Marianne was chased by wolves in the forest. While running, she suddenly fell down. When she turned around, she saw the wolves slowly approaching her. She cried out, "HELP! HELP! HELP ME!" Suddenly, a blast of fire burst out from behind and shot the place near the wolves, making them scared and causing them to run away. When Marianne turned around, she saw a kind-looking man with blazing red eyes. He helped her stand up. "Are you alright? A kid shouldn't be wandering in a place like this. May I know your name?" he asked. "I'm Marianne, and you are?" she inquired. "It's nice to meet you, Marianne. I'm Asherston," he said. "Sir Asherton," she beamed. "What are you doing here in the forest?" he asked. "I am finding something important," she replied. "What's important?" he inquired. "I need to find the regulation earrings," she explained. "Why would a child be searching for such rare jewelry, hmm?" he asked teasingly. "My friend got sick because his power is overflowing. The magician said he needs to wear those earrings," she explained. "Well, from what I've heard, dear, that precious jewelry is in the hands of a goblin," he said. "Yes, it is! I need to find it!" she exclaimed. "You really want to get it?" he asked. "Yes, I want to!" she affirmed. "Alright, I'll help you with that, but on one condition," he said. "What condition?" she asked. "Give me your powers," he said. "But I am just 10," she protested. "I know, but today, in this place, I will get your power. It's just inside your soul, though it's locked for now. With my magic, I can steal it from you," he said, leaning closer to her. "No, you can't do that!" she shouted. "I need my power!!!" she added. Asherton giggled, "But what about your friend? He will die because of overflowing power," he said.
"In your face, Mr. Creepy old man!" she shouted as she walked away. Asherton let her leave for now; however, he followed her silently. He could turn himself into a shadow, so Marianne couldn't see him. Tomorrow morning, as Vale and Elena sat together at the dining table, waiting for Marianne, a servant suddenly shouted, "Majesty! The princess is missing!!!" Upon hearing this, Vale and Elena immediately rushed to Marianne's room and discovered that she was indeed missing. "Look for her immediately!!! Maidservants, check all the palace!!! Stewards, check the entire kingdom!!! Knights, find her!!!" Vale shouted, as Elena cried so hard to see that Marianne was missing. Vale immediately approached Elena and hugged her tightly. "We'll find her soon, okay? Shush now," he said while gently caressing her head. Elena continued to cry, as she hugged Vale. "You stay here, okay? I'll go to Sylvan, I hope that she's there," Vale said as he slowly made his way out. As Vale left the room, Elena lay down on the floor, continuing to cry.
When Vale arrived at Sylvan, he immediately looked out for Marianne, but Alexander stopped him at the front gate. "It isn't the weekend, why are you here?" he asked coldly. "Marianne!! Where's Marianne?!!" Vale shouted while the knights stopped him from entering the gate. "Marianne isn't here; you came to the wrong place," Alexander said. "I need to find Marianne!! Please help me!!" Vale shouted. "Why would I help? I don't care if she dies anyway," Alexander said as he slowly made his way out. When Vale saw that he was walking away, he pushed the knights hard and kneeled in front of Alexander. "Please, I'm begging you, help me find my daughter!!" Vale shouted. "She isn't your daughter, Vale," Alexander said coldly, which struck Vale's heart hard. Alexander was right; Marianne wasn't really Vale's daughter. Vale was stunned by Alexander, and tears fell down his cheeks.
Meanwhile, Marianne was sleeping in the woods, and Asherton was just staring at her nearby. Asherton even purchased a blanket for her to ensure she wouldn't catch a cold. He sighed, "Haa~ what a pain in the ass," he said while sitting on a branch of a tree nearby. When Marianne woke up, Asherton immediately jumped off the branch to approach her. "Are you hungry?" he asked while slowly approaching her. Marianne stared at him as he came closer. "I would rather starve than accept food from you," she said. Asherton giggled as he sat beside her, "You really are like your mother," he said. "You know my mom?" she asked. "Yeah, she's kind and beautiful," he said while grabbing something from his bag. "Here, don't starve yourself," he said while offering her bread. Marianne didn't accept the bread because she didn't trust him. "You see, I know you're not trusting me," he said. He then grabbed Marianne's hand and gently placed the bread in it. After that, he immediately left but was hiding somewhere. Marianne stared at the bread, realizing that she was hungry now. No matter how much she tried not to eat it, her stomach really needed food, so she ate it slowly. After eating the bread, she continued her walk, covering herself with the blanket to fight the cold, as it was winter.
In Asherton's point of view, he used to be a power stealer, a man strolling around to find a victim, the reason why he is so powerful with many different kinds of powers in his hands. That night, when he saw Marianne, he initially planned to steal her powers. However, when she called him "Mr. Creepy old man," he suddenly remembered his past girlfriend who used to call him that name. That's when he realized that Marianne is his long-lost daughter, so he canceled his plan to steal her powers, choosing instead to keep an eye on her. The more he stared at Marianne's face, the more he remembered his past girlfriend's face. In other words, Marianne looked like her mother's clone.