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"How am I supposed to manage this alone?" She let out a haggard sigh, her resolve wavering.

But she knew she couldn\'t stop. She had to keep going, for their sake.

Wiping the sweat from her brow, she felt an unnatural heat radiating from her skin. "Mana exhaustion... just what I needed," she mumbled, her vision starting to blur a the edges.

"Your Highness," Clyde\'s voice cut through the haze, a lifeline of concern, "I think you should take a break."

She nodded weakly, barely registering his words.

"But Your Highness, you are going to see my—" started the middle-aged man at the tt trance, but his words died in his throat as Clyde\'s glare silced him.

"Can\'t you see she is exhausted? Do you want her to die from overwork?" Clyde\'s voice was a cold blade, slicing through the air with undiable authority.

The man looked at Althea\'s pallid face, his own filling with concern. "Ah, Your Highness, you really don\'t look well. Please, sit down and have something to eat. We will get food for you right away!"

Althea tried to nod, but darkness croached on her vision, threating to pull her under.

Clyde\'s strong arms caught her just in time. His touch was steady and reassuring.

"Let\'s sit over here," he murmured, guiding her gtly to a bch outside the medical camp.

His presce felt like a fortress, shielding her from the overwhelming tide of fatigue and fear.

As she sat, the world slowly coming back into focus, Althea felt a mix of gratitude and frustration. She wasn\'t used to relying on others, but at this momt, she had no choice.

And perhaps, just maybe, she could allow herself this brief respite before the battle resumed.

Once Clyde had her settled, he conjured a small bottle of transpart liquid, the kind Althea instantly recognized as a mana amplifier potion.

"I don\'t normally recommd this, but if you are going to play the heroine and save the tire village, you are going to need it," Clyde said.

Althea managed a faint smile. "It\'s perfect. Just what I needed." She reached out for it, but Clyde made the bottle disappear with a quick flick of his wrist.

"First, you need some food to replish your ergy," he declared firmly.

She stared at him, amusemt dancing in her eyes. "I thought you were the easygoing type. Who knew you could be so strict?"

"Wh your boss is someone who acts like he has achieved immortality, you learn to become an overly cautious health aide," Clyde grumbled, a hint of a smile tugging at his lips.

Althea nearly burst out laughing but managed to hold it in. "Speaking of your boss, where is he?"

Of course, she would ask about Vyan. It\'s all she ever seems to ask me, Clyde thought, feeling a pang of something he didn\'t want to name. He quickly brushed the feeling away.

"He should be hanging a here somewhere," Clyde said, scanning the area and feeling a small, guilty relief that Vyan was nowhere in sight.

Althea nodded, and Clyde\'s gaze softed as he looked at her. This was his chance.

"Althea, if you don\'t mind me asking..." He hesitated, his heart pounding. She turned her innoct eyes to him, and the courage drained out of him. "Uh, never mind."

He couldn\'t bring himself to ask. The question he longed to ask—do you see me as Clyde, or just as Vyan\'s aide?—remained unspok.

Deep down, he feared the answer. He knew it was likely the latter, at least for now.

But Clyde was determined. He would make her see him for who he truly was. He just had to try harder.

———

The next morning, at the crack of dawn, Vyan stood by the Karloz riverside, the froz water sparkling under the bright sun. He looked like he was having a staring contest with the ice.

"What\'s got your brain in a twist?" Clyde asked, sneaking up behind him.

Althea was beside Clyde, stifling a yawn. She had just wok up from a catnap, forced by Clyde\'s insistce on getting some rest since everything seemed under control.

"What do you think, guys? Is it a pure coincidce that such an important river got contaminated just weeks before the monster hunt festival?" Vyan quizzed.

"Are you suggesting somebody did this on purpose?" Althea\'s yawn disappeared faster than free food at a charity evt.

Vyan gave a curt nod. "The Karloz River flows for miles. If this had gone unnoticed a few more days, we would be neck-deep in over t thousand of bodies. Literally."

"No nobles would dare come near Ashstone, terrified they might catch whatever this is," Clyde added, his eyes wide with the realization.

"You are on point."

"Got any suspects?" Althea queried.

"Isn\'t it glaringly obvious?" Vyan tilted his head, a cynical smile on his face. "We have got only one major emy who is both furious and dim-witted ough to pull off something this unsubtle."

Clyde nodded, understanding dawning on him, while Althea looked like she missed the memo.

Clyde leaned in, whispering the name in her ear. Her eyes wided, disbelief and shock writt all over her face.

"Seriously? Them?" she whispered back.

"Yep," Vyan replied, a smirk playing on his lips, and crouched at the riverside, his fingers grazing the froz water.

According to his precise instructions, the hired mages had turned the tire river into a giant ice cube. But now, he was about to undo their frosty masterpiece.

"Clyde, fetch a bottle of water wh I undo the freezing spell. We will sd it to the Tower of Magic," Vyan commanded.

"You are taking this to the imperial court?" Clyde\'s eyebrows shot up in surprise.

"Yes, they messed with me at the wrong time," Vyan replied, his face a mask of sere calm, but his eyes gleaming with a deadly intsity. "They will pay for it."

"Okay," Clyde said, manifesting a wood bottle from thin air with flourish. "You can undo the spell now."

Vyan nodded and muttered the reverse spell. The ice melted faster than a snowman in a sauna. He watched the water flow freely again, a satisfied smile appearing on his lips.

Once Clyde had gathered the water as evidce, Althea asked, her tone reluctant, "Vyan, are you sure you want to purify the river and give the credits to me?"

Althea had known about Vyan\'s magical pottial ever since the two of them got bound by the sacred oath, but she couldn\'t believe he had suggested this idea.

"Yes, this is the perfect opportunity to gain the public\'s favor," Vyan pointed out, his eyes glinting with mischief. "Once we rile them up against Prince Easton, they will start protesting against him for sitting on his royal backside and doing nothing."

Althea\'s smile was tight and bitter. "How ironic. Father\'s decision to hide that Easton can\'t perform healing magic is going to blow up in his face."

Not many knew that Easton was only blessed with symbolic purification abilities but not healing powers. He was good at tding to people\'s souls, but not their bodies.

"But Vyan, the public doesn\'t have that much power," Clyde interjected.

"Yes, I know," Vyan replied, a dominant smile on his face. "But this is just the beginning of Easton\'s downfall. I want to let it start as a ripple in the water."

He had promised Althea he would make her Empress of Hayness by taking Easton out of the way, and he was determined to keep that promise.

Vyan began chanting the incantations to cleanse the water of toxins. He had stayed up all night trying to master this complicated spell.

It wasn\'t the lgth of the spell that made it difficult; it was the massive mana drain. This one was tough, ev for someone of his level.

By the time he finished, he was gasping for breath, like he had just run a marathon.

"Is it done?" Clyde asked, and Vyan nodded, wiping sweat from his brow.

"How should we test it?" Althea asked, eyeing the water suspiciously.

"I will drink it," Clyde volunteered, causing Althea\'s eyebrows to shoot up.

"Ar\'t you afraid it might poison you?" she asked.

Clyde crouched at the riverbank and said confidtly, "I believe in my protégé\'s abilities."

Vyan couldn\'t help but smile, and Althea felt a pang of vy. If only someone believed in her like that. Th again, maybe if she let Clyde in, he would…

Clyde tasted the water and gave a thumbs up. "Tastes fine. No bitterness."

"They all said the water started to have a bitter taste from a few days ago, right?" Vyan inquired.

"Yep. So it means your spell worked," Clyde grinned, and Vyan mirrored his smile.

"Great job!" Althea chirped happily.

While they celebrated, they were unaware of the pair of violet eyes watching them.

She pressed a hand to her mouth, trying to hold in her gasp. "So, I was right. He is a mage."