Watching the countless data streams rapidly flow downward, Annan clearly felt that familiar sensation of weightless descent gradually return.
It was as if the stagnant air around him was slowly melting away.
Suspended in the void, Annan, too, began to fall...
"...My dear, I hope you know, some cursed individuals truly don’t deserve their suffering, but others are certainly deserving of their curse."
Annan heard a somewhat familiar voice resound by his ear.
He was somewhat surprised.
Because that voice...
Could it be, Prince Albert’s?
The next moment, Annan’s consciousness completely plummeted into darkness.
"...Your Highness? Prince Annan?"
He heard a cautious voice rise beside his ear.
For an instant, Annan even thought he hadn’t successfully entered the nightmare...
But he quickly came to his senses.
He realized that he seemed to be sitting on a chair—and the world in front of him had grown considerably larger.
—It was he who had shrunk.
"...Sorry, I must have fallen asleep."
Annan unconsciously revealed a somewhat tired expression, speaking with a youthful voice.
He noticed that he seemed to be in an extremely luxurious palace.
He was wearing a fur coat that resembled a mink jacket in style. This peculiar fur was of an extremely pure white and was embroidered with intricate silver patterns.
However, it was strange that, even dressed so heavily... Annan didn’t feel hot.
Annan could clearly feel that the room temperature was around twenty-seven or twenty-eight degrees. Seeing the thin clothing of the maids walking back and forth in the palace, Annan immediately deduced—it must be summer.
It was as if his movement had caught the attention of others.
Two people chatting not far away looked over.
One of them was a woman with long black hair and dark red pupils. It was impossible to ascertain her exact age; she could pass for someone in her twenties, thirties, or forties. She was dressed in a dark yellow gauze reminiscent of moth wings, with black spots, her expression composed, eyes bright, and demeanor natural.
The person she was chatting with was a man in his twenties.
He was nearly one meter eighty tall, with deep blue pupils, his figure lean and proportionate, his back straight. His pure black hair hung down to his waist, managed to be extremely smooth and straight, without a single stray hair.
The man’s skin was as pale and bloodless as marble, cold to the touch. He wore clothes styled similarly to Annan’s, but unlike Annan, not a single hair on his wolf fur collar was out of place, and he was clean all over, without a speck of dirt even beneath his fingernails.
But incongruent with his flawless and beautiful appearance was—a constant furrow in his brow, giving him a very serious look. Perhaps due to frequently furrowing his brow, faint lines could already be seen on his forehead.
"What’s the matter, Annan?"
He walked over with a furrowed brow and asked in a flat tone, "Are you tired?"
These words were meant to be caring.
Yet in his tone, there was not a hint of fluctuation, calm to the point of near indifference.
The attendant behind Annan leaned slightly forward, with a hand on his chest, and respectfully bowed to the young man in front of Annan.
...So this is Dmitry Winter?
Then the body he was using now...must be that of the young Annan Winter?
Annan immediately realized the historical setting of this instance.
Based on the height of a fourteen-year-old Annan as a reference...his current body must be about nine or ten years old.
The timeline, then, should be four or five years prior...
Could it be the event when Prince Albert and Kafney met Annan?
Annan’s gaze shifted to the steady and reliable-seeming woman.
She must be the Eldest Princess of the Noah Kingdom, Elizabeth Noah.
...It’s really hard to tell that she’s already over fifty years old.
"Yes, I’m a bit tired."
But in the split second that Annan had this thought, he just stood up, slightly apologetic, and lowered his head, "I’m sorry..."
"If you are tired, you should rest."
Dmitry replied calmly.
There was no emotion in his pupils or in his speech, as if he were made entirely of ice.
He turned his head back and asked Elizabeth indifferently, "Your Highness, Eldest Princess, is there a place where Annan can rest for a while? There are too many people here, and Annan has always been rather frail."
The Eldest Princess chuckled lightly, nodding gently at Annan.
Her voice was steady and generous, offering a strong sense of comfort, a stark contrast to Dmitry, "Little Annan can go to the garden for a rest through the side temple. That’s a flower field personally blessed by Mr. Radiance, the Pope of the Silver Baron. It’s very nourishing for both the body and the spirit."
Having said this, she turned back and looked towards a young maid wearing a white short-sleeved dress, her fingers interlaced in front of her.
The maid, however, bowed seriously in response, "Yes, Your Highness."
Just then, an old man stood up quietly not far away.
He had a gaunt figure, skin over bone...with sunken cheeks and deep eye sockets. Even his hair was somewhat sparse. He was dressed in pure black clothes like mourning attire, without a single spot of color.
He stood behind Annan silently, bowed respectfully and politely, and saluted the Eldest Princess without a word.
Annan immediately recognized his identity.
—It was none other than Merlin Manning, whom he had muttered about last night.
The maid looked somewhat fearfully at the silent old man, approached Annan, and couldn’t help but smile at his youthful face.
She bowed and extended her hand to Annan, coaxing softly, "Please follow me, okay? Prince Annan..."
Annan didn’t hesitate and extended his hand to the maid. He followed her towards the side exit where the crowd was sparse, and the old man followed quietly behind.
It was at this moment that the lead-in mission for this instance finally emerged before Annan:
"You are Annan Winter, the youngest son of Grand Duke Ivan Winter, following your older brother Dmitry to replace Grand Duke Ivan Winter at the eightieth birthday celebration of the old King of the Noah Kingdom.
"This marks the first friendly diplomatic action between the Winter Duchy and the Noah Kingdom since the onset of a peaceful period, signifying that trade between Winter and Noah is set to resume formally...
"Unfortunately, and as expected—someone wants to disrupt this hard-earned peace.
"And it is very simple.
"Whether it’s Annan, Dmitry, Elizabeth... or someone else, if anyone dies, this birthday celebration will turn into a grand funeral.
"And the spark of the next war.
"Moreover, they don’t want to kill just one person.
"It will be a grand hunting ritual—
"Perhaps it’s too difficult for you, at only nine years old, to stop all of this. But only you can do it... because at this birthday celebration, only young you can move about freely.
"Survive. Disrupt the conspiracy. Let more people live—"
[In this nightmare, you are blessed by "Mr. Radiance" and will continue to recover health and mana pool after disengaging from combat.]
[In this nightmare, you are blessed by the "Silver Baron," with all "Silver Baron" domain Divine Arts checks receiving a +1.]
[In this nightmare, you are blessed by the "Mysterious Lady," neutralizing all ritual effects on yourself.]
[In this nightmare, you are blessed by "Old Grandmother," receiving your original body’s Cripple Wizard level.]
[Main Quest: The Radiant One]
Immediately below this line of text, three subquests re-emerged:
[Ensure the survival of "Annan Winter," "Dmitry Winter," "Elizabeth Noah," "Kafney Noah"]
[Find and disrupt the key ritual]
[Do not reveal your identity]