipping away at the edge of sleep.

And then I felt it.

Again.

The mattress dipped ever so slightly beside me. A familiar scent lingered in the air—daffodil, peppermint, vanilla… and that strange aroma I still couldn't quite place.

Goosebumps prickled across my skin as his breath lightly brushed my face. A hand, gentle yet firm, rested on my stomach.

I knew I wasn't alone.

Was I dreaming, or was my exhaustion playing tricks on me? I didn't know.

But in this moment, I wasn't afraid.

I just let the darkness embrace me.