I stared in shock at the small token Dame Madorra handed me, something she’d picked up from the judge’s aide. They shouldn’t even have this token! Cala had accepted the quest from the assassins' guild, marking the mission's start and end with this very token. How could they possibly have it? This was a double betrayal! The token had been infused with her mana within the Black Church when she received her reward. The Kingdom shouldn’t have known who completed the mission! So much for the Black Church's "anonymized questing."

The whole token-rewards business had been quite lucrative, with nobles always eager to pay hefty sums for them, proudly displaying their medals, and getting rewarded with more land from the king. Yes, Cala had boasted about completing the quest—I hadn't exactly kept it under wraps—but how and why did the Black Church hand it over to the kingdom?

I lifted my gaze to the room full of onlookers. Most of these fools probably didn’t know that I didn’t take the quest directly from the kingdom but through the assassins' guild. Not that explaining it would earn me any brownie points now. Quite the contrary—it would likely make things worse. The Black Church was one of the most secretive and feared institutions in the world, with its direct ties to the assassins' guild.

I turned my eyes back at the small token. The moment I imbued it with mana, the sample was bound to resonate negatively. Instead of the golden yellow it should have turned, it would shift to a deep blue, almost black—a clear sign of the deception.

As all eyes were fixed on me, I took a deep breath, staring at the token in my hand. My decision was already made. Why should I let them throw me into a cell, bind me in whatever way they saw fit, when I was still free? Give up my freedom willingly? Never! Not as long as I could move and fight back! True, they had overwhelming power, but I had no intention of fighting to win—only to escape.

I was steeling myself, preparing to cast “darkness.” The spell would instantly throw them into confusion, disrupting their coordination. If Lynx was alert, the sudden darkness would spur him into action. He had the mana manipulation skills to detect and possibly disrupt the runes that were restraining me—and likely him as well. That would be enough to turn the tide.

With my ability to transform and the cover of darkness, I figured I had a solid chance of escaping before they could erect a containment field. Even if they managed to cast it quickly, I still had hope, knowing Lynx could help me shatter it. As I felt the mana coalescing within me, ready to unleash the “darkness,” I locked eyes with Nebesko, trying to read his next move. Then, with deliberate slowness, I began to imbue the token with mana.

My lynx form was higher leveled, but would I even be able to transform? And even if I could, I hadn’t had time to train its skills. The battle would be tense, especially given the circumstances—the runes I had already detected, and possibly those I hadn’t, the additional troops lingering around, potential traps, and... I froze as a soft golden glow lit up from my hand.

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"This is impossible," I thought. "Mana signatures can't be faked. Does this mean I’m really Cala? But then why did Lynx say I wasn’t? Why didn’t Cala’s inventory work?"

A thousand questions raced through my mind. I was more confused than they were.

“Hero, could you hold your hand higher so everyone can see?”

The judge's voice jolted me from my reverie, and I automatically did as requested.

If they had attacked me at that moment, they likely would have overwhelmed me easily—I was that shocked and confused.

Behind the curtain, the King chuckled.

"So, she chose to accept the domain after all."

"But why did I sense she was preparing to cast something?" Dame Adria asked.

"That was probably a warning..." the King replied.

Dame Adria chuckled.

"A warning? Even at her level, she should know her place—we outclass her by far!"

The King shook his head.

"Never underestimate your enemy. Her team might be here, even though we haven’t been able to confirm it. That’s almost more concerning than if we had detected them. Remember, Elefteares was a tough nut to crack, defended by special elite troops. She knows we shouldn’t have the Black Church's token and was likely readying something—probably darkness, and who knows what else—if things went south."

"The Black Church's token?" Dame Adria exclaimed, flabbergasted.

The King of Kings huffed and sighed.

"Me and my big mouth. You didn’t hear that, and you won’t repeat it! Now, let me get ready—my part in the ceremony is coming up. As that astute viscount suggested, we’re giving her a place where she’ll have to work for us. Have you heard about that orc-infested domain near the Eastern border?"

"Ahetia Province, Your Highness? The one where the Ahetian governor had to retreat, defeated, and begged for the imperial army to restore dominion?"

"Exactly!"

"Does it still belong to us? And isn't that too large for a barony?"

"Well, if she can clean it up, it will belong to us again, and she'll have earned the right to govern it on our behalf... at least for a while."