The moment Valentina stepped out of the office, she felt it.
Someone was standing outside.
Leaning against the corridor wall was Adrian Shaw, arms crossed, expression cold and impatient. His brows were drawn together, irritation obvious on his face.
When did he get here?
Valentina didn't care enough to find out.
She walked past him without slowing down.
Just as she brushed by, his voice cut through the hallway.
"I've received the notice," he said flatly. "Since we're no longer connected, stop bothering me."
Valentina paused.
Only for half a second.
She didn't turn around.
"Oh."
That was all.
She continued walking.
No tears. No explanations. No pleading.
Adrian froze.
He stared at her retreating back, disbelief creeping into his eyes.
This wasn't how things were supposed to go.
Normally, she would already be crying—eyes red, voice shaking, desperately grabbing onto his sleeve, apologizing for things she hadn't done. She would cling to him, begging, swearing she would change.
But now?
Nothing.
Not even anger.
Just indifference.
Beside him, one of his friends burst out laughing. "Damn, Adrian, looks like Valentina finally gave up! That's amazing! We're free!"
Another chimed in immediately. "Seriously, she used to follow us everywhere. Even when we went to the restroom!"
"Yeah! And when we went to bars, she'd say she had to keep an eye on her fiancé. Ruined everything."
"Finally peace!" someone shouted. "Let's celebrate tonight!"
"Bar night!"
"On me!"
"Let's go!"
Laughter filled the hallway.
Adrian didn't join in.
He cast one last glance in the direction Valentina had gone, something unreadable flickering in his eyes.
I hope she really means it, he thought.
After submitting her placement intent form, Valentina wandered through the academy grounds.
The Guide Academy was built exclusively for aristocrats. Everything here screamed privilege—gardens arranged with mathematical precision, floating cafés, recreational domes, entertainment halls, even artificial lakes that reflected the green glow from above.
This was the first time she'd truly observed this world without distraction.
If nothing unexpected happened, this would be her reality from now on.
She tilted her head up.
The green light cascaded from the sky as always, soft yet oppressive. Above it floated reddish-purple clouds, twisted and luminous, like poisonous mushrooms from a cursed fairy tale.
At the center of it all stood the Green Tower.
It rose like a god's finger piercing the heavens, unmoving, eternal.
Protective.
Watching.
Valentina's thoughts drifted.
What happens if the Green Tower collapses one day?
Would humanity be swallowed by the Contamination Zones?
Or would they finally rise and reclaim what they lost?
"Miss, interested in a gene match?"
A hand suddenly thrust a flyer into her arms.
Valentina jolted.
She turned sharply.
An elderly man stood beside her, smiling warmly. His posture was relaxed, his eyes sharp. He held a thick stack of flyers under one arm.
She hadn't sensed him approach.
That alone set off alarms in her head.
Apocalypse instincts screamed at her.
She stepped back, eyes narrowing as she assessed him.
"Gene matching?" she asked cautiously.
The term surfaced slowly from memory.
Gene matching was an old Imperial project—using advanced genetic analysis to pair individuals with their most compatible life partners.
Once matched, the data was uploaded directly into the Empire's marriage system.
Mandatory union. No refusal.
The system was created to preserve humanity's strongest bloodlines.
But nobles hated it.
Why marry a stranger when they could marry a compliant noble spouse and enjoy freedom outside marriage?
Because of that, the project had been shelved for years.
"I'm not interested," Valentina said calmly, handing the flyer back.
She turned to leave.
Then—
Danger.
Her body moved before her mind caught up.
She twisted sharply and retreated more than ten steps in an instant.
The next second, the smiling old man stood exactly where she had been.
He looked surprised.
"Well now," he said, eyes gleaming. "Impressive reflexes, little Guide."
Before she could react, his figure blurred.
A sharp tug.
A sting—light, barely noticeable.
He was gone again, standing several meters away.
In his fingers was a drop of blood.
Her blood.
Valentina's pupils shrank.
So fast…
There was no doubt.
This man was a Sentinel—and not a weak one.
Her current body was fragile. No matter how much she trained these past days, a pampered aristocratic frame couldn't match battlefield conditioning.
Fighting him would be suicide.
The old man chuckled, waving the bloodied fingertip. "Relax. Just a sample. Testing my newest gene-matching prototype."
He dropped the blood into a small silver circular device.
The device hummed.
Data exploded across its surface.
Valentina stared at it, surprised. She had assumed gene matching required massive institutions and specialized machinery.
This looked… disturbingly simple.
The old man snorted, clearly reading her thoughts. "If those old nobles hadn't blocked it, this system would already be implanted into everyone's neural interface."
"Instant matching," he continued cheerfully. "Know your future spouse anytime, anywhere. No dating fees, no awkward conversations."
He leaned closer, voice lowering.
"You could even track your partner's real-time location."
Valentina frowned.
She should have walked away.
But curiosity—just a sliver—held her in place.
Part of her wanted to see the Wen family's reaction if her match wasn't that infamous Northern General.
Ding.
Her wrist interface vibrated.
Data streamed in.
[Welcome, User 008, to the "Are You Worth It" Gene Matching System.]
[Analysis complete in 10 seconds. You have surpassed 99.9% of national users.]
[Detected compatible partners: 6]
[New user bonus: Displaying initial letters of matched partners' names.]
A. R. M. H. C. L.
Valentina stared.
"…Six?"
The old man coughed. "Heh."
She turned around and walked away without hesitation.
She was done.
"Hey—wait! Wait!" The old man rushed after her, panicking. "I was joking! Don't leave!"
He tapped rapidly on the device.
Fireworks burst across her interface.
[Full Match Unlocked]
[Compatible Sentinels Identified]
Adrian Reed
Marcus Holt
Caleb Wright
Henry Vaughn
Harrison Cole
Leon Foster
[Special Constitution Detected: One Guide – Multiple Sentinel Compatibility]
[Optional Tutorial Available: "Managing Multiple Sentinels – Beginner to Master"]
[Price: 1000 Imperial Credits]
Valentina froze.
She slowly turned back.
"…You're saying," she asked carefully, "all six of them are my matches?"
Six Sentinels.
At the same time—
Across the Empire.
Six different wrist interfaces lit up simultaneously.
[Gene Match Confirmed]
[Your partner (ID: 008) has been registered in the Imperial Marriage System]
[Congratulations. We wish you a harmonious union.]
The Empire had spoken.