- Katherine -

"Are there still any injuries?" the girl asked.

"No. But you need rest," the doctor replied.

"No. I don't, and you know that," she said in a firm tone to the point where the doctor had nothing to say. He wasn’t insane enough to go against her, but his orders were otherwise.

The girl went to one of the wardrobes and got dressed.

'Enough. I'm going to end this today,' she thought, seething with anger. 'It's bad enough he pulled me from my training, and now he won't let me return.'

She stomped loudly through the mansion’s corridors. No other servant dared to stay in the halls, preventing her from entering the throne room.

However, as soon as she reached the massive doors of the hall, her anger was replaced by nervousness. She began planning how to speak and face her brother.

'Huff,' she took a deep breath. 'Let’s do this!'

The girl opened the tall doors of the throne room. She expected to receive the attention of those inside, but another conversation was already taking place. She took advantage of the moment to enter the area reserved for those attending the session.

The room was enormous. A long hall stretched before those entering. The sense of oppression and grandeur was palpable; anyone entering had to ascend a long stairway with the throne at its top.

Several empty chairs were placed along the sides of the hall, designed for the ministers to watch the discussions and important decisions.

However, to anyone entering for the first time, the main feature they would remember was the enormous windows behind the throne, allowing the red light of Mars to bathe the hall.

The girl recognized those in the audience. The current heir was sitting on the throne, with the Captains of the Guard on each side. In front of them were the War General and the Intelligence Officer.

Each wore the official Mars Army uniform, which was entirely black with some red accents and a pendant of House York.

"My lord. At the very least, the Ork ships' movements are concerning. They are increasingly advancing into neutral territory," the Intelligence Officer commented. "We’ve only seen movements like this during the second wave. They seem confident that they are prepared for the next attack."

The officer appeared nervous, his hands trembling and his forehead sweating. He had just been promoted, and unfortunately, his first task was anything but simple.

Even as an officer, it was difficult to remain standing with the amount of Energy emitted. The Heir had the habit of not controlling his powers in front of others, letting them radiate, even if it was uncomfortable for his subordinates.

"General, do we have any communication from the other Houses?" the Heir asked.

"None yet, sir. But it’s likely they’re already preparing for war, though they don’t want to alert the others," the General replied.

"Any communication from the Emperor or the Central Government?" the Heir asked again.

"They continue to inform us that a Wave is coming, but with no forecast for the Ork attacks," the General explained.

A second wave of energy was released into the room.

Since childhood, the Heir has struggled to control his energy. He was born with an almost infinite amount of it in his body, making him one of the best in Energy Combat, though at the cost of controlling it.

The Intelligence Officer was beginning to turn red and struggling to breathe. However, the other officers in the room seemed to ignore him.

"The next class from the Academy will be our last recruitment process. Within two months, I want our troops focused on training. It’s better to halt our expansion than to be caught off guard by a Wave," the Heir remarked.

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"Yes, sir," the General and Officer responded in unison.

Once the audience was dismissed, the two officers stood up and quickly left the throne room. The girl was tired of waiting but was satisfied to overhear the information discussed.

As the Heir rose from the throne, she spoke loudly, "Brother!"

He spotted the girl walking towards the throne.

'Damn,' he thought, seeing her. He knew why she had come to see him.

"I want to be released right now." Although she spoke as if making a request, her tone made it clear this was not up for discussion.

"Katherine! Watch your tone, especially in this room," he reprimanded her.

"John, don’t give me that. You know what you’re doing to me. If necessary, I’ll beat you up again," Katherine retorted.

"First, you should never raise your hand to the Heir. Second, you haven’t beaten me since we were kids," John replied.

The girl knew it was true, but she liked to keep reminding him of it. She also knew that their powers were growing further apart nowadays.

John was one of the few Rangers who could keep his armor active indefinitely; It couldn’t consume more Energy than he could generate. Because of that, and to intimidate his opponents, his arms were always covered by his golden and black armor.

"You still haven’t given me permission to return," Katherine continued. "I want to go back to the Academy. I’m fine."

"Sister, even so. You heard the audience. We’re just years or months away from the next Wave. This isn’t the time for you to be going to the Academy," John countered.

"This is exactly the time for me to be there. I also want to be able to protect myself and fight for the Yorks," Katherine said confidently.

"Kath, you have no idea what you’re talking about," her older brother explained.

"You might be right, but keeping me a prisoner in my own home isn’t going to change my mind. Sooner or later, I’ll escape," the girl challenged him.

"Ah!" John sighed.

He hadn’t been trained to act as someone’s parent or guardian. It was already hard enough for him to serve as the Heir of the House.

"Sister, help me. I already have to deal with this whole situation. To make matters worse, the other Houses are plotting something. If you’re at the Academy, it will be just another easy target against the family," he pleaded quietly.

"I’ll help you, John, but it won’t be by staying home. Let me go train," she replied.

"Aah!" John shouted at his sister’s stubbornness. "At least go to the Academy on Mars?"

"No way. Do you think I don’t know there are dozens of our spies there? Besides, the Academy on Earth is the most competitive," Katherine answered.

John massaged the bridge of his nose, trying to relieve his stress. He walked over to the windows behind the throne.

The mansion was at the top of one of the buildings. From that window, he could see the entire city—it was one of the spots he always returned to observe. His responsibility was to those people and also to his family.

"Alright. I know this is a battle I won’t win," he admitted. "At least you’ve recovered. But please, be careful," John emphasized.

The girl nodded, happy with her brother's decision.

"Besides, at the Academy on Earth, I can find several talents," Katherine added. "The boy who saved me is a good example."

"But wasn’t he the one who caused all of this? The Academy’s investigation found that he was responsible," John asked, not entirely believing what she had said.

"No way. He’d have to be dumb, and he doesn’t seem like that kind of person," Katherine explained. "Think about it; would he do all that to earn more points just to throw himself into the water and save me?"

Katherine walked closer to her brother. She avoided looking out the window; since she was little, she had been afraid of heights, and that view was unbearable for her.

After trembling, she turned her back to the window.

"Maybe he’s interested in your family’s influence?" John questioned.

"I’m not sure. He barely knew who the Yorks were," Katherine replied.

"No way. Either he’s lying, or he lives under a rock," John was even more skeptical upon hearing this response.

"I’m serious. He’s a Nameless, and he didn’t even seem to know the concept of Great Houses," the girl explained.

"Sister, you seem—" John paused to reconsider his words. "To like this boy, but don’t let that cloud your judgment. Even to a Nameless, that’s impossible; we are constantly on the Net or in Holograms."

Although her brother had a solid argument, Katherine could only focus on one detail.

"Like? Like?! H-he’s just a boy I believe has the potential to become a Ranger and someone who saved me. That’s all," she quickly replied.

"Hmm." John judged her reaction. "Don’t forget your engagement is still in place."

"That was something from our parents. I never agreed to it," the girl replied angrily.

"Even so, as long as—" John struggled to continue speaking. "We haven’t found them; those were their last orders."

Katherine chose not to argue further; she had already received permission to return to the Academy.

'One victory at a time, and I don’t like the boy. So, it's fine,' she thought.

She approached John and gave him a tight hug. "I’m going to miss you, brother."

"I’ll miss you too, Kath, I will," he replied. "Now go before I change my mind."

The girl happily ran out of the throne room.

"It’s time to return to the Academy."