Evelyn's brow furrowed slightly in surprise.
Evelyn: "Blue? No… I saw its eyes were red when I was forming the contract."
Cassy: "Yes, its eyes are definitely blue, Your Highness."
Evelyn checks again and saw sparkling blue eyes; confusion clouds her features.
Evelyn: "How can that be? I literally saw…"
Evelyn trailed off, a flicker of doubt crossing her mind.
Cassy offers a gentle smile.
Cassy: "You must have seen wrong, Your Highness."
Evelyn: "Maybe…"
Evelyn conceded, though a nagging sense of uncertainty lingered.
Soon, everyone was gathered around Evelyn, their initial surprise giving way to fascination with her new companion.
Lora's curiosity piqued as she looks at the cat. She looks at Evelyn.
Lora: "What did you name it, Your Highness?"
Evelyn: "Ahh… name…"
Evelyn trailed off again, her inherent weakness for remembering names resurfacing.
Cassy raises a questioning eyebrow, a hint of playful exasperation in her voice.
Cassy: "Don't tell me you still haven't named it, Your Highness."
Evelyn offers a dry smile.
Evelyn: "Haha… So, what should I name it?"
Melinda, ever so polite, offers a gentle suggestion.
Melinda: "Your Highness, it's your familiar. You should be the one naming it."
Evelyn: "Okay, fine…"
Evelyn mused, stroking the soft black fur of the cat in her arms. After a moment of contemplation, her eyes lit up slightly.
Evelyn: "Then… how about 'Shadow'? Since it's so black. What do you say? Do you like this name?"
Evelyn asked the cat directly. The black cat responded by rubbing its head against her hand, a clear sign of contentment.
Evelyn: "Looks like it likes the name."
A chorus of appreciative murmurs.
Everyone: "Shadow… it suits him perfectly. Such a cute and obedient familiar."
Everyone continued to admire the sleek black cat, their earlier confusion forgotten in their fascination.
______
The next day-
A neatly wrapped gift arrived at Evelyn's door, bearing the crest of the Rochester duchy. It was a birthday present, sent by her fiancé, who could not come in person.
Evelyn's lips curled slightly 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.
Evelyn 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 Evelyn'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's library. Vibrant hues of blue and gold danced across the polished floor, brushing against the hem of Evelyn'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 Evelyn 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.
Evelyn turned slightly. It was Ella, the quietest among her guardians, holding a book in both hands as though it were some dangerous artifact. Her brows were furrowed, eyes unsure.
Ella: "I… Why did you give me this book?"
Ella asked in a low voice, almost like she was asking a life and death question.
Evelyn's lips curved with amusement as she looked at the book on Ella's arms.
Evelyn: "You mean Deadly Shadow?"
Ella nodded, her brow furrowed.
Ella: "This book… it's not a normal book, is it?"
"No," Evelyn said simply.
Evelyn: "It's a record. Of someone who once ruled the world from the shadows."
The book felt alive in her grip, its weight a quiet threat.
Ella: "I've never read anything like this. It's... frightening."
Ella's expression shifted. The name "Deadly Shadow" wasn't unfamiliar—stories of the infamous assassin still drifted through the dark corners of history. A phantom that terrorized empires three centuries ago, the Deadly Shadow was known for her eerie precision and chilling promises.
'Deadly Shadow' was a name long buried in the annals of assassination history. Three centuries ago, in the vast Cargo 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 dubbed her the number one assassin of all time.
And yet, Evelyn had handed this terrifying book to Ella.
"I thought you might ask that," Evelyn 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."
Evelyn: "This book contains all of her techniques, her paths of thought, her methods."
Ella: "But… why me?"
Ella asked, unsure whether to feel honored or terrified.