It was almost dawn when Alteraz finished cleaning herself after training. When she stepped out of the bathroom, her gaze fell upon the sleeping gown that had been prepared for her, a loose ankle length garment made of soft fabric that noble ladies typically wore before bed. Instead of putting it on, she picked it up and hurried over to Atila, who was standing beside the bed straightening the blankets.
"Uhm... Atila, do you have anything else aside from this? Like pajamas or something?"
Atila tilted her head in confusion. The unfamiliar word clearly meant nothing to her.
"Ah... I mean something similar to pants and a shirt, but looser."
Understanding finally dawned on the maid.
"Is this not to your liking, Young Miss? Should I have new ones tailored for you?"
"N-no. It's just that I'm not used to this..."
Atila raised an eyebrow. After all, her young miss had been wearing the same style of sleepwear since childhood. Noticing her suspicious look, Alteraz quickly corrected herself.
"I mean... it's uncomfortable with my wounds."
The maid seemed satisfied with the explanation and left shortly afterward to retrieve something more suitable. After helping Alteraz change, Atila excused herself and left the room.
With nothing else to occupy her time, Alteraz found ways to entertain herself. She wandered around the room, inspected various drawers, stared out the window, and occasionally lay on the bed doing absolutely nothing.
By the time she finally grew bored, evening had already arrived. She lay down and attempted to sleep, but no matter how much she tossed and turned, sleep refused to come. Eventually, an idea crossed her mind. Since she couldn't sleep anyway, why not take a walk?
Quietly grabbing a coat hanging near the door, Alteraz slipped out of her room. She carefully peeked outside before stepping into the corridor. Seeing nobody nearby, she made her way toward a back entrance and quietly left the residence.
The moment she stepped outside, she was greeted by a sky filled with countless stars.
Alteraz wandered aimlessly through the manor grounds, admiring the scenery. Without realizing it, she gradually walked farther from the main residence. Lost in thought, she failed to notice the rock beneath her foot.
Why do I always trip over something? she thought.
A moment later, she fell into a patch of tall grass. After brushing the dirt from her clothes and fixing her hair, she was about to stand when a figure caught her attention. Standing alone in the middle of a nearby garden was Zhangxuan.
Alteraz immediately lowered herself and covered her mouth, carefully controlling her breathing as she observed him from afar.
Zhangxuan stood with his back facing her. As he raised one hand, glowing particles suddenly appeared around him. Countless specks of light slowly gathered and revolved through the air.
The bright moon illuminated the entire scene. Under its silver light, Zhangxuan appeared almost unreal, like an immortal who had descended from the heavens. Alteraz watched silently from the sidelines. No matter how many times she witnessed things like this, she doubted she would ever truly get used to them.
No wonder that girl couldn't let go of this man...
The thought appeared in her mind before she could stop it. Realizing she probably shouldn't be spying on her master, Alteraz slowly attempted to retreat. Unfortunately, a stick became caught beneath her foot.
CRACK!
Almost instantly, a sword shot toward her. The blade buried itself into the wall behind her with a loud impact.
Alteraz slowly turned her head. The sword had landed so close to her face that she could practically feel its cold edge. Had she moved even slightly, she might have lost an eye. A moment later, Zhangxuan appeared before her. Judging by the look on his face, he clearly hadn't expected to find her there.
"Amari? What are you doing here?"
Alteraz awkwardly smiled at him. After moving away from the sword, she brushed herself off and tried to look as though she hadn't just been caught spying.
"I-I got bored, so I went out and..."
She paused. Even she wasn't sure how to explain the rest.
"And?" Zhangxuan prompted.
Alteraz scratched her cheek.
"Master, if I say I stumbled my way here, would you believe me?"
Zhangxuan stared at her for a moment before simply saying,
"Go back. It's late."
Alteraz also turned around and prepared to head back. However, before she could take more than a few steps, Zhangxuan suddenly appeared in front of her.
Several arrows tore through the air. However, they were instantly swept aside by an invisible force, scattering in different directions. At the same time, several black-robed figures emerged from the surrounding shadows and charged toward them without hesitation.
Zhangxuan wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her closer while effortlessly blocking the incoming attacks with his other hand. Alteraz's gaze remained fixed on the black-robed figures. The moment she saw them, her body stiffened.
Memories she wished to forget resurfaced without warning. Their appearance was strikingly similar to the people who had killed her before. For a brief moment, it felt as though she had returned to that day. The blood, the blade, and the feeling of helplessness she had experienced before her death flashed through her mind one after another. Without realizing it, her hands had begun to tremble. She instinctively grabbed onto Zhangxuan's clothing, her mind unable to process what was happening around her.
Zhangxuan seemed to notice her condition as a powerful surge of mana erupted from his body, instantly forcing the attackers away from them.
Moments later, lights began appearing throughout the manor one after another. The disturbance had clearly awakened everyone.
Before long, mages from the Grandmaster's residence arrived and surrounded the intruders. Within moments, every assassin had been restrained.
Alteraz remained motionless, her face buried against Zhangxuan's shoulder as she struggled to calm herself. Perhaps sensing her movements, Zhangxuan lightly patted her back. The steady motion gradually eased her trembling. Only then did Alteraz realize what she was doing. Embarrassed, she immediately stepped away, and Zhangxuan released her without comment.
"I-I'm sorry, Master. I..."
Before she could finish, a familiar voice suddenly rang out.
"Master!"
Ansley arrived moments later, breathing heavily. His eyes quickly landed on Alteraz.
"Young Miss? What are you doing here?"
Fortunately, Ansley didn't press the issue. Instead, he crouched beside one of the restrained intruders and began examining him. Alteraz quietly stood beside Zhangxuan. She remained unusually silent until she heard his voice.
"What is wrong?"
"Nothing..."
After a brief pause, she added,
"I'm just startled. That's a-"
Before she could say anything else, Zhangxuan suddenly reached for her wrist. Without explanation, he pulled her away from the scene. The surroundings became distorted, and in an instant, the manor disappeared. When Alteraz opened her eyes again, she found herself standing somewhere entirely different. The unfamiliar scenery finally pulled her thoughts away from the attack.
"Master, where are we?"
"My garden."
"Oh."
The two walked side by side through the garden. Moonlight filtered through the trees above them while a gentle breeze rustled the leaves. For a while, neither of them spoke. Eventually, Alteraz broke the silence.
"Thank you... for earlier."
"Mhm."
The response was brief as always. After walking for some time, Zhangxuan stopped beneath a large tree while Alteraz sat on a nearby stone.
She wasn't entirely sure why he had brought her here, but she had a feeling he had noticed her strange behavior. After a moment of hesitation, she asked a question that had been lingering in her mind.
"Master, who were those people?"
"I don't know."
"You don't know?"
"They've appeared before."
His answer was so casual that Alteraz could not help but stare at him. From his tone, it sounded as though being ambushed by assassins in the middle of the night was no different from encountering bad weather.
"Does that happen often?"
"Occasionally."
Alteraz suddenly found herself at a loss for words. For Zhangxuan to answer so calmly, it was obvious that this was not his first encounter with such people. Thinking about it, it made sense. He was the Grandmaster. A person in his position would naturally have enemies.
The realization made Alteraz glance at him differently. This was another reminder that the man beside her was someone who lived in an entirely different world from hers.
As the conversation came to an end, Alteraz fell into thought. Ever since arriving at the Grandmaster's residence, she had hardly spent any time alone with Zhangxuan. There were always disciples, servants, or someone else nearby, making moments like this surprisingly rare.
The original Alteraz's relationship with him had been terrible. If she wanted to survive in this world, maintaining that kind of relationship would do her no favors. Besides, she was curious. The more she interacted with Zhangxuan, the more she realized that the man before her was different from the image she remembered from the novel. Perhaps this was a good opportunity to understand him better. With that thought in mind, Alteraz looked up.
"Master."
"Hm?"
"I know this is sudden, but why did you choose me as your direct disciple?"
The sudden question seemed to catch him slightly off guard. He looked at her quietly without answering. Seeing this, Alteraz stood and slowly walked closer.
"I lost my memories, remember?" she said with a small smile.
"So naturally, I'm curious."
She stopped directly in front of him.
"Why me?"
Several moments passed when Zhangxuan finally answered.
"I don't know."
Alteraz stared at him with a frown.
"You don't know again?"
"Mhm."
Alteraz couldn't tell whether he was being serious or deliberately avoiding the question.
"No wonder I hated you before." she said teasingly.
Zhangxuan ignored it completely. Instead, he looked directly at her and asked,
"Amari."
The smile on her face stiffened slightly.
"A person cannot change overnight."
His gaze remained fixed on her.
"What do you think?"
The question sounded simple, yet Alteraz immediately understood what he truly meant. This was not about memory loss alone. He was questioning her, her actions, her personality, and the countless differences she had shown since waking up. Someone as perceptive as Zhangxuan would have noticed such a drastic change long ago. At this point, he might even be questioning whether her memory loss was genuine in the first place
The two simply stared at each other in silence until she answered.
"Master..."
She deliberately paused before giving him the same answer he had given her moments ago.
"I don't know either."
Alteraz merely smiled as though nothing had happened. Zhangxuan said nothing further, his gaze lingering on her for a while before turning away. Though the conversation had ended, neither had received the answer they wanted. The garden soon fell silent once more, leaving only the rustling of leaves beneath the moonlit sky.