Meanwhile, Genia, under the influence of the water of forgetfulness, had completely taken on James's image. Her memories had fallen into a deeper silence.
One morning, she was wandering through the palace corridors, stealing an apple from a maid's basket, as was her wont, in a playful manner.
"Catch it! Catch it! Prince, look, your mate has run away with our basket again today!" the maid complained, laughing.
James approached and caught Genia in his arms.
Genia, laughing, brought a half-eaten apple closer to James's mouth, "Here, you eat it too! James, why do you always wear such a serious mask? Smile sometimes!"
James took a bite of the apple and was moved by Genia's carefree nature. He said, "Genia, as long as you keep smiling like this, I have all the happiness in the world. I don't care about anything else."
"I don't even want the position of Chieftain of the Black Tiger Clan anymore?" James's eyes were fixed on Genia's face, thinking to himself.
"I know, my prince!" Genia said playfully, pulling his cheek. They were lost in each other's eyes."
But they were completely unaware that just behind the corridor, the new maid, Maya, was pretending to sweep the floor, her sharp gaze fixed on them.
As soon as Maya saw Genia's face, she pulled out a small magic mirror hidden in her sleeve. She uttered a spell on the mirror with her finger, and Genia's reflection was captured in it. This mirror was directly connected to the headquarters of Arthur's White Tiger Clan.
Standing in the corner of the corridor, Maya thought to herself, "So this is the girl! I've finally seen her face. Prince James is completely blinded by her love. Now Chief Arthur's game will begin."
That evening, when James left the palace to inspect the tribe's border security, Maya spun the next part of her spy net. She sneaked into Genia's room under the pretext of cleaning. She saw Genia sitting on the bed, flipping through the pages of an old book.
Maya approached Genia and said in a very polite voice, "Your Highness, the prince has sent this special scented oil for you. Applying it to your forehead will remove any remaining fatigue."
Genia smiled and took the bottle of oil, but as she touched it, the green crystal of Gia, which was buried in her chest, gave a slight warning, despite the effect of the water of forgetfulness.
Genia noticed something strange in the maid's eyes.
"What's your name? I haven't seen you here before," Genia asked, narrowing her eyes.
Maya lowered her eyelids and said, "I am Maya, Your Highness. I am a new recruit from the lower ranks of the clan."
Genia gestured for her to leave, but as she left, Maya secretly dropped a small black magical crystal under the bed.
This crystal was Arthur's "ear and eye," and would now transmit every secret in this room directly to Arthur.
Sitting in his White Tiger Clan fortress, Arthur jumped with joy when he saw Genia's true face in the magic mirror.
"So this is the girl... the one Rexon was looking for, and Kevin and Alex are obsessed with! And James has hidden her as his mate," Arthur said ferociously, touching the edge of his sword. "But how is it possible that this girl is living in James's palace as his mate and not protesting? Or does she remember nothing? Whatever the case, the time has come. James hid the truth from me, so now he will bear the brunt of his clan's destruction. I will deliver this news directly to Rexon and Kevin-Alex in such a way that they will turn James's territory into a crematorium and end up fighting amongst themselves. After that, this beautiful girl will be mine? Only mine?"
Arthur's eyes were clearly filled with lust after seeing Genia's beauty. But he didn't know that his friend Noya, hiding behind the door, had overheard everything.
Noya, who was hiding behind the door and listening to Arthur's horrifying words, felt the ground slip from under her feet. The moisture in her eyes instantly transformed into boiling anger. "For another woman... Arthur is risking my position?"
Noya's heart began to burn. Arthur's betrayal of her as a mate was unbearable, and even more terrifying was his greed, which was about to plunge the entire White Tiger Clan into a devastating war.
Although she longed to be a mate of the Black Tiger Clan's leader and his brothers, they never paid her any attention. So she chose Arthur as her mate.
But Arthur, now had dreams of getting another girl. How could she tolerate this?
In the animal world, females are allowed to choose multiple mates, and she wanted to boost her reputation by choosing multiple mates.
This ploy by Arthur would help her boost her reputation. She would disguise herself as a poor and unhappy mate and approach Rexon and his brothers, and under the guise of helping them, she would gradually gain close ties with them.
A wicked smile appeared on James's face and, without making a sound, she disappeared into the dark corridors. She was about to sacrifice Arthur for her own purpose.
Meanwhile, night had fallen in James's palace of the Black Tiger Clan.
Genia was alone in her room. The perfumed oil given by Maya lay on the table, but Genia had no desire to touch it. The green Gia crystal hidden in her chest still intermittently emitted a faint warmth, as if ringing an invisible alarm.
Genia got up restlessly and began pacing the room. Suddenly, her eyes fell on the floor beside the bed, where a strange, dark glow was emanating. She bent down and picked up the small black crystal.
As she held the crystal in her fingers, she felt a cold, negative energy, which sent shivers down her spine. Just then, the heavy door of the room opened, and James returned from his security check.
"What's wrong, Genia? Why do you look so upset?" James asked worriedly and quickly approached her.
Genia, without a word, placed the black crystal in James's palm. She also told him about the new maid, Maya, and the strange scented oil that had made her uneasy.
As soon as James saw the black crystal, the soft, loving expression on his face vanished instantly. A violent glint returned to his eyes.
"This is the Dark Eye Crystal..." James's voice held a menacing growl. James knew perfectly well that it was a spying device of the White Tiger Clan! But he couldn't understand what this crystal was doing in his palace, and whether Arthur had sent it to his palace or someone else.
"Dark Eye Crystal... what is it, James?" Genia stared at Jmaes with astonishment. From the ever-changing expression on his face, she knew it must be something very dangerous.
Hearing Genia's question, James came back to his senses. He couldn't tell Genia the truth about this crystal. He had to find out for himself. He clenched his fist and shattered the magical crystal, permanently severing Arthur's connection. "This is the Dark Eye Crystal, the magical instrument of my elder brother Rexon, the leader of that clan. It could also be called his eye or ear. If it has reached your room, then Rexon knows that I have rescued you and brought you back to my palace."
James lied to Genia and hid the real truth. He held James's shoulders and said, "You must immediately go to the safe secret basement. If Rexon has seen you, it means he can reach here any time to destroy this area, and along with him, Kevin and Alex can also reach here."
Hearing those names sent a strange ripple through Genia's mind. Despite the deep impact of the waters of oblivion, the mere mention of 'Kevin' and 'Alex' sent a sharp pain through her head, as if a buried memory was yearning to surface. She saw blurred faces and clutched her head in agony. "Who are these Kevin and Alex, and why would they come here?"
With that, Genia fainted from the pain.
Panicked, James immediately picked her up in his strong arms. He realized that in his panic, he had also mentioned Kevin and Laex, which had increased Genia's suspicion. "Don't think anything, Genia. Don't stress your mind! I won't let anything happen to you."
Panicked, James brought Genia to the palace basement. But before entering the basement, he ordered his most loyal and fierce warriors to search every corner of the palace for the traitor Maya and to declare high alert at the border.
But Maya, a cunning sorceress, had vanished into the freezing cold valleys through a secret passage behind the palace as soon as she realized she had been exposed.
Arriving in the basement, James laid Genia on a soft bed. The basement walls were bathed in the yellow light of ancient protective spells and torches.
James's body was burning with fever, and she repeatedly clutched her head, groaning in pain.
The blue effect of the water of forgetfulness, which had so far chained her memories, was beginning to break. The green crystal of Gia, hidden in her chest, was now shining with full force. The green light of that magical crystal coursed through Genia's veins, cutting off the poison of forgetfulness.
James sat helplessly, holding her hand. A cunning warrior, whose cunning knew no bounds, was devastated by his beloved's plight.
"Forgive me, Genia," James said in a heavy, trembling voice, "I kept your past from you out of fear of losing you. I blurred your truth to make you mine. But perhaps... destiny doesn't approve."
Meanwhile, at the White Tiger Clan, Arthur summoned his fastest and most loyal messenger. He handed the messenger a letter and, with a cruel smile, said, "Deliver this to Kevin and Alex's borders immediately. They must know that the girl they are willing to sacrifice their lives for is in the arms of James of the Black Tiger Clan. This news must reach them before dawn."
The messenger bowed his head and rode his black horse into the dense forest. Arthur was engrossed in the celebration of his victory, but he was completely unaware that a shadow of death was following him.
In the dense forest, where even the moonlight could not penetrate the trees, a shadow suddenly fell in front of the messenger. The horse, frightened, lifted both its legs in the air, and the messenger fell down. Before he could recover, a sharp, cold dagger was placed on his neck. It was Noya.
"This message from your chief will reach its destination someday, but I will be the one to deliver it!" Noya whispered, and in the blink of an eye, she finished off the messenger. She pulled the letter from his clothes and burned it to ashes.
Blowing the ashes into the air, Noya swore to herself, "Arthur, I will not let you stop me from shattering my dreams. Over your and your people's dead bodies, I will now become the mate of the chief of the Black Tiger Clan and his brothers."
Noya turned and headed straight for the Black Tiger Clan's border and Rexon's palace.