Herald of Light.

That was the name of the novel Ulrich had transmigrated into. If it hadn’t been for Faith insisting he read it, he never would have touched the book. The narrative structure was strange, almost childish and clearly tailored for a young adult audience. Although he hadn’t been very old when he read it in college, the protagonist had always struck him as immature. However, his main source of reluctance had been the presence of multiple female leads.

The central heroine of the story was the Princess of Skargardia, Camellia, but she was far from the only one. The protagonist was surrounded by a harem of love interests, each dragging him into their own convoluted arcs. Truthfully, Ulrich couldn’t complain too much; he had read the book, after all. He also had to admit that, unlike in many similar stories, these women weren’t just decorative tropes. They brought substantial plot points and worldbuilding with them, even if he would have preferred to be spared the tiresome love quarrels that constantly orbited the main character.

The true problem, however, was his own role in this narrative. In the novel, Ulrich was a major antagonist.

He was destined to become a strict, highly respected professor at the Imperial Academy, where the protagonist and his entourage studied. Despite his villainous role, the original Ulrich was written as an intelligent, meticulous manipulator. To the world, and to the protagonist, he was merely an exacting teacher, a Count. No one suspected that he was secretly an ally of the Demons and a high-level traitor.

But eventually, his perfect facade would crack. The protagonist’s party would begin to see through his schemes, countering his plans before ultimately taking him down. And the catalyst for his entire downfall, the spark that would first draw suspicion upon him, was one specific female lead.

Ceres.

In the future, she was destined to enroll at the Imperial Academy and become the protagonist’s classmate. Originally, she had no direct ties to the main character, but she harbored a deep, burning hatred for Ulrich. It was her obsessive quest for revenge that would inadvertently uncover his ties to the demon faction, setting the stage for his ruin.

According to the timeline of the novel, she wasn’t supposed to make her appearance for another three years. Ulrich certainly hadn’t planned on crossing paths with her before the main plot began. Yet now, through some bizarre twist of fate, he had just stumbled across her, bleeding and terrified right in the middle of his own territory.

It was definitely her.

The physical description matched perfectly, and the old man had screamed the name Ceres.

Leaving the bisected bear behind, Ulrich sprinted through the underbrush, tracing the chaotic path the old man had taken. His mind raced as he ran through the dense forest, grappling with the unexpected encounter. What did this early meeting mean for the timeline?

Narrowing his eyes, Ulrich dug through his memories of the novel’s story, piecing together her backstory. He knew Ceres eventually sought revenge against him because the original Ulrich had murdered someone precious to her.

’Could it be that old man?’ Ulrich wondered briefly as he vaulted a fallen log.

In the story, Ceres was introduced as an orphan. There was never any mention of a living grandfather. Unfortunately, the author had been notoriously vague, only establishing that Ulrich had taken a life important to her without elaborating on the how or the why. But applying basic logic to the world’s brutal politics, the puzzle wasn’t hard to piece together.

Ceres was a Witch. Or, more accurately, a Half Witch.

While she didn’t actively practice Witchcraft in the early parts of the story, her bloodline was a death sentence in this era. It was probable that the original Ulrich had discovered her secret identity and hunted her down, resulting in a loved one sacrificing themselves to ensure her escape. That would fit the original character’s ruthless modus operandi.

If that tragic event hadn’t happened yet, this encounter was an unprecedented stroke of luck. It was a golden opportunity to drastically rewrite Ceres’s fate.

There was a slight risk that he had already inadvertently caused the death of someone important to her through his administrative actions, meaning she might already harbor that destined hatred. However, Ulrich had no recollection of ever seeing her face before today. If her grudge hadn’t been formed yet, he could dismantle her motive for revenge before it was even born.

Having this dangerous girl off his back would spare him an immense amount of trouble when he eventually took his post at the Imperial Academy. In the novel, he was ultimately killed by Airam and her sisters, but it was Ceres and the protagonist who initially exposed him and drove him out of Arcadia. She was the one who dug up his ties to the Demons.

Since Ulrich could not simply sever his alliance with the Demons, nor did he have any intention of doing so, he was still walking a deadly tightrope. He could not afford to have suspicious, hyper-competent students investigating his shadows. Bending Ceres to his side now, or at least neutralizing her hatred, wasn’t just an opportunity; it was a necessary step for his survival.

Ulrich had originally planned to deal with Ceres when the academy timeline began, but fate had just handed him a massive shortcut. He was not going to let it pass.

Accelerating through the dense woods, his sharp ears picked up a cry.

"Grandpaaa!!"

Tightening his grip on the hilt of his sword, Ulrich channeled mana into his legs and vaulted through the treeline. He landed in a rocky clearing that ended in a sheer drop. It was a bit generous to call it a cliff; the fall was only about a dozen meters to the jagged rocks below, but it was more than enough to act as a deadly dead end. Ceres was backed precariously close to the edge.

Standing between her and the forest was the old man, his battered sword raised defensively against a snarling pack of mutated wolves. Magical Beasts again, and this time a group. Stumbling into two sets of dangerous monsters in a single afternoon was far beyond simple bad luck, and Ulrich immediately knew something else was drawing them in.

"Stay behind me, Ceres!" The grandfather shouted, his breathing ragged as he stared down the advancing pack.

"But Grandpa!"

The old man bit his lip, panic bleeding into his features as he calculated their complete lack of an escape route. Jumping off the edge was a gamble that would likely break their legs, leaving them defenseless anyway. There was no retreating. He just had to carve through the wolves. He wasn’t that weak. Even with his arm bleeding out and the paralyzing monster poison already sluggishly clogging his mana channels, he convinced himself he could hold the line.

Gritting his teeth, he let out a battle cry and charged forward.

"I will never let you touch my sweet Ceres—gaaahh!"

For the second time that day, his heroic final stand was instantly derailed. A boot slammed directly into his ribs, sending him tumbling out of the way with a disgraced, breathless grunt.

The old man rolled through the dirt, groaning as he clutched his bruised side. When he looked up and realized it was the exact same stranger who had kicked him earlier, he finally snapped.

"W—Why?!" He yelled.

"Grandpa!!" Ceres shrieked, moving to run toward him, but the old man threw out his good arm to stop her.

"Stay away, Ceres!"

The young girl froze in her tracks, nervously nodding before shifting her teary gaze to the newcomer standing between them and the wolves. At first glance, she thought he might be a Hunter. He wore some combat-ready clothes, but the way he carried himself betrayed him. His posture was too immaculate, and his sharp features were far too refined for a common mercenary. He looked exactly like a high-born noble.

Ulrich ignored the old man’s outrage, his cold gaze locked on the pack of wolves. There were five of them, their glowing eyes now fixated on him. Individually, they were weak; he could butcher them with minimal effort. However, they were pack hunters. If they scattered and flanked him, there was a minor risk of taking a stray bite from their razor-sharp fangs, and more importantly, a high probability that one would slip past his guard to maul Ceres.

His mind rapidly cycled through formations, thinking the most efficient area-of-effect spell to incinerate the pack without damaging the surrounding terrain. But before he could draw his mana, a sharp gasp shattered his concentration.

"Hah...!"

Ulrich whipped his head around. Near the precipice, the brittle earth had finally given way. Ceres was windmilling her arms, stumbling backward as the edge crumbled beneath her boots.

"Ceres—!"

Her grandfather screamed, throwing his good hand out in a completely useless attempt to catch her from ten feet away.

To Ulrich, the disaster seemed to unfold in slow motion, giving his mind just enough time to formulate a quick, albeit brutal, solution. He completely abandoned the wolves. Sprinting toward the ledge, he closed the distance to the old man in a fraction of a second and seized him by the collar of his tunic.

"W—What are you—aghh!" 𝐟𝗿𝐞𝚎𝚠𝐞𝚋𝕟𝐨𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝕔𝕠𝚖

Before the old man could formulate a complete sentence of protest, Ulrich heaved him forward, throwing the grown man off the cliff as easily as one might toss a sack of grain. Without breaking his stride, Ulrich stomped the crumbling edge and launched himself into the void, diving straight down after Ceres.

As they plummeted toward the river rushing below, the wind whipped Ceres’s messy green hair away from her face, finally exposing her hidden features. Ulrich caught a fleeting glimpse of her right eye. It wasn’t green like the left; it was a luminous shade of amber.

Through her tear-filled, heterochromic eyes, Ceres blinked in shock. The terrifying freefall suddenly halted as the red-haired stranger materialized directly beside her in mid-air. Before she could scream, Ulrich wrapped a strong arm around her waist, pulling her tightly against his chest. With a twist of his hips, he forcefully shifted his momentum, angling his own body downward so his back would absorb the impact of the water.

And they both slammed into the water.