Gwendolyn Suprana sucked in a deep breath as she sat up from the floor.

With wide eyes and a raging headache, she summoned her rapier and began scanning her surroundings, quickly discovering that the scenery was very familiar.

'The waiting room...?'

For some reason, instead of the fighting stage she expected, she found herself lying on the floor of the waiting room — where she had a surprise meeting with a certain man she'd rather not meet by surprise.

There were two other people with her — Villago and Sienna, who were sharing what seemed to be a bag of peanuts while discussing some things that Gwen was too muddle-headed to understand. They were both gesturing toward a screen, which showed Prince Reivan in the middle of a wrecked stone platform.

"The hell was that?" Villago muttered in wonder as he took a peanut from the paper bag and held it out to the other knight.

Sienna plucked one of the peanuts with two fingers, disintegrated the shell in an instant, then tossed it into her mouth. She chewed carefully and swallowed before answering. "Did he not have the dark attribute? From what I know... that attribute dabbles in mental attacks, no?"

"A bit, yeah. I focus on the corrosive and poisonous part of it myself — you know, to make sure those imperials are extra dead. I know this one chick who can literally mind fuck a buncha ordinary people but I don't think even she could do it to a half-ascendant like Gwendy..."

"True. Resistance to those kinds of techniques generally increases as physical capability rises after all... though I still do not see how muscles correlate to the mind."

Villago popped a few peanuts into his mouth and spoke while chewing. "The brain's a muscle, you know?"

Sienna gasped in surprise, covering her mouth. "It is?"

"Yep. The first king said so. We learned about it when we were kids. A bit different than normal muscles though. Apparently, it zaps information and stuff to the rest of the body... I'm not the best guy to talk to about this though. I flunked the academy after all — which is why I gave being a knight a shot in the first place."

"Goodness. How enlightening. The brain part, not the part where you flunked — that was somewhat obvious. I was rescued from the empire so I never had such education... In any case, I'm curious if I could have dispelled the second prince's mental attack with my divine power."

"Explains why he took ya out first, no? Also, did you just diss me...?"

"I suppose that is why he went for me first..." Sienna remarked, ignoring Villago's other question. "In any case, those eyes of his look quite ominous."

"Oh, that? I wouldn't mind it too much. Dunno why, but dark-type essence does weird things to the user's body."

"You too?"

"Right. My entire arm turns black when I use this technique I have that melts flesh..."

Gwen stood up with shaky legs and her movements seemed to finally catch the other two's attention.

"Seems our sleeping beauty's finally woken up." Villago turned right around with a smirk, offering her the bag of peanuts. "Want some?"

"What happened?" Gwen waved the half-empty bag of snacks away and looked at Sienna. She could guess what happened, but it didn't hurt to make sure.

Sienna took the peanuts from Villago and smiled at Gwen, explaining what happened in the simplest of terms.

"We lost."

"Details, please."

"What else can I say here...?" The former templar tilted her head, suddenly troubled for words. "After your gravity technique — which you should have told us about so we could use our trump cards in tandem, by the way — vanished, you sped towards him but suddenly stopped. The prince's eyes turned entirely black and so did yours. It's still black right now, by the way, but it's slowly getting better. Anyway, after that, you just stood there as he pushed you down and slammed you with his big sword until the Sword Star teleported you out of the stage because you couldn't take it anymore."

"He was here, by the way," Villago added, trying to take the bag of peanuts from the other knight but failing. "Great guy. Gave us some peanuts and chatted with us for a while before leaving. Looks younger than I thought he would though. When I was a kid, I thought he'd be this wrinkly grandpa with a white beard that was longer than a person was tall."

Gwen gulped. "The Sword Star..."

A living legend — a mythical existence that most citizens only heard stories about without ever meeting in their entire lives. Such a person had been in the same room as Gwen, and yet, she'd been asleep the whole time.

'What a wasted opportunity...'

Repressing her regret, Gwen also chose a seat and collapsed onto it. She rested her elbows on her knees and hung her head, thinking about the fight.

'I lost.'

That had been the result.

'My mission was to defeat the prince and I... failed.'

The worst part of it was that she didn't even fully understand how. Her memory was so crystal clear it was as if she could replay that part of her mind endlessly and whenever she wanted. There was no sign of when reality ended and when illusion began. One second, she was still moving her body, and the next, she apparently wasn't.

Such an experience was enough for her to even doubt what she was seeing and experiencing right this very moment. Was she truly having a conversation with Villago and Sienna? Were they constructs in her mind?

Was Gwen real? Perhaps even her entire life up to this instant had been a fabrication.

'No. Of course, it isn't...'

Gwen clenched her fist, her well-trimmed nails digging into the callused flesh of her palms. She was far too frustrated with herself to entertain an existential crisis. It wouldn't be the first time she failed on the job. Being part of the administrative division itself tended to manufacture mistakes one didn't even know were possible — like a random citizen unintentionally reproducing a secret code while taking a shortcut through an alley, setting off a series of "mistakes" where the citizen is escorted into a secret military facility that they had no business even knowing about.

Still, this was about combat.

Among mortals, even though she wasn't the best at it, she still considered herself to be quite proficient. Nobody would fault her for claiming that she was among the top players.

'To think I was defeated by a fifteen-year-old...'

Even if he was a prince, Gwen still took a big hit to her psyche. The confidence she'd had in herself was beginning to collapse and she didn't know when she'd be able to believe in herself again.

And to top it all off, this had been about as direct of a command as she could ever get from the King of Aizen himself. She had worked so hard to reach where she was because she wanted to prove herself useful to the man who had made it possible for her and her mother to live such joyful lives.

Yet, here she was.

Gwen bit her lower lip hard. If it weren't for her innately durable physique, she would have likely drawn blood by now — maybe even bitten through her lip entirely. But the pain could barely distract her from the reality of her failure.

"Hey, don't feel too bad..." Villago tried to comfort her with a casual tone when he noticed her downtrodden expression. "He beat the crap out of me too. And that's okay, as far as I'm concerned. It wouldn't be the first time when some young buck kicked my ass, I'll tell you that. This kinda thing happens all the time. It's a good thing because we just got a good ally."

Gwen didn't respond, only grunting in affirmation. Soon, she was forced to look to her right, where Sienna had already sat very close to her, their shoulders practically glued together as the former templar clasped her hands.

"There's no need to fret and doubt yourself, Miss Gwendolyn." Sienna cooed, squeezing her hands gently with a warm expression on her face — which was, again, far too close for comfort. Even her pleasant-smelling breath wafted into Gwen's nose with every word. "The second prince just ended up being a bit too formidable. You're not at fault. From what I could see, it was quite close, no?"

Gwen suddenly noticed how beautiful Sienna's eyes were but she pulled her gaze away by hanging her head again.

'Yes. It was close. A three-versus-one match was close. I was supposed to beat him one-versus-one.'

Nevertheless, Gwen didn't ascend to her level by possessing the mental endurance of soggy paper.

'Be better, Gwen.'

If Donovan had ever taught her anything, it was that getting the shit beaten out of you wasn't always a bad thing. Rather, in a way, it was a good thing since it taught you one more way not to get destroyed in a fight.

'I'll get better.'

Already, Gwen expelled all thoughts of her failure, all the implications her defeat brought, and all the insecurities her loss of confidence brought. All that mattered was that she improved.

Things were fine now. After all, she had lost to an ally. There were basically no consequences to her defeat except the potential disappointment of the liege she respected and the crippling depression it caused her.

But it would have been much worse if she had lost to an enemy.

It was one thing to die. But Gwen was aware that her appearance was slightly higher than average, and some enemies wouldn't see the harm in cutting her limbs off and using her as a cock sleeve. Even worse, what if her failure affected powerless citizens like her mother?

'I will get better.'

To prevent that chance, Gwen resolved to intensify her training. No matter how much it would take, she would ascend.

She even began to contemplate asking Donovan for private lessons — though she left that as a last resort for when she'd exhausted absolutely everything else.

Knock Knock

After a few dozen minutes, the somber silence enveloping the waiting room, as Gwen retreated into her thoughts and the other two knights tried all sorts of ways to uplift her spirits, was abruptly interrupted by a knock at the door.

"Who is it now..." Villago scratched the back of his head while striding toward the door. He grumbled as he opened it. "You came right when we were having a moment..."

"Really?" King Rodin peaked inside the room with a raised brow. "Goodness. I'm sorry."

Villago's legs shook like jelly for a moment before he smoothly knelt on two knees and slammed both palms on the ground. "I deeply apologize! I spoke out of turn, Your Majesty. Please pay me no mind!"

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It seemed that the knight was in so much shock that his accent was blown completely away and he spoke like any fancy minister would.

And who could blame him?

Gwen's body moved on its own as she stood up and saluted, with Sienna following in haste a moment later.

"Oh, no need for that..." Rodin chuckled and he stepped inside while helping Villago up. "I just came back to congratulate you three on a job well done. I didn't expect my son to be that formidable. But you did well anyway."

A tall bald man who was built like a mountain stepped in right after the king, taking his place at the corner of the room. He lowered his head as if to say that he wouldn't mind what transpired, and Gwen couldn't help but note how his eyes were covered by a black strip of cloth with two horizontal white lines where his eyes should be.

'The Golem...'

Gwen's gaze lit up with recognition.

The bald man was King Rodin's former guardian knight, going all the way back to the era when the great king was still a prince. It was said that the giant man was rarely seen though, often busy doing the king's bidding. Once a royal ascended to the throne, they officially lost their guardian knight because the entirety of the knight order became their guardian. But that didn't stop the kings from keeping their former protectors close.

The Golem was but one of many Ascendents who were completely unknown to the people, even though he was also one of the strongest. He could apparently create incredibly lethal humanoid dolls that were completely immune to detection. Despite the man's huge build, he was actually an assassin who felled opponents through ambushes rather than a warrior who fought on the front lines, focusing on covertly and efficiently removing threats around the king rather than protection — though his close-combat capabilities were unknown, so she couldn't be sure if he only fought from the back line.

The man's rippling physique was a telling detail, however.

'Why is he here though...?'

Gwen didn't know. She also knew that it wasn't in her place to ask, so she kept her gaze in the king's general direction and perked her ears up for whatever her ruler had to say.

Villago hastily ran to where Gwen and Sienna were, saluting with a surprising amount of seriousness. The respect in his eyes as he gazed upon their king was palpable.

"Once again, good work." Rodin smiled as he scanned their faces. "I know that you know what happened. You lost. Still... I don't doubt you tried your best within your means. In the end... I believe your defeat wasn't a result of your weakness, rather, it was because Prince Reivan hid his strength too well."

Gwen couldn't help but notice the traces of a smirk at the corner of the king's lips and how his chest seemed to puff out a bit more.

"Nonetheless, you were still defeated." Rodin continued, taking on a more serious tone. "This was still a mission. And had you failed in any other situation, the stakes would have been real. One should never blame the strength of one's opponent when one is defeated — one can only blame oneself."

The three knights nodded in agreement and Gwen was the first to speak. "Please bestow your punishment."

"Sir Villago and Dame Sienna will have all thirty of their yearly vacation days revoked for the next year." Rodin stroked his chin for a moment before his gaze eventually fell on Gwen. "Dame Gwendolyn, on the other hand, will be expelled from Administration and will be transferred on a special assignment which I will explain later."

Gwen crisply saluted while feeling complicated. Even though the punishment was harsh from certain people's point of view, it could hardly even be called a punishment when one thought about the lives that could have potentially been lost if their mission had real stakes. She glanced to the side and surmised that Villago thought the same thing as her, while Sienna appeared dejected — as if she had taken a huge blow.

'This is a token punishment.'

Something to make them feel less guilty over their loss.

On the contrary, the bitterness in Gwen's heart intensified. Perhaps if the king had given her a real punishment, she would have felt a bit better about her failure.

"That's all. I hope you reflect and use this failure as fuel to nurture further growth." Rodin nodded and gestured at Gwen's two colleagues. "Sir Villago and Dame Sienna may leave now. I have things to discuss with Dame Gwendolyn."

"Understood, Your Majesty." the two answered immediately, saluting one final time before heading for the door. They both sent Gwen one last look of encouragement before closing the door though.

Rodin cleared his throat before looking at the massive man in the corner. "Bobby. Some privacy, please. Seems the young lady knows you and feels nervous."

The Golem saluted before his entire body turned into countless grains of sand that swirled for a moment before completely vanishing.

"Now then..." Rodin took a wooded stool from the corner and sat down on it with a grunt before his gaze fell on Gwen. "It feels uncomfortable to talk when you're standing while I'm seated. Please take a seat, Dame Gwendolyn."

"At once, Your Majesty." Gwen briskly chose a random chair and sat down on it, her back straight as an arrow and her hands on her lap.

"No need to be so nervous..." The king chuckled before his eyes took on a warmer light. "You've grown into a fine young lady, little Gwen. I remember the day you and your mother stepped into the capital. You were so small back then. It makes me feel old when I think about it... And I truly wish you would have picked a less dangerous job than being a knight and started a nice little family..."

"I..." Gwen looked up hesitantly. She saw the patient expression on the king's face, and his eyes that gently urged her to continue. After taking a deep breath, she continued. "I wanted to thank you, Your Majesty. That is why I became a knight."

"Is that so? I don't recall giving you any special treatment. Where is this sentiment coming from?"

"You saved me and my mother from rotting in the empire. Gave us a roof above our heads. Warm food. Nice clothes... And peace. Happiness."

Rodin tilted his head, an eyebrow raised. "I certainly gave the order to save you... but that is something Aizen has been doing since before I was born. And the rest? Those were not my doing. I passed the laws that provided those benefits before you were even born."

"Even so." Gwen gazed into the king's eyes resolutely.

"I see..." Rodin took a deep breath as he rested an elbow on his lap. "Well, all things considered, you're welcome. I suppose being thanked feels nice from time to time. Makes all those nights staring at papers worth it."

The king laughed and slapped his knee — though there seemed to be a tinge of depression in his eyes as he did — while Gwen couldn't help but smile. She also noted how the king looked much... older than she initially thought, though his wrinkles weren't very pronounced. He appeared to still be in his early forties despite actually being close to a hundred years old.

After he'd chuckled enough, Rodin cleared his throat as his expression grew a slight bit somber.

"Well then, let's get on to business, shall we? First of all — and I'm repeating myself here — I do not want you to be too concerned about the loss. None of us expected my son to use domain-spanning techniques, much less have two different variations. Nor did we know he could... shoot beams from his palms. Really. That was a big surprise. Let me just say, that it was hard coming up with an excuse to the Arkhanian ambassadors for that. For all their expertise in sorcery, it's a good thing their knowledge of elementalism is horrendous compared to us, who received the knowledge of the first king. They easily believed the explanation I hobbled together."

"Yes, Your Majesty..."

"I've been told you were a... straight arrow, so I feared you would take the defeat harder than you should." Rodin stroked his chin and hummed in thought as he looked at her. "And it seems the information is correct. Hm?"

Gwen lowered her head and, despite it being rude, said nothing in response.

Rodin took no offense. At least, if he did, he showed no signs of it. "Moving on... I believe I have the perfect job for someone as serious and exceptional as you. In fact, I've had you in mind for this job from the start. This is why I chose you as one of Reivan's opponents despite there being knights in the mortal realm with more lethal skill sets. What do you say?"

"I..." Gwen felt breathless, elated at being complimented and recognized. "I will do my utmost. Please command me, Your Majesty."

"Enthusiastic. I like it." Rodin nodded with a smile then crossed his arms. He hummed to himself for a few moments or so, seemingly arranging words in his head. "Well, you see... My son, Reivan, is quite... Hm. How do I say this? While he's not exactly foolish or incompetent, when it comes to things like planning and whatnot, he's... hm... well...ah..."

Gwen watched her liege and master waffle back and forth, waiting for him to finish. Until she finally couldn't resist helping him out. "He is lazy when it comes to administrative tasks?"

Rodin snapped his fingers and pointed at her. "That's it. That's the right way to put it."

"I see..." she muttered to herself before looking up. "So I am to serve as his aide?"

"Exactly. I'm glad you're sharp." The king smiled before sighing. "I believe there is nothing wrong with striving to become better at something. But at the same time, when it truly counts, I think it is wise to do what you are good at and let other people cover the gaps. That's why I leave the fighting to knights such as yourself. And though it is somewhat emasculating, I depend on my wife as well. I am not very good at fighting, which is why I hide in safety and do what I can to support those who are."

Gwen nodded attentively. "And knights such as I cannot shine without you directing our blades, Your Majesty."

"Goodness. You'll make this old man blush. Stop." Rodin chuckled as he shook his head in exasperation. Then he sighed. "In any case, unlike me, my son is quite... talented in fighting, as you may have experienced. This means he will likely be putting it to use from now on, especially since he has reached an age where I can no longer tell him that he is too young for anything. To give him an extra layer of safety, I am planning to create a strike force of knights with him at the center — which is rare since I usually have knights work alone or in small groups of under a dozen. Only on very rare occasions will I have more than that in a single mission."

"I see..." Gwen fell into thought as she listened. "I have heard that Prince Reivan's eyes can see through the fog of the Outlands. A strike force with him as commander would be quite effective indeed. And he has yet to reach his peak as well. There is room for growth."

"Yes. This is for long into the future when he has become an Ascendant though."

"Of course. Going too deep into the darkness is dangerous. No matter how much talent he possesses and how strong he is right now."

Rodin nodded. "Speaking of his talent, it is both a blessing and a curse from my point of view. After all, my father, mother, and all my siblings were also quite talented. Strong, too. Yet, here we are. They are dead and I am alive, in a position I was barely prepared for, sometimes doubting whether I should be the one to have it in the first place."

Before Gwen could say anything in response, Rodin held up a hand to stop her, his smile turning a bit crooked.

"There is no need to try to convince me more than you already have. Doubt is simply part of who I am. I doubt everything. And when that doubt is proven wrong again and again... trust is built with the corpses of a thousand doubts as the foundation. Let me doubt myself. It pushes me to become better."

"Ah... Yes." Gwen shut her mouth obediently but still couldn't help but say something in the end. "If means anything, Your Majesty, I do not think I would have been a knight for any other king but you."

"That means a lot to me, Gwen. Thank you. Your sentiments about me and the country are certainly something that warms my heart." Rodin scratched his cheek. "It means a lot when people actually want to personally thank you for what you do. Really shows that I'm doing something right. So again... you are welcome. And thank you for your service. I'll be looking forward to how you help my son moving forward."

Gwen stood up and saluted. "I will not let you down a second time, Your Majesty."

"I really like your enthusiasm. Is it because you're young?" Rodin crossed his arms and nodded. "In any case, don't go easy on him. If he does something outrageous, it is your job to set him straight. Adaptability is important, but one shouldn't flout procedures and protocols too much. They are there for a reason."

"Understood."

"Even if his position is higher and he is your direct superior, don't give in too much. Judge for yourself whether bending the rules will be appropriate. I know his personality well enough, he won't chastise you for impudence if you speak with his interests in mind. So don't hold back."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

"Very good, very good." Rodin gave her a pat on the shoulder. But as he removed his hand, his eyebrows shot up as if he remembered something. "By the way, how do you feel about this job? Please speak truthfully."

Her limbs stiffened as she instinctively realized that this was an order. And she could feel it in every fiber of her being. "I... would be glad to use my skills to aid the second prince. But I also hope that I won't be away from the capital for extended periods of time..."

"Ah. Is it because of your mother?"

"Yes..." She nodded slowly. "My mother is just an ordinary person. She's a gentle soul. I doubt she'd be able to unlock her qi no matter how much anyone tries to help her."

Rodin nodded in understanding. "I see. You should spend as much time with your loved ones while they are here. I learned that the hard way... and it seems as if I still haven't truly learned it. I haven't exactly been spending a lot of time with my family, after all..."

After a few moments of silence, Rodin suddenly stood up, a serious expression on his face.

"I'm going to visit my son."

"Huh? Ah... yes." Gwen nodded, a bit in a daze at the sudden shift in topic. "Uhm, what about my..."

"Don't worry. I've already arranged for things. Bobby will fix things up for you. He's not around much but he's very good at helping me with these kinds of things... I swear, I wish I had the earth attribute just so I can make golems to do paperwork for me. Light is useless for these things. He'll talk to you after I leave."

"Understood, Your Majesty."

Rodin nodded before smiling sheepishly. "By the way... you are around his age. So what do you think I should talk about? Are there any trends among young kids these days?"

'I'm always busy with work, so how would I know...?'

Gwen didn't say what was on her mind though. And thankfully, the king's order to tell the truth had run out after the topic changed. Still, she couldn't just leave the king without even trying to answer. "I don't believe you have to talk about any trends and whatnot... you should just tell him how you feel..."

"How I feel, you say?" Rodin stroked his chin. "How so?"

"Uhm... Like, the match just now?" Gwen hastily arranged the words in her head. When she woke up this morning, she never thought she would be giving the king advice on what to talk about with his son. "Tell him your thoughts on his performance... and praise him, perhaps? That should break the ice, I believe. As long as it is heartfelt."

'Why am I giving advice I don't even follow...'

It was only now that Gwen realized she didn't have any friends.

"I see." Rodin seemed to think she said something good since he nodded slowly. "It's a bit embarrassing when you put it like that though."

"If you... think it's too embarrassing to say, then you should say it all the more."

"Goodness... You have a point, I suppose." Rodin scratched his cheek and then started walking to the door. "Thank you, Dame Gwendolyn. Good luck with your new post and happy foundation day. There are still a few days until the end of the festival, so I hope you have fun with your mother and Sir Criston. These peaceful days are something to celebrate."

"Thank you, Your Majesty." Gwen saluted and watched the king's back, feeling complicated about discovering a different side to her ruler that she never expected to see.

"Oh, and by the way." Rodin suddenly turned around before he left the waiting room. "Tell your mother and Sir Criston to set their... romantic matters in order. I don't want an issue when Sir Criston's wife finds out about their little affair. They're already on the watch list from what Roland tells me. You've spent a long time in Administration, surely you know that the knight order has a reputation to uphold."

"...Yes, Your Majesty."

'Damnit, Mother...'

Gwen clenched her teeth in embarrassment as the door shut.