Forced to become a delicate companion of a paranoid lord

Finn's pendant, which he wore close to his body, shattered without warning. Egbert watched his cousin kneeling on the ground picking up the pieces one by one, and instinctively wanted to blurt out, "This one is broken. I'll ask Dad to buy you a new one."

But as he was about to speak, he suddenly remembered what his mother and father had once told him: everyone has people and things they cherish. So he gently patted his mouth with his palm, and then silently squatted down next to Finn to help him pick up the pieces.

Egbert had seen Finn's pendant several times, as Finn always wore it with him, even when taking a bath. Since they often bathed together during this trip, he naturally noticed the pendant.

In Egbert's opinion, the pendant was nothing special, even quite ordinary. Since there was no magical element fluctuation on the pendant, he always thought it was an ornament made of magical metal.

After picking up a few small fragments, Egbert examined the pendant fragments placed on the white silk handkerchief, feeling that these fragments were darker than the previous bronze pendant.

However, the color difference is not obvious, and it is also possible that the color of the pendant has changed due to the light in different environments.

"Finn, is this a magical artifact? Magical metal only shatters to this extent when used as a protective item. However, I didn't sense any magical elements on it before, so it seems to be a very high-level magical artifact. But then again, protective items only shatter after being attacked a certain number of times, so how could it suddenly shatter..."

Egbert stopped abruptly and then reached out to support his cousin's shoulder.

"Finn?"

Finn's face was deathly pale, as if he had suddenly fallen ill. His eyes were filled with terror, and even his lips were trembling slightly. He could hardly hear what Egbert was saying. The extra memories that came to mind after waking up, as well as the pendant shattered into countless pieces, filled eight-year-old Finn with extreme fear.

After arriving in the village, for several nights in a row he felt as if he were being controlled by something, and with the help of an unknown force, he would evade the patrolling guards and get close to the statue of the Goddess of Light in the center of the village.

Unlike the protective magic arrays activated by magic scrolls in towns, the protective barrier surrounding this village was generated by this goddess statue.

Each time Finn gets close to the goddess statue, the thing controlling him in the pendant weakens a little. But saying it weakens isn't quite accurate; Finn feels it's more like that thing has moved from the pendant to the goddess statue.

Today is the last day of July, also known as the Red Moon.

Just last night, the contents of the pendant were completely transferred to the goddess statue.

……

Eight-year-old Finn couldn't overcome his deep-seated fear of his father, and he lied when questioned by his cousin.

He told Egbert that he had stolen the pendant from his father's jewelry box and that he had broken it, and he was afraid of being punished by his father when he got back.

Egbert grew up in a loving environment until he was eight years old, and almost no one would lie to him. He was unaware that his cousin, with whom he got along well, was a natural liar.

Egbert took Finn's hand and went to find his all-powerful father, who believed that his father would surely find a pendant exactly the same as the one Finn had before.

From a young age, Egbert knew that his parents were very powerful, and that nothing could frighten him when he was with them.

Therefore, when the protective barrier shattered and the red moon enveloped the village, Egbert calmly took out his staff and shielded his cousin behind him as he looked at the strange and ferocious monsters gathered outside the protective magic circle temporarily created by the magic scroll.

Standing beside his father, Egbert tried hard to eavesdrop on what the village chief and his father were saying, but because they weren't speaking very loudly and the surrounding environment was so noisy, he could never hear them clearly.

"I didn't expect there to be more than one traitor in the village. Someone brought... in... These heretics' goal is to travel through the portal of the ancient ruins to the sealed land of Noctunam..."

"Of our remaining people, only Florence is known to have awakened. Please protect her at all costs; your children may inherit her power..."

"Your Highness Ilias, guarding the seal is the mission of every descendant of the gods, not yours. I think you should know that the dragons of the mythical era were the most loyal supporters of the gods. As a member of the Seaseton royal family who inherited the bloodline of the golden dragon, what you need to protect is the son of the gods..."