Astra's brow furrowed slightly in surprise.
"Blue? No… I saw its eyes were red when I was forming the contract," she murmured, tilting her head.
"Yes, its eyes are definitely blue, Your Highness," Cassia confirmed.
Astra checks again and saw sparkling blue eyes; confusion clouds her features.
"How can that be? I literally saw…" Astra trailed off, a flicker of doubt crossing her mind.
Cassia's gentle tone cut through her doubt. "You must have seen wrong, Your Highness."
"Maybe…" Astra conceded, though a nagging sense of uncertainty lingered.
Soon, everyone was gathered around Astra, their initial surprise giving way to fascination with her new companion.
Lora's curiosity piqued as she looks at the cat. She looks at Astra. "What did you name it, Your Highness?"
Astra paused, a faint frown crossing her face. "Ahh… name…"
Astra trailed off, her inherent weakness for remembering names resurfacing.
Lily raises a questioning eyebrow, a hint of playful exasperation in her voice. "Don't tell me you still haven't named it, Your Highness."
Astra let out a dry laugh. "Haha… So, what should I name it?"
Melinda, ever so polite, offers a gentle suggestion. "Your Highness, it's your familiar. You should be the one naming it."
"Okay, fine…" Astra murmured, her fingers lightly stroking the cat's soft black fur. After a moment of contemplation, her eyes lit up slightly.
"Then… how about 'Shadow'? Since it's so black. What do you think? Do you like this name?" she asked, speaking directly to the cat.
The black cat responded by rubbing its head against her hand, a clear sign of contentment.
Astra's lips curved into a soft smile.
"Looks like it likes the name."
A chorus of appreciative murmurs.
"Shadow… it suits him perfectly. Such a cute and obedient familiar," they said in unison.
The sleek black cat became the center of their attention, and for a while, their earlier confusion about its unusual eyes and presence melted away into fascination and admiration.
__
The next day–
A neatly wrapped gift arrived at Astra's door, bearing the crest of the Rochester duchy. It was a birthday present, sent by her fiancé, who could not come in person.
Astra didn't say anything as she regarded the package. Perhaps this was his way of fulfilling his duty, a perfunctory gesture from a fiancé. That was her interpretation, at least.
Astra set the gift aside, her attention already focused elsewhere. Her days were becoming increasingly structured and demanding.
She had begun a rigorous personal regimen.
Each day was filled with exercises designed to rebuild her physical strength, intense magical practices to rekindle her dormant abilities, and strategic training to sharpen her combat skills.
The memories of her past lives, the knowledge and experience she had accumulated, were invaluable, and she was determined to reclaim every ounce of her former power.
The arrival of Shadow had added another layer to her life, a silent, watchful presence that stays with her.
Her birthday celebration, though a surprise, was now a pleasant memory as she plunged back into the demanding rhythm of her new existence.
The soft rustling of pages echoed through the Black Rose Palace as the servants flipped through books unlike any they'd seen before.
Each of Astra's guardians-in-training had been given a specific book, handpicked by the princess herself. These books were far from ordinary.
Among them, Ella stood frozen in the middle of the corridor, staring at the title embossed in dark ink on the leather cover of her book.
'Deadly Shadow.'
Her fingers trembled slightly as she turned the first page, a faint chill running down her spine.
Before she could read further, she turned on her heel and made her way toward Evelyn's study, the book clutched tightly to her chest.
The late morning sun filtered softly through the stained glass windows of the Black Rose Palace.
Vibrant hues of blue and gold danced across the polished floor, brushing against the hem of Astra's dress as she was seated near the open window, soft sunlight filtering through her white hair as she was reading a book seriously.
When Ella arrived, she saw the princess reading a book by the window. She looked serene, almost too calm for someone who had delivered a deadly assassin's manual to a palace maid.
Ella's gentle knock broke the calm.
"Your Highness," came Ella's soft voice.
Astra turned slightly. It was Ella, the quietest among her maids, holding a book in both hands as though it were some dangerous artifact. Her brows were furrowed, eyes unsure.
"I… Why did you give me this book?" Ella's voice was low, almost as if she were asking a life-or-death question.
Astra's lips curved with amusement as she looked at the book on Ella's arms.
"You mean 'Deadly Shadow'?" she asked, her tone calm.
Ella nodded, her brow furrowed. "This book… it's not a normal book, is it?"
"No," Astra said simply, her voice steady. "It's a record. Of someone who once ruled the world from the shadows."
The book felt alive in Ella's grip, its weight heavy not just in mass, but in menace. The title alone carried an unspoken threat, a whisper of history.
"I've never read anything like this. It's… frightening," Ella admitted, her voice trembling slightly.
The name 'Deadly Shadow' wasn't really unfamiliar.
'Deadly Shadow'… Even in whispered tales and obscure histories, the name was enough to chill the blood. Stories of the infamous assassin drifted through the dark corners of history, long buried yet still potent.
A phantom that terrorized empires five centuries ago, Deadly Shadow was known for their eerie precision and chilling promises.
'Deadly Shadow' was a name long buried in the annals of assassination history. Five centuries ago, in the vast Kargoth Empire, the name evoked silence and terror.
Stories told of a ghost-like killer who left no trace, no scent, no shadow. She was a phantom who moved with the wind, who never failed.
Before every kill, she would leave behind a letter for her target — a chilling message with the date and time of their death. No one ever escaped. No fortress, no army, no amount of power could stop her.
She delivered death with precision and disappeared before anyone could blink. The world had named her the "Number One Assassin" of all time.
And yet, Astra had handed this terrifying book to Ella.
"I thought you might ask that," Astra said, walking closer. Her hands were clasped behind her back, her steps slow, purposeful. "There is no rule that an assassin cannot be a guardian."
Ella's eyes flickered with surprise and disbelief.
"This book contains all of her techniques, her methods, her thought patterns," Astra said. "Everything she used to become the deadliest in history."
Ella swallowed hard. "But… why me?" Her voice wavered, unsure whether to feel honored or terrified.