The queen restrained her fury at the very last moment, taking a step back, her eyes fixed on me with a mixture of wrath and instinctive fear I had never seen before…
She was trying to read me—or perhaps to gauge my energy.
Maybe she still couldn't believe what she had witnessed within herself.
Am I truly the person she thinks I am? Or someone else entirely?
Am I truly a Virtue worthy of respect, or…?
I was no longer the man whose energy once raged uncontrollably and whose Sword's Intent scattered without direction.
Without a word, she gestured for her guards to clear the path.
"Enter."
We followed her in silence, tension clinging to the air, as she guided us through the massive gates—constructed of black stone carved with sharp engravings and scars worn smooth by time—whispers of ancient battles etched into their surface.
I neither knew nor cared for this kingdom's history. I had come only for the information I sought.
Beyond the walls lay the border city—also the capital—stretching with both order and chaos interwoven.
Tall stone buildings lined the streets, their balconies strung with hanging laundry, some watching the road below, others quarreling in cramped markets.
The people bore the look of warriors—even the elderly among them.
Lean bodies, watchful eyes, as though combat was a thread woven into daily life.
As expected from the kingdom that managed the world's adventurers.
At its center stood the Adventurer's Guild, the largest and strangest structure.
Several stories tall, each floor marked by a different color of banners. The highest bore a black standard, denoting the main branch. Around it clustered wagons, and warriors of every age and race.
The city thrummed with life—but beneath the clamor lingered a strange vitality, a nostalgia that words could not capture.
…
At last, we reached the royal castle. There were no inspections, no waiting.
Everything had been prepared beforehand… as though she had been expecting us.
We entered the throne hall—or rather, the great hall of counsel.
There stood a long, rounded table, surrounded by ornate seats.
The queen sat at the head, flanked by two royal knights as unmoving as statues.
To my left sat Maria, followed by Kugssa, then Junia. To my right, the Sword Saint.
The queen spoke first, without pleasantries.
"So, the Virtue…"
"Telodeos."
"Very well… Lord Telodeos. I have been expecting you since the moment word of your passage through my kingdom reached me. However…"
She did not once look at the Sword Saint, despite his overwhelming presence filling the chamber.
"Allow me to introduce myself properly. I am the queen of this humble Kingdom of Warriors—Sivanaira, the White Blade."
I smiled calmly.
"Do you remember your special unit that attacked me years ago?"
She paused, then nodded.
"They were hunting a bearer of a Ruined Sword's Intent under my orders. Somehow, you became their target… they thought you were him."
As she spoke, her eyes flickered briefly toward the Sword Saint.
"Though they were never my enemies, I told you clearly—I would come to claim the price for frightening my disciples."
Kugssa and Maria squirmed in embarrassment, while Junia tried to stifle her laughter, realizing exactly what I referred to.
The queen then spoke sincerely, without fear—almost as though she had transformed into someone else.
"And so, I offer my apology before all. Especially after I have seen… what you truly are, my lord. So, what is your request?"
I understood. Now she spoke as a queen, not as the trembling girl from before.
I drew out an old, faded picture from my robes. Despite its age, it still held the features of Lady Anya, the woman my mother had shown me.
I placed it before her.
"Do you know her?"
The queen carefully took the picture, studying it for a few seconds.
"Yes… I know her. Or rather, most in this kingdom know her legend."
Her tone shifted, like someone reciting a fairy tale.
"They say Anya was a woman born decades ago in this kingdom. A beauty cloaked in mystery, with eyes like mirrors. She wed a noble, then vanished. It's said she carried a child for years without giving birth… and days after her husband's sudden death, rumors spread. Some claimed she was cursed. Others that her child was not human."
So… my father was a noble?
Or were these just lies tangled with rumor?
"The night she finally gave birth, she vanished from the kingdom as if swallowed by the earth. Since then, her name has lingered in tavern tales… a symbol of unspoken taboos."
Just as my mother had told me. After my father's disappearance, they assumed he had died, while Lady Anya never denied the rumors.
Her prolonged pregnancy had turned the tale into a myth told everywhere.
But now I learned something new—she had indeed given birth before vanishing.
Which meant… she had disappeared with my half-brother as well.
But still, not enough information to begin searching.
The queen lifted her gaze to me, her voice softer.
"I will conduct a private search through the kingdom's records and intelligence networks. Give me one week, and I will bring you truths—not rumors."
"Very well. One week. But in the meantime… I want freedom to wander your kingdom."
Her brow arched, as though she had expected this.
"Complete freedom? Without supervision?"
"Yes."
She chuckled lightly.
"Our laws do not allow such a thing."
It seemed she was taking her role as queen a little too seriously.
Had she forgotten whom she was speaking to?
But…
I was in no position to force my will now, not with her tangled relationship with the Sword Saint.
So be it.
For now, I would play along. And if she crossed the line…
"Your laws deny freedom, yet they permit adventurers and mercenaries to fight freely… Quite the contradiction."
Her gaze hardened, her tone turning stern.
"Our laws grant some liberties to adventurers, but absolute freedom only leads to chaos."
"No. It is shackles that breed chaos. Freedom does not mean the absence of law—it means law born of the people's will, not a throne above their heads."
She was inexperienced in politics…
Yet I hadn't expected such resolve from her—to seize my words and turn them into a debate on laws she barely understood.
This was why I despised politicians.
They never let go of an opportunity to exploit.
"You think your kingdom strong because it is defended by force. But in truth, it is weak because it fears the freedom of its people. Tell me—have you ever heard of a great nation that trembled before the liberty of its children?"
She leaned forward, palms pressing on the table.
"And do you mean, by this, that my kingdom is destined to fall?"
"From what I have seen on my way here, your kingdom endures. The fact that you can manage adventurers' guilds spread across the world, all from this isolated continent, is proof enough of that."
A long silence fell, then the queen exhaled.
"Thank you, Lord Telodeos. You have opened my eyes to something I long despised…"
I rose, signaling Kugssa, Maria, and Junia to follow.
"You are indebted to me once more."
We left the hall, leaving the Sword Saint and Sivanaira behind.
That she had matured so much in the time we'd been apart proved she was indeed a great queen.
Though her words today could have spelled ruin for her kingdom, she did not suppress her curiosity—she asserted herself.
The mark of a true leader. Unlike a foolish emperor obsessed only with power.
…
As the doors closed behind us, a loud crash echoed from within the hall, followed by a sharp cry.
Queen Sivanaira's voice rang out, clashing with the Sword Saint's, their blades striking in furious rhythm.
But I did not return.
For that battle was not mine.
The troubles of others are not my concern.
And yet…
Was this truly just a heated argument?
No—what I sensed was a fight to the death.
What have you done, Sword Saint?!