Inside a custom-built holding room aboard the landship, Kal'tsit stood looking at the man bound securely in front of her. Theresis sat motionless, restrained to the point where even a twitch was impossible.
For a long while, neither of them uttered a single word. After their silent standoff stretched on, Kal'tsit finally broke the silence, her tone unhurried.
"We have arrived, Theresis. Do you have nothing to say?"
Theresis froze for a fraction of a second. He slowly raised his gaze toward the far wall. Though the room possessed no windows or monitors showing the outside world, it was as if he could already envision the precise contours of the ancient city waiting beyond the hull.
"Did you come here to mock me, or simply to watch my humiliation?" Theresis asked. He didn't roar or snarl in rage. Instead, he conversed with the Feline he so thoroughly despised in a surprisingly composed manner, almost as if two old acquaintances were passing the time. "This hardly seems like the sort of trivial endeavor you would waste your breath on. If it were that Doctor fellow, I might understand."
Kal'tsit, adjusting her posture calmly. "My presence here is merely to ensure you do not attempt something foolish in the name of pride. An untimely death on your part would complicate matters immensely for us."
Theresis shook his head in faint disdain, as though her words were the most absurd joke he had heard in years. He clearly had no intention of engaging in further debate.
"I have made it all the way back here. Why would I choose to end my life now?" Theresis remarked coldly. "Spare me your gloomy assumptions. Misjudging my intent only makes your supposed intellect look foolish."
Outside the doorway, the Elite Operators keeping watch had to fight with everything they had to keep from bursting out laughing. Laughing aloud in this setting was a surefire way to earn a spot on Dr. Kal'tsit's personal watch list.
Still, it was a rare sight indeed to see Kal'tsit get pushed back in a verbal exchange. The operators privately resolved to commit every detail of this moment to memory.
"What is laughable is your own conduct, which bears no relation to my intellect," Kal'tsit countered, her tone remaining completely flat. "If you fail to grasp even that simple distinction, then regarding you as a serious threat may well be the most foolish miscalculation of my existence."
Before Theresis could offer a reply, a heavy thud vibrated through the floorboards. The giant landship came to a complete halt, having finally reached its designated docking point.
A brief wave of confusion rippled through the crew and passengers aboard Rhodes Island. A few of the more skittish residents quietly retreated into their quarters to hide, though most personnel simply carried on with their assigned duties.
Those who chose to hide could hardly be blamed for their anxiety. After all, the vessel was currently stationed deep inside the borders of Kazdel, surrounded on all sides by the feared Sarkaz.
While those who held deep-seated prejudice against the Sarkaz remained a minority on the ship, their numbers were not negligible. Yet Rhodes Island had no intention of forcing a sudden shift in anyone's personal beliefs.
Kal'tsit knew better than anyone that offering medical care and employment could not instantly erase years of ingrained bias. Rhodes Island possessed no magic trick to reshape a person's worldview overnight; all they could do was push for gradual change.
And the signs of progress were already there. As heavily armed Sarkaz soldiers boarded the corridors, the onlookers showed apprehension, but no out-of-control panic ensued. That alone was a welcome development.
Unlike the common perception of Sarkaz mercenaries—brutal, loud, and quick to draw blood—these soldiers moved down the hallway in absolute silence. When they reached the door of the holding cell, the heavy rise and fall of their breathing betrayed their internal tension.
The man sitting inside was Theresis. Even bound and defeated, his name alone carried an intimidating weight that made every soldier stiffen with caution.
Theresis watched them approach with his usual impassive glare. There was no fury in his eyes, nor any trace of embarrassment. He remained entirely stoic.
"By order of the Demon King..." The commander of the squad paused, visibly fighting his instincts to address the prisoner by his old royal title before forcing the words out. "...we are here to escort Theresis to an audience with Her Majesty."
"Our personnel will accompany you every step of the way," Kal'tsit interjected, her eyes narrowing as she addressed the squad commander. "Handle him with extreme caution. You know better than anyone how dangerous this man is. Any momentary lapse in vigilance could grant him the opening he needs."
"We are fully aware of the Regent's power," the commander replied respectfully. "You need not worry, Doctor."
How could they not know? The man before them was a legendary figure of their people.
Yet alongside their innate fear, a strange sense of anticipation welled up within the soldiers. Both legendary figures of Kazdel had finally returned to their homeland. To the average Sarkaz, it felt as though the fractured realm might finally find a path forward.
Regardless of the civil war he had provoked years ago, his name still echoed loudly across the badlands. That was precisely why Kal'tsit had taken such pains to ensure he was delivered back alive.
In truth, both the former Regent and Theresa held an irreplaceable significance for the Sarkaz people. Bringing him here alive was worth every ounce of effort expended.
Theresis offered no resistance. He stood up smoothly and fell into step alongside his escorts, leaving the cell behind without a word. Just before crossing the threshold, he cast a long, lingering look back at Kal'tsit.
Kal'tsit kept her eyes locked on him until he cleared the doorway. Had he made a single hostile move, sedatives would have been administered instantly, and the elite forces hiding in the shadows would have moved to subdue him.
Yet he made no attempt to break free. Surrounded by the ring of armed guards, he walked out of Rhodes Island with an undeniable aura of authority.
The way he carried himself, coupled with the tight formation of the squad around him, hardly looked like soldiers escorting a high-value prisoner. It looked far more like a sovereign guarded by his personal vanguard.
When he stepped out onto the open deck, the bright sunlight hit his eyes. Standing bathed in that brilliant light was a familiar figure.
Theresis halted, staring at her in complete silence.
"Even after all this time, do you still have nothing to say to me?" Theresa asked quietly. Her tone was as gentle and serene as it had always been, containing not a trace of animosity toward the man who had betrayed her.
"At this point, what is left to say?" Theresis replied, searching her face. He looked for anger, for resentment, or perhaps a flicker of sorrow.
He found none of it. Her expression held no joy from a family reunion, nor the burning rage one might expect when facing a traitor. Her eyes were completely tranquil.
Or perhaps the emotion she felt was something far deeper—a quiet sorrow for the countess Sarkaz lives lost, and for the thousands driven from their homes by the bitter rift between them.
Silence descended over the deck once more. The two stood facing each other under the afternoon sun until Theresa turned, gesturing for her guards to lead Theresis away, bringing the tense encounter to a close.
"And then what happened? What is Theresa planning to do with Theresis?" Jeanne asked eagerly, leaning forward as she pried for details from Outcast.
"I couldn't tell you," Outcast replied with a casual wave of her hand. "Word from the main vessel didn't specify how Her Majesty intends to deal with him. My guess is he's under strict house arrest for the time being."
No one expected Theresa to execute him. Regardless of past grievances, a living Theresis held far more value to the future of Kazdel than a dead one.
"The good news is that the main landship will be setting course for our location shortly," Outcast added with a warm smile. "You won't have to worry about how to manage all these refugees much longer."
Jeanne nodded in relief.
It was finally time to head back. It certainly hadn't been an easy journey.