I felt the cold steel of the sword pressing against my throat, making it difficult to breathe. Any sudden movement could result in a fatal cut, so I chose my words carefully. Before I could even utter a word, Rose spoke up.

"You must have a lot of guts to come here, Fugitive," she said, the menace in her voice evident.

I knew that Rose must have discovered that I was a wanted man, but I needed to convince her of my intentions. "Listen, there's been a misunderstanding," I said, trying to keep my voice calm and measured.

"So is it?, so I'd love to hear about it from you, runaway," Rose replied, her sword still pressed against my throat.

"We're not here to harm the kingdom. We're here to fight the epic, not you," I said, hoping that my words would be enough to convince her.

"That's pretty convincing," Rose said sarcastically and did not lower her sword.

"I know it sounds ridiculous, but believe me, we're not attacking the king," I said, hoping to ease the tension.

"How am I supposed to believe you?" Rose asked, still skeptical.

"I could have left you alone in the forest to die if I wanted to, but I didn't," I replied, hoping to gain her trust.

"It's too bad you didn't," Rose retorted, her sword still pressing against my throat.

"I thought knights had the honor," I said, hoping to appeal to her sense of duty.

"What do you know about honor?" Rose replied, her voice dripping with sarcasm.

"We're not the people he thinks we are, but if you really want to kill me, go ahead. But be warned, your king may be in trouble," I said, trying to convey the seriousness of the situation.

The pressure of the sword in my throat didn't hurt much, but as long as it was there, breathing was difficult. I hoped that my words had convinced Rose, but only time would tell.

Rose withdrew the sword from my throat and sheathed it, releasing me. It seemed as though she agreed with what I was saying for some reason.

"What do you know?" she asked.

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"A dark sorcerer in the first kingdom cast a spell on the first king and took control of him. Maybe your king…" I trailed off.

"That's impossible," Rose interrupted. "The king is monitored 24/7 and has healing wizards. We would have realized it by now."

"Then it must have been something else," I said. "Someone gave the king false information that incriminated us."

"Two weeks before I left for my mission in the jungle, there were no epic soldiers in the city," Rose said.

"Why don't the soldiers or paladins do something about it?" I asked.

"We haven't received an order from the king yet, so we can't do anything," Rose replied. "Besides, the soldiers are busy with the tournament and the paladins are assigned to the palace and coliseum. We can't do much."

"Do you know when our search warrants were issued?" I asked.

"I heard that when the king received a letter from his brothers, he initiated your search," Rose said.

As I stood before Rose, the weight of the situation bore down on me. I needed to know why the king was after me and my team, and I had a feeling those letters held the key. Taking a deep breath, I asked Rose for her help.

"I need you to help me. If we can find out where those letters came from or what was in them, we can uncover the truth about why the king is after us."

Rose snapped at me after what I said, "Now we're partners?"

We needed to work together to clear our names and protect the kingdom from the saga. "If we remain enemies of the king, the epic will look down on us. If we want to make peace, we need to help each other."

"I'll help you, but consider it a debt of kindness. After that, I'm out," Rose warned me.

I understood her hesitation, but I hoped that by working together, we could build trust and understanding between us. "Thank you, Rose. I appreciate it."

Rose's answer was not what I had hoped for. I had come to recruit her to our team, but I hadn't disclosed my true identity or my reasons for seeking her out. I needed to take things slow and prioritize finding out more about those letters and why the king was after us.

"Alright," Rose said, "we'll work together to uncover the truth. But let me be clear, if you cross me, I won't hesitate to take you down."

I agreed to her terms, and we made our way to the lower archives of the palace to search for the letters. Rose mentioned that a lieutenant friend of hers worked there and might be able to help us find out where the letters came from.

I was worried about how we would gain entry to the palace, considering that the king's soldiers were on the lookout for me.

"Don't worry," Rose said, "I have a plan. Just try to keep a low profile."

I pulled my cloak over my head, and we moved slowly and cautiously, hoping to avoid detection.

I could understand Rose's caution after everything I'd been through, but I wanted to do everything I could to somehow win her trust - if the map chose her, it had to mean something.

No matter how tough she looked as a paladin, I knew she was a good person inside, just like my friends. Time was of the essence in such situations, so I had to use the time I had to convince Rose carefully.

Reaching the palace was the next most important thing for me, I had to find out what was behind it and end the domination of the third saga here.

On the one hand, I wanted to bring things to a conclusion quickly, otherwise, things could get very complicated when Miron arrived in the third kingdom.