The Record of Unusual Creatures

While the battle outside the border escalated and the Chaos pounded on the Wall of Order continuously, the hinterland of the kingdom was still peaceful. White City was like a beautiful gem embedded in the Great Plains. It glittered like the glorious light of Ulo, which sprinkled over the earth. People woke up in the morning and went to the avenue inlaid with white slate. They greeted each other and began to devote themselves to their work for the day. The city was like a machine that ground slowly with a heavy sound.

The door of the Palace of the Golden Roses cranked open to both sides. The knights and heralds in new armors, carrying the orders of the king and some high-powered people, rushed out of the gate. Some of them were headed to the duke or count’s mansions, some running to the arcane tower of the Royal Arcanist Guild, and some hustling to the temples of scholars and magicians. The information they carried was enough to keep these people they saw busy for a long time. Instead of hindering the operation of the governing machine of the ancient kingdom, a sense of urgency and motivation had arisen after last night’s banquet. The king had received new intelligence, so the scholars were scrambling to find the causes of the fall of the furnace outposts in the Shadowy Forest while sorcerers were rummaging through piles of files, trying to predict the Chaos’ next move. Everyone was busy. After having a debrief before the Royal Court, Princess Veronica debunked the unfavorable comments about General Marcus entirely. It was as if those powers that be had suddenly realized that it was more important to help the veteran to protect their own homes than to find fault with the old general.

The news about the Ancient Guardian quickly disseminated by the heralds. It first entered the home of every major noble, in turn, the lower-rank knight brought the news to the lesser nobility, while the noble ladies broadcast it during their high-tea gossips. When the maid told the cook what she heard, the cook told the groom, who went and bragged about it in the pub. Suddenly, people of the entire city had become witnesses of the guardian. While the information that the Royal Court officials and the nobility obtained was true and accurate, the same information when filtered down to the men in the street had split into a dozen versions of different degree of exaggeration. Some even swore that the Goddess of Creation had decided to come to the Kingdom of Taros in person, and the ancient guardian was only a messenger.

This news would soon spread to the powerful church-state of the sanctum, placed on the table of the pope.

In the border battle not long ago, the early withdrawal of the Theocratic troops had caused a heavy defeat to the kingdom’s forces on the western front. Though the blame should not be solely on the Theocracy, the king of Taros was hoping to hear an explanation from the pope. With the appearance of the Ancient Guardian, the aloof people of the sanctum might show some responses.

At the very least, they would send a higher-ranking representative to check out the situation.

The King of Taros did not know the coming of the secret investigation team from the sanctum, which had not only landed in the southern part of the kingdom but was also wading through the Shadowy Forest now.

At the center of this series of events was the Ancient Guardian, who had just gotten himself free from the comfort of the bed half an hour ago, and now standing on a terrace in the Palace of the Golden Roses with a tired face.

Veronica was back in her knight uniform, standing in front of Hao Ren. “Your Venerable Guardian, it seems that you had a rough night. Were you not used to the environment in the palace? Or was it because of the less than satisfactory care of the servants?”

“No, the servants have been doing a good job.” Hao Ren waved his hand. “But I didn’t quite get used to having people standing inside and outside of the room while I was sleeping. It was as if I am dead.”

Veronica smiled. “It suits you.”

“I am seeing people hustling out of the city gate today.” Hao Ren looked down at the boulevard under the terrace, where several knights were escorting a herald passing through the stone pavement. “It seems busy.”

Veronica glanced at the seemingly clueless ancient guardian. “They are on their way to disseminate the news about the Ancient Guardian. Soon, there will be scholars and representatives from the arcane tower coming to see you.”

The kind of headache Hao Ren had anticipated was finally coming. He smacked his head helplessly and then steered away from the topic. “You have something to see me?”

“My younger brother and sister hope to meet the legendary Ancient Guardian.” Veronica laughed. “They had a serious illness before, and therefore missed the welcoming ceremony, and even did not show up at the banquet yesterday. Today Ania is feeling much better. She couldn’t wait to see you now. But I am worried about her condition.”

“Of course, no problem,” Hao Ren said. “I am curious to see her too. I can go to meet her.”

“Curious? Why curious?” Veronica was baffled.

Hao Ren hemmed and said, “I’m just curious about how your younger brother and sister look. I have heard you mention them several times, but haven’t gotten a chance to meet them.”

“You will like them,” Veronica said as she laughed. She stepped aside to gesture Hao Ren climbing into her carriage. “Ania is a smart, cute girl, and Andrew is well-behaved.”

Before long, the carriage had brought Veronica and Hao Ren to the east side of the palace, where the younger princess and prince were recuperating. The carriage stopped before a small garden in an annex. A winding gravel path passed through the shrubs and flower beds to a white spire house not far away. Veronica first alighted. “Your Venerable Guardian, please wait a moment here, let me see if they are ready.”

There were rules and etiquette in the Royal Family. Often time, they followed a long process of preparation and notification before one could have an audience with members of the Royal Family. Usually, it was the servants who performed these jobs, but Veronica apparently preferred to do it herself. Hao Ren could completely understand why. When the princess disappeared into the entrance at the end of the gravel path, he climbed out of the carriage and strolled around the flower bed. Unlike the magnificent Palace of the Golden Roses, this annex felt more down-to-earth. It lacked the luxurious decoration of the palace but had a lot of warmth and a welcoming atmosphere. The plants in the garden in front of the house were much more lovely than the colossal stone statues and reliefs in front of the palace hall.

While Hao Ren was mooching around, the sound of a dress sweeping across the grass suddenly came from nearby, and then a young girl sounded in surprise. “Ahh—”

Hao Ren turned his head and saw a girl in a white princess dress with long lavender hair and a brass kettle in her hand standing in the shrubs. He was stunned. “Veronica? Did you change your clothes? Aren’t you hate this dress?”

The girl was perplexed and took a step back in fear.

“Wait a second. You are not Veronica,” Hao Ren said, suddenly realizing. “She isn’t as bashful as you are. You are Veronica’s sister?”

Ania sized up Hao Ren before letting out a smile. Her face was a little pale, voice soft. “You must be the Ancient Guardian my sister has been mentioning. I am Ania Bethany Ansa. You can call me Ania.”

Ansa is the surname of the Royal Family of Taros. The girl Hao Ren saw was the twin sister of Veronica. When Hao Ren figured out this, he started to notice the differences. Ania was thinner—probably because she just recovered from her illness, her face pale, and had bigger eyes. There was a gentle and quiet temperament in her, and she still looked dignified and elegant despite not in her best state of health. Veronica lacked all these temperaments. The most memorable trait of Veronica was her swinging her 30-kg broadsword and slicing the monsters like melons while tromping her enemies to the ground.

Looking at Ania, Hao Ren began to wonder how could a pair of twins develop into two extreme personalities—one was extremely intelligent while the other was as strong as an ox.

While Hao Ren and Ania looked at each other awkwardly, someone pushed the door open forcefully not far away. Veronica was clenching a little boy with her forehand rushing out of the house. “Your Venerable Guardian, it’s not good! My sister is missing!”

Hao Ren and Ania looked at the knight princess with a stunned look on their faces.

Hao Ren pointed at Ania and said to Veronica, “Your sister was watering the flowers outside. Didn’t you know?”