The night reached the deepest when the wolves howled. The humid breeze caressed her skin. Cold, it was. When she glanced at the moon, Alisha saw it glowed as if to show approval on what she was about to do. That somehow made her a little more confident. But the incremented tapping of water in the rain outside seemed to sing a song of lament at her decision.

Alisha scooped out water from a bucket and rinsed her face for the last time. Everything will be fine, she convinced herself. As usual, she checked her leather armor if it was perfectly fitted to her. She was not really used to wearing this, but if she wore her regular armor, the entire camp would recognize her in one glance. If worse comes to worst, she will need it, she thought.

She silently grabbed Alterius, her personal Regalia, one of the national treasures of their kingdom. The moonlight reflected on it; Its blade was as sharp as ever — in fact, the sharpest blade known to man. However, the true power of that sword was not how edged it was. It was its ability to cancel all magic, the ability to cut through the greatest gifts of the gods, mana.

It was said that each Regalia was a part of the Bellona, the Goddess of War. According to the legend, she split herself in hundreds of pieces that turned to weapons. As for why she did that, the people did not know, but some said it was to help the people fight demons. Others said it was an act of rebellion against other gods who had always controlled her will.

Even among the Regalias, there were some that have more power than the rest, and one of those was wielded by Alisha, the Alterius. It was one of the five Regalias that built the Kingdom of Rovell to what it was today.

She walked outside where her personal maid, Irene, had prepared a horse for her. It was a concealed area from the patrol routes of the camp. They were less likely to be seen here.

“Princess, are sure about this?” Irene whispered.

Alisha smiled at her inquiry. She must not be seen doubting. “Thank you for worrying. I can’t let this opportunity pass.” She readied the horse and said, “If they can do what they said they could, they can take me two steps — no, five steps closer to my goal.”

“I can accompany you if you permit.” The blue irises of the maid glistened. How familiar Alisha was in those eyes. She was with Irene all her life. The Rovell had a tradition of bounding a personal maid to each principal family member. Maids like Irene were raised with their masters ever since they were born. Apparently, it was done to have gain their absolute loyalty. But Alisha had always been against it. For her, it was akin to being a slave for all their lives. That kind of loyalty frightened her.

She had a point. Alisha thought Irene might be useful in this scenario. The maid was experienced in infiltration and information gathering. If Irene was with her, she will have a much easier time escaping if something goes wrong. For a minute, she considered it, but she ultimately decided against it.

“No need. I like to do this alone.” Without waiting for a reply, she gently squeezed the horse with her legs, signaling to advance eastward. Unlike the usual noble girls that were expected to be educated in court etiquettes and be a servant to their lords, she was trained to ride a warhorse. Her father was against it, but he eventually let Alisha train, seeing how talented she was in battle.

When she passed a valley, the landscape changed. It was now lush with a thick wooden grove that towered even over hills. The ground was bustling with wispy moss and sprawling with mushrooms. Besides the galloping of her horse, the creaking sound of the ancient trees and the howling wolves reached her ears now and then.

She was now in the Deep Forest of Drisdale. Unlike regular forests that were usually the best of orcs, kobolds, goblins, and other monsters, it was not inhabited by any dangerous creatures. No one really knew for sure why. Many believed that it was the miasma from the tall ancient trees that surrounded the entire forest. But when the kingdom tried to build a house using the woods from the trees, the monsters did not hesitate to attack it. In the end, it remained a mystery.

She noticed something. I am being followed; she thought. Alisha heard their gentle movements. There were many of those movements, in fact. She was going to be attacked if she stopped either way, so Alisha pressed on. She was confident enough that they were no match for her and Alterius, anyway.

The only conclusion that came to her mind about who they might be was that they were assassins sent by her eldest brother, who was the legal heir to the throne. Alisha was a threat to his future crown as many noblemen favor her to take over the crown instead of him. She was also more favored by the Royal Army, owning to her unmatchable skills in combat. But the king was staunch about keeping the traditions of Rovell. No matter what Alisha do, he would not let a girl be his heir. But that did not guarantee that a revolt or a coup would not occur.

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Alisha focused on riding faster as to create a sufficient distance to her pursuers. She was now around the area where the strange men from a nation she never heard of asked to meet with her.

At first, she thought they were just wasting her time. But when one of his trusted knights reported that a single bowman from them killed ten orcs alone, it surprised her. It made her reconsider their offer — military support for her in the throne’s succession. Considering their strength, they would prove useful in the future conflict with her brothers. Many said it was ambitious of her to think she had any chance of succeeding. But if she conceded to her brother, who knows what will happen to her? Alisha knew all too well that his brother was not merciful.

After a while, something caught her eye. A man who wore green patterns she has no recollection of seeing was standing alone in the middle of the forest. In his arms, he held a metallic bow of some sort. He was likely from the nation she came to negotiate.

Alisha pulled the reins of her horse. She unmounted and touched the hilt of Alterius at her lower waist. When she approached, she could make out the man’s face. He was a young man, almost as young as she was, but she saw no emotion in it. She thought him to be handsome despite his unfamiliar features. What kind of race was this man? The question ran to her mind. There was also that big, bulky metal helmet on his head. Unlike the knight helmet she was familiar with, it was only covering the top of his head and it seemed like it cannot stop a normal sword slash.

“Are you Princess Alisha?” the man asked.

“I am. You are?”

“Major Raul Astrea. Please, just call me Raul or Astrea, whatever you like.” He turned to face Alisha. “Since you’re here, are you willing to work with us, princess?”

She did not move, only watching what sort of movement or emotion will the man who called himself Astrea make. Her hands still held the hilt of Alterius, ready if this was an ambush. Even though she was confident in her skills, it was no excuse to be too lackadaisical. But she felt no one except the man in front of her was present now.

“It is too early to tell,” she said. “Where do you really come from? There are no islands in the north of our kingdom.”

“There is now. It is hard to explain. We got teleported here or something. We were baffled too that our entire country was transported here. Do you know something about it?”

Alisha knitted her brows and shook her head. She was not convinced. Although she had to admit it was not fully impossible. There were accounts of heroes that got transported to their world. In fact, their neighbor, the Kingdom of Truzia, has one, and they were having a hard time fighting him. The good thing was that most of the heroes did not choose allegiance and instead fought the demons and demi-humans on the demon continent far from their kingdom. But for an entire nation to be summoned, it was unbelievable; she thought.

“I was sent here by our defense secre–… general to know if you’re willing to collaborate with us.

And about the deal, I believe it is good for you too. You can take the throne and do whatever you want with it. We might get some good trade deals and maybe some other things along with it. But the thing is, you will lead, and we will help you take care of your people like you wanted. Education, roads, and infrastructure, we can teach you everything.”

“And how do you know that? What I want, I mean.” she asked.

“Everyone knows, princess — the nobles, the peasants. You can ask a random stranger in your kingdom, and they will tell you that. We know you wanted equality and justice for your people. In this world, it might be fantasy, but from the world we came from, it is very much a reality.”

Alisha felt the unnatural motion of trees and gazes all around them. It was the same movements from her pursuers before when she entered the forest. She thought it was her brother’s assassins, but she cannot be certain if they were not related to the man in front of her. She continued acting like she did not notice them.

“What do you really want to achieve?” she asked. “Supposing what you said is true, how can you do it? You say you are an island nation. How can such a nation lend power that you promise for?”

“Well, this small island nation has a technological level far beyond yours. You can only understand once you have seen it. But the–”

Major Astrea checked something in his ears. It looked like he was talking to someone, but Alisha was certain that no one in the immediate vicinity who could hear his lowered voice. He must be using some sort of telegraphic magic, she thought.

“It seems you brought company,” he said.

“Oh, you noticed. But they are not with me.”

The silhouettes of almost twenty men came out of the trees. Since both their targets knew of their presence, hiding was now pointless. They were in complete leather gear, prioritizing mobility over protection.

Alisha surveyed them and surmised that five of them were on the advance sword class, each having their own Regalia. Half of the rest were mages, presumably of the saint class. While the other half seemed to be full-fledged assassins. His brother did not spare any effort from killing her.

“You can call it magic of some sort. Maybe this is a good time for you to see our strength,” he said.

He was really cocky; she thought.

Astrea held his metal bow and pointed it towards the assassins. From what she can see, he was a bowman. However, his bow lacked strings, and she saw no arrows in his gear. His position while he used her bow was also entirely different from the normal.

“They are hired assassins of my brother,” she said.

“And you let them follow you?”

“The people of Rovell believe in strength. We owe our devotion to Bellona, the goddess of war. If you are as capable as you said, then show me. Prove you are useful.” She unsheathed Alterius and took a defensive stance against his brother’s men.