"Ravencrest’s Pact? What is that?" Vina asked, confused.

  Both Tia and Aric looked just as puzzled—this was the first time they had heard of it.

  Realizing their ck of knowledge, Emma took a moment to expin.

  "So, basically, Aldric Ravencrest made a pact with someone or something, and because of that, this territory, along with others bordering the forest, is protected from monsters?" Aric asked, frowning.

  “Yes." Emma nodded.

  "And this pact remains valid as long as someone from the Ravencrest bloodline rules this territory?" Vina pressed.

  "That’s right."

  Vina's brows furrowed. ‘That’s strange…Mom said we’re not blood-reted to them at all. So, we’re not from the Ravencrest bloodline.’

  Tia had a simir thought. ‘Then… isn’t the pact already invalid?’

  Aric's expression darkened. "Why am I only hearing about something this important now?" he asked, clearly baffled.

  Tia and Vina were equally surprised, but they still didn’t grasp the full significance. Aric, on the other hand, had trained at Ravenna’s castle, where he had fought against monsters firsthand. He understood exactly how crucial such a pact would be.

  Emma sighed. "You’re not the only one. When I started looking into this, I found that most people in Ravencrest’s territory don’t even know about it."

  She crossed her arms. "Only a handful of people have heard of it, mostly from their great-grandparents or other elders. But even they don’t take it seriously."

  "So they think it’s just a myth?" Vina asked.

  Emma shrugged. "Exactly. Many believe it’s just a story the Ravencrests made up to py self-trumpet."

  Aric scoffed, unconvinced, his voice ced with irritation. "Maybe they’re right. Maybe there’s no such thing as a Ravencrest Pact. I don’t want to believe that those Ravencrest b*stards ruling this territory is what keeps this kingdom safe."

  As soon as he said it, he noticed Sera and the children who are also ravencrest and immediately regretted his words. He exhaled, rubbing the back of his neck.

  "Sorry, Sera. I didn’t mean you guys."

  Sera gave him a reassuring smile. "Don’t worry. I know you weren’t talking about us."

  Relieved, Aric exhaled, "Maybe the rumors are right… Maybe this so-called pact is nothing more than an old Ravencrest fairytale."

  "We thought the same at first. The ck of monsters above low tier in the forest is one thing, but something about it still feels off. So, Emma and I went to investigate it ourselves," Sera said, her tone thoughtful.

  Aric’s expression stiffened. "Wait! When did you go? And why did you go alone? You know how dangerous it is!" he asked, his voice edged with concern.

  Emma chuckled at his reaction, feeling warm that he is worried for them.

  "Rex, we didn’t go alone. We took some soldiers and maids with us, and just to be safe, we also brought Priest Joshua. It was while you were away at training in the Countess’s castle."

  Aric exhaled sharply, clearly wanting to say more, but he held back. "Just… don’t do it again."

  Emma stuck her tongue out pyfully, making Aric scowl in irritation.

  Pushing past her teasing, he asked, "So, what did you find?"

  Emma recounted their findings, with a stern expression, "The forest is vast and deep, and even low-level monsters become increasingly dangerous the further you go. But the strangest part? No matter how deep we ventured, at some point, we always ended up outside the forest again, as if trapped in a maze."

  Sera folded her arms. "The ck of monsters and that strange maze-like phenomenon… I believe both are effects of the Pact."

  Vina frowned. "But people don’t seem to notice anything unusual."

  Sera nodded. "They’ve grown so used to this safety that they think it’s just normal."

  "In any other territory bordering a forest, monster attacks would happen from time to time. But here? Nothing. It’s unnatural."

  “I guess, this is also the reason why there are no branches of adventurer guilds in this part of the kingdom.” Emma Shrugged.

  Sera specuted, "There’s something else strange too. All the territories along the forest share a common theme. They’re named after ‘Raven.’ The forest itself is called The Forest of Ravens. And every noble house by its border is granted their titles by the founder king of Aetheria with ‘Raven’ in their Titles."

  Aric frowned. "So? What’s weird about that?"

  "The fact that not a single noble family or house carries the name Raven alone," Sera said, her voice thoughtful. "If that’s the case… Why is the forest called Raven’s forest? Who, or what is this Raven?"

  Sera paused, then chuckled, “If you ask me, the biggest anomaly is the fact that everyone seems to somehow ignore or forget these oddities concerning the forest.”

  “This isn't a ughing matter. It’s outright scary.” Aric murmured.

  ‘Is this why Priest Kevin insisted that someone should marry Vina or Tia into the family? And asked us to keep an eye on Sera’s family, as they are the st known ravencrest’s bloodline? So that the bloodline of the Ravencrest can rule this territory. What would happen if something happened to them?’

  Aric felt uneasy, a sudden sense of insecurity settling in his chest.

  "Mother, if what you’re saying is true…" Tia, who had remained silent until now, finally spoke up, unable to suppress his curiosity any longer.

  Sera smirked. "Weren’t you protesting just a moment ago? Is it really okay for you to speak up now?" she teased.

  Tia’s face flushed. "I-I’m temporarily suspending my protest!"

  Feeling aggrieved, he frowned, clenching his fists down, stomping, "You got a problem with that?" Imitating a spoiled character from a TV series from his past life.

  “No, no…no problem at all.” Sera and Vina snickered, clearly amused.

  Watching them, Aric finally felt his nerves settle.

  Sera asked. "So, what was it you wanted to ask?"

  Tia hesitated for a moment before continuing. "If the pact requires someone from the Ravencrest bloodline to rule, then…”

  Being careful not to say that they are not of the Ravencrest bloodline.

  “Why hasn’t anything happened? You’re not from the Ravencrest family, right, Mother?"

  Sera sighed. "That’s exactly what I’ve been wondering too."

  “Maybe, Vina and Tia who inherited the Ravencrest bloodline still belong to the ruling family and one of them will become the next lord of the territory. This is why nothing happened.” Aric specuted.

  Emma, who had been deep in thought, finally spoke up. "Actually, I’ve been considering a possibility. What if Sera’s ancestors were from the Ravencrest bloodline? That could expin why nothing has changed. Maybe, without realizing it, Sera is a descendant of Aldric Ravencrest."

  Aric’s eyes lit up with excitement. "That would be huge! Imagine, the fall of the corrupted Ravencrests, only for their true heir to unknowingly recim their rightful throne!"

  Hearing this, Tia turned to Sera, searching her face for any sign of confirmation. But Sera simply shook her head, as if to say, Absolutely not.

  Unaware of the silent conversation, Aric registered this fantasy as the truth in his mind.

  "Anyway, the pact feels too one sided." she said, waving her hand, " And we can’t be sure of anything yet. That’s why I want to learn the details of this pact.

  “Who it was made with, and what its exact terms are. Even if things seem stable now, we need to be informed. Not just for our sake, but for future generations as well."

  Tia tilted his head. "But how did you even learn about this, Mother?"

  Sera expined how she had found it suspicious why Kevin and Benedict arrived in the vilge. Emma had mentioned the story, having heard it from her grandmother, and that’s when they began to suspect there was some truth to it. Wanting confirmation, Sera had consulted Priest Joshua, and after verifying her concerns, he had agreed to accompany them to investigate the forest.

  "Why don’t we try asking Priest Joshua directly? Or maybe Kevin, or someone who might know?" Aric suggested.

  Sera shook her head. "There’s no guarantee they’ll tell us the truth. And even if they do, we have no way of verifying whether their information is accurate.

  “For now, the king, temples, some citizens of our baronet and other nobles by the forest territory may hold some information. But neither can we recklessly go around asking them nor can we verify its validity.

  “I don’t want to give any of them any chance to take advantage of us. Nor do I want to spread unnecessary panic in the territory with unclear information.”

  A shadow passed over her face as she thought to herself, ‘Besides, I don’t want anything to do with the royals or the priests. Why poke a hornets nest unnecessarily? If things take a turn for the worse… I’ll just take Tia and Vina and run away.’

  "And do you know what annoys me the most?" Sera asked, her face darkening with frustration.

  She continued, her voice ced with irritation. "Some vilgers know about this pact. The priests of the temples at far away distances know about it. The king might even be aware. Hell, for all we know, the whole world might know."

  Her fingers curled into fists, and with a sudden burst of anger, she smmed her palm against the desk. "But those damn Ravencrests know nothing about it. Not even a single clue! Can you believe it?"

  The room fell silent. Everyone was taken aback by her outburst.

  "M-Maybe they do know… and they’re just keeping it a secret?" Emma suggested hesitantly.

  "No way." Sera rejected the idea ruthlessly.

  "You know how vain and stupid those scum are. If they were aware of this pact, do you really think there’d be anything in this world stopping them from bragging about it?" She scoffed.

  "Just thinking about their smug, brainless expressions irritates me. If they were still alive, I’d kill them all over again. Or better yet, toss them into the forest and let them vanish forever."

  Resting her weight on the desk. "If they knew, they might have even gone to bckmail the king, squeezing gold out of the church, or demanding privileges. Maybe that’s exactly why no one, the priests, the nobles, or even the king have mentioned it to them."

  Emma and Aric exchanged gnces before nodding. "That… actually makes a lot of sense." Feeling that they might actually do that, both of them sighed.

  Sera let out a heavy sigh. ‘I feel like I’ve been sighing a lot tely… I must be more frustrated than I realized,’ she thought.

  Pinching the bridge of her nose, "When I took over as Baroness, I searched every corner of this castle. I combed through every document avaible. And do you know what I found?"

  Sera exhaled sharply. "Nothing? Not a single damn mention of this pact. It’s as if it never existed."

  Emma and Aric both sighed, exasperated, their shoulders slumping.

  Tia, who had been deep in thought, suddenly spoke up. "Is it possible that it was hidden using magic?"

  Emma and Aric's eyes widened at the suggestion, but Sera shook her head.

  "I thought the same thing. But the wet nurse who assisted during the pregnancy was sent from Ravenna’s castle. She had a skill called Mana Sensitivity. A rare ability that allows her to detect magic circles and traces of mana. It’s extremely difficult to master, but because of it, she can sense magical artifacts or active mana circles."

  Sera crossed her arms. "During her stay, she searched the entire castle… and found nothing."

  "The only possibility is if any magic circles or artifacts were completely dormant and inactive. But even then, she tried to search for anything unusual. And she didn’t. So the chances of that are low."

  Sera contempted, “One thing was clear. The pact was real, maybe someone had gone to great lengths to bury the truth. Is it because they believed the Ravencrests of the ter generations are unworthy? Or is it for some other reason?”

  A heavy silence settled over the group as they processed this information.

  ‘And also there are two other major issues as far as I am concerned.” Sera thought, looking at Tia and Vina.

  ‘What should we do about our feelings for each other? How should I progress our retionship?’ Sera sighed silently.

  ‘This is not something I can openly share with Emma or Aric though. In fact I can’t speak of this to anyone else other than the members of our cn. Or it would spell disaster for us.’

  Then she looked at Tia, who was lost in thought.

  ‘Another issue is Tia.

  ‘Right now, she's still a child, so nothing has changed yet. But once she becomes an adult, her scent will start attracting a lot of bugs from the hive.

  ‘So long as Tia doesn’t awaken her mana, her effect on the members of our race is negligible. It can be managed as long as Mother and the matriarchs are willing to step in.

  ‘The real problem, though, is charm.

  ‘When someone awakens their mana and successfully undergoes inversion, not only does their lifespan extend, but their physical beauty also intensifies.

  ‘All defects are corrected, and the body reshapes itself into an ideal form.

  ‘And along with that, a strange attraction called charm begins to grow.

  ‘Charm manifests differently across different people. Usually, it is not very strong and is ignored by everyone with mana. Even normal people would feel awe, wonder or intimidated, but nothing more than that.

  ‘Very few people will have high levels of charm.

  ‘But for our race, this quality is like an inherent magic. It is strong and it always takes the form of irresistible beauty and attraction.

  ‘It stimutes the sexual desires of the person who is affected by it.

  ‘Just like how Emma and Aric were attracted to mother Ravenna when she st visited.

  ‘With each inversion, members of our cn become more alluring, sensual, breathtaking and dangerously captivating.

  ‘Forget Tia, even Vina and I will look like a feast to a pack of starving wolves.

  ‘Even though it is just my specution, given the circumstances of our birth, I am sure we will have a very strong charm. Ordinary people, even powerful mages, won’t be able to resist us.

  ‘And Tia… with her constitution, she has an even greater effect on our kind.

  ‘If she awakens her magic and completes inversion ... .Once she blooms…her scent alone will drive everyone mad. Especially the hive.

  ‘Even Mother and the matriarchs won’t be able to stop them at that time.

  ‘Under normal circumstances, our cn members rejoice at this as there will be no ck for s*xual partners and prey. Sves who would gdly do our every bidding, worshiping even the dirt beneath our feet.

  ‘But if Tia turns out to be like me…

  ‘It’s terrifying to imagine.

  ‘Mother says we train to control this charm. But that takes years. And usually, that’s fine, because higher-level inversion also takes time, and charm grows gradually.

  ‘But Tia’s case may be different. Her charm might surge exponentially with each inversion, faster than she can learn to control it.

  ‘Maybe it is the same for Vina and me.

  ‘But Tia’s effect on our race will be great due to her constitution.

  ‘Forget the hive. Even Vina and I might not be able to resist her. Honestly, I’m barely managing now. I'm just starting to get used to her presence.

  ‘Our charm is bad news. Tia’s charm is especially fatal.

  ‘People may think that it is lucky to have a beautiful wife. In actuality, it is dangerous to have a beautiful wife if we ck the strength to protect her.’ Sera sighed internally.

  ‘But the kind of allure the three of us, Tia, Vina, and I, will possess?

  ‘Without the strength to protect ourselves, it will be an open invitation to disaster.

  ‘It might as well be a death curse.

  ‘By the time the awakening ceremony happens, Tia will already have a mature body. Combined with even a small spark of mana, as long as she is within their range the hive will sniff her out.

  ‘The news will spread like wildfire in the hive.

  ‘This is why I don’t want to send her out.

  ‘I don’t even want her anywhere near the people of our race.

  ‘I can already imagine the cn wars taking pce.

  ‘Just thinking about it gives me a headache.’ Sera pinched her temples.

  Copyright ? [April] [2025] [The Rainy Imp]. All rights reserved.

  As Sera took in the contemptive expressions on everyone’s faces, she smiled.

  “Well, there you have it. I’ve expined all my troubles.” Her voice pulled them from their thoughts.

  She leaned backward, resting her palms on her desk, her gaze settling on Tia with a teasing smile and a flicker of anticipation.

  A small, nagging wish lingered in the back of her mind. To see Tia struggle for an answer and watch his frustrated expression, and slight anticipation for possible ways to tease him when he fails to offer a solution.

  “So, tell me. How am I supposed to solve them?”

  She let the question hang in the air before continuing.

  “How do I uncover the secrets of Ravencrest. Secrets that have been buried for so long, hidden even from nobles and priests? Secrets, no one is aware of.”

  “.....How do I cast high-level magic when I can’t even manage the most basic spells?”

  Her fingers brushed against a sheet of parchment covered in arcane symbols and scribbled notes. She lifted it, holding it up for everyone to see.

  “How am I supposed to learn magic when I don’t even understand it? When I keep forgetting things I shouldn’t forget?”

  Emma and Aric winced at the sight of the page, their heads aching just from looking at the complex magic runes scrawled across it.

  Internally, they couldn't help but admire Sera’s perseverance. How she hadn't exploded in frustration every day and kept struggling with this for more than a year.

  A heavy silence settled over the room. Vina, Emma, and Aric were at a loss for words, as no one had an answer.

  Suddenly, Tia reached out and took the paper from Sera’s hand, his eyes scanning the scribbled notes with quiet focus.

  “As I thought,” he muttered under his breath before continuing.

  “Let’s see… if I transte what’s written here—”

  No one had expected anything from him at first. But as Tia began speaking, his slow, deliberate words gradually shifted the atmosphere in the room. Indifference turned to surprise, then to wonder.

  One by one, their eyes widened in astonishment.

  Copyright ? [April] [2025] [The Rainy Imp]. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright w. For permission requests, contact the publisher at [[email protected]].