In the dimly lit room, shadows danced along the walls as a fire crackled softly in the hearth. Richard III, the newly crowned king, strode into the small house, his eyes scanning the scene with cold calculation. Dead bodies littered the floor, their blood long dried, filling the room with a putrid stench. The king, however, seemed unbothered by the carnage. His focus was entirely on the woman seated at the small wooden table, sipping tea as if she were in the comfort of her own home.

"You’re kind of late. Thought you would rush in before they escaped," the woman remarked, her voice sharp with sarcasm.

The woman was the former queen, Rick and Edward’s mother.

Richard III laughed coldly. "I’m not that stupid, sister. Only a fool would rush into a tiger’s den blindly."

He moved to one of the chairs and sat down, maintaining his icy composure.

"That’s the only good decision you’ve made since you came last month," the former queen sneered, taking another sip of her tea.

"You know they won’t survive, so why don’t we stop playing games? Surrender peacefully, and maybe you won’t have to die," Richard III suggested, his tone as venomous as his gaze.

"Surrender? Ha, that’s the best joke I’ve heard since my husband died," she retorted, her words dripping with defiance.

A grim look crossed Richard III's face. "Fine then, do what you want. They won’t succeed, and you won’t live past today."

"What happened to not entering the tiger’s den?" she mocked, her eyes never leaving his.

"Heh, come on, we both know you’re out of mana," Richard III replied, his smirk growing as he leaned back in his chair.

...

Far from the dark alleys of London, in the depths of Windsor Forest, Edward and Rick huddled near a small campfire, discussing their next move. The events of the past few days weighed heavily on their minds.

"Guess the next move is to save Lizzie," Rick said, his voice laced with determination.

Edward nodded. "It’s not just about rescuing her. We need to think long-term. Even if we get her out, where can we take her? We’re the most wanted people in the kingdom."

Edward sighed, running a hand through his hair. "I know. If we want to give Lizzie any chance at a normal childhood, we need to make it safe for her. And that means retaking the kingdom."

"Better said than done. Almost all the nobles support Richard III, and those who don’t are the ones we should be careful of," Rick replied, his voice tinged with frustration.

"Real depressing there, Rick. You’re not helping. If you want to remind me how screwed we are, you don’t have to," Edward snapped back, irritation clear in his tone.

"Well, sorry for being depressing, but I’m just stating facts, you know," Rick said with a shrug.

Edward sighed again, his resolve faltering. "Maybe you’re right. We could just figure out the solution on the way. If we can’t, we can lay low for a few years."

"Wow, you change quick. Wasn’t it you who was talking about retaking the kingdom a moment ago?" Rick teased, a small grin playing on his lips.

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Edward smiled weakly. "Well, what do you expect? If it was only my life on the line, I’d definitely try, but it’s not. Sometimes reality isn’t what we’d like it to be."

Rick nodded thoughtfully. "You’re kind of right there. Anyway, while we’re still talking about saving Lizzie, you know Richard III probably has some arrangements waiting for us at Holt Castle, right?"

"Yeah, that’s a given," Edward replied.

"I just think it’s not right to keep relying on the No-Names all the time. Otherwise, we’ll die before we even reach Holt Castle," Rick suggested.

"What do you propose then?" Edward asked, curious.

"Well, we could get the No-Names to teach us some of their skills. They even have a wizard among them, so you could improve your magical abilities," Rick suggested, his eyes lighting up with the idea.

Edward thought about it for a moment, then nodded as he thought.

' I could finally train in magic and make it more combat-oriented.'

"What about you? What are you going to learn?" Edward asked.

"Archery. With my small frame, it wouldn’t be realistic to learn swordsmanship. I might try learning how to use daggers, but that’s as far as I’ll go," Rick replied, his decision firm.

"You really thought this through, huh?" Edward remarked, impressed.

They exchanged more thoughts and decided they would train as they travelled. The estimated time to reach Holt Castle was about a month, so they figured it was enough time to become skilled enough to not be dead weight.

Rick found one of the archers in their group, a man known for being a great teacher. Although he tried to hide it, Edward could see how excited Rick was about the whole ordeal. As for Edward, his choice was simple; out of the 93 members of the No-Names, only one was a mage—Derrick.

So, for Edward, it was a take-it-or-leave-it decision.

"You want to learn more about magic?" Derrick asked, setting up camp for the night when Edward approached him.

"I can show you a thing or two, but it won’t be anything too big," Derrick continued, eyeing Edward curiously.

"It’s fine as long as I’m combat-ready," Edward replied, determined.

"Well then, young master, consider yourself my student," Derrick said with a slight smile.

And so, Edward’s training began. It didn’t take long for him to notice something that answered one of the questions he had when he first obtained the red book: How had the kingdom managed to hide magic so well that not even the greatest merchants could get their hands on it?

The answer was simple—they didn’t have to. Human magic was difficult to come by and even more difficult to use. For a wizard to wield magic, they needed a power source, and that source was an object called a relic. The power within it was known as mana.

Edward’s red book was such a relic, and unlike others, he didn’t have to draw power from it. Instead, it acted as a bridge, allowing him to draw power from the souls of those he killed.

"There’s a reason it’s a family heirloom," Derrick had mentioned during one of their lessons.

This revelation deepened Edward’s understanding of magic. However, using it in combat had its downsides. Since spells could only be cast through hand seals, a wizard was vulnerable while casting. This made it a risky skill to rely on solely.

Given this, Edward chose to learn dagger skills, joining Rick in his daily training. When Rick saw him, he wasn’t surprised at all, as if he had been expecting Edward to join.

Rick’s teacher was a swordsman named Hans, a strict but effective instructor. Edward quickly became proficient at using both magic and daggers in combat as they practised by hunting in the forest.

During this time, Edward noticed a problem. Although he could replenish his mana through souls, using too much of it would cause his body to reach its limit, leaving him unable to continue.

The solution was to build his body’s tolerance through regular practice, but that was easier said than done. This made Edward take his dagger training more seriously.

As for rick he was doing pretty well in the dagger skill department as for archery well….

He was nothing short of a natural he was actually so go at it the he got the basics down in two days they were now studying the more advanced techniques was impressive, too.

looking at it Edward guessed that it was because of the teacher—a woman named Elena, she had great curves and a beyond perfect face .

‘Should I also study archery?’ Edward jokingly thought to himself.

After two weeks of traveling through the forest, their supplies began to run low. They had avoided public places to keep from attracting attention, but now they had no choice but to enter a town to restock.

One of the No-Names approached Rick and Edward with news. "Young master, there’s a town nearby, east of our location."

"Which one?" Rick asked.

"St. Albans, sir," the man replied.

Rick turned to Edward. "What do you say, Ed?"

Edward sighed, looking toward the distant town. "Do we really have any choice here?"