Did it get darker?

  The light of the room seemed to glisten off the blackness of Aiden’s arm. He watched, turning it one way then the other.

  It is darker.

  Aiden frowned at his arm. Not only had it grown darker but his skin was beginning to seem scaly. There were no scales yet, none that he could see, but there was just something. He didn’t like it. He didn’t like new things, and this was a step above the realm of new.

  By his calculations, it was morning outside the room. The sun would still be far from illuminating the day. Still, that changed nothing. Morning was morning.

  Sighing, he dropped his hand and allowed it flop down on the bed.

  He had a trait with two effects. Two for the price of one.

  Then again, he hadn’t heard of a few traits that gave a few effects. The Dragonkin on the more magical side of Nastild had the [Dragon breathing]. That had multiple traits. Off the top of his head Aiden could remember it helped them hold their breath for a significantly long time, roar with enough power to burst a normal person’s eardrum.

  In some cases some develop the ability to breathe fire.

  But those were special cases. The species liked to brag that they were descended from real live dragons, offsprings stained with the curse of humanity. The Order’s records claimed that they were just a lucky offshoot of lizard men. Apparently, some of their ancestors had worshipped actual dragons and been graced with the liberty of basking in Dragon mana for years on end.

  The offsprings had grown to be Dragonkin, or as the master of the Order liked to call them, overgrown lizard men.

  Spatial affinity and Spatial touch, Aiden mused, thinking back on the second trait. He opened his interface once more, looked at the information about his trait.

  [Spatial Crack (Lvl 49)]

  An anomalous disruption in reality. You have gone through space and have been corrupted by its touch. You have ventured where none should and survived.

  [Effect: Spatial affinity]

  [Effect: Skill pending…]

  Still the same.

  His red hand had slowly regained its blackness over time. It had taken it roughly four hours to return to its complete black. Aiden wasn’t sure exactly when it had happened, but sometime between the first touches of black and its compete change, the effect [Spatial Touch] had turned back into [Skill Pending].

  His theory was that the criteria for unlocking the second effect was turning the entire arm red. As for how to do that, it was simple.

  Aiden raised both hands above him. He stared up, not really looking at them, and weaved an enchantment.

  [You have used class skill Enchanted Weave]

  …

  [You have used Weave of Lesser Perception]

  [Effect: +20% increase in perception]

  [Duration: 00:05:00]

  …

  [Dimensional mana detected]

  …

  [Weave of Lesser Perception is now Weave of Lesser Void Perception]

  [Weave of Lesser Void Perception]

  [Effect: +40% increase in perception]

  [Duration: 00:10:00]

  Aiden held up his black hand as the weaving took effect and watched the black skin crack at his fingertips, the cracks spread all the way down his fingers before stopping. Then the black skin simply blew away likes dust in the wind even though there was no wind in the room.

  Aiden twisted his hand, turned it to the side as he watched the black leave. In its wake was red skin.

  I guess that’s that.

  He let out another sigh.

  There was a new feeling nestled comfortably within him now. A feeling he hadn’t had in the palace for a long time. Staring up at the ceiling, he did not feel safe.

  He remembered how it had felt all those years ago, when Ted had become the [Demon King]. When everybody had been giving him odd looks.

  You’re safe, he told himself. You aren’t the weak boy you were back then.

  He placed his hands behind his head. Interlacing his fingers, he used his hands as a pillow on top of his pillow.

  What do I know so far?

  The first thing he knew was that he could no longer trust King Brandis. The King might be a good man, but Aiden had only trusted him only because he knew the man’s character. In summary, he didn’t trust King Brandis, he had trusted what he knew of the man’s character.

  With the [Sage], and who knew what, in Brandis’ ear, Aiden couldn’t trust what he thought he knew of the man anymore.

  He would have to cut ties with Bandiv. It was inevitable.

  Turning his head, he confirmed that the little enchantment he’d engraved into his door was active. With the confirmation, he closed his eyes. He needed the calm. After what he had done in the amphitheater a few hours ago, his body was still on an adrenaline rush.

  He was wound up tight.

  A chuckle spilled from his lips suddenly and he couldn’t hold himself. He chuckled some more, laughed a little.

  “When last did you defy a king?” he asked himself, speaking out loud.

  He knew the answer. It had been the king of the half-men. The half-man had demanded that he take the life of an enemy king. Aiden could still remember it. The world was going to war against Ted and the king was busy trying to start a war with another kingdom simply because they had thought to imprison his son for committing crimes within their walls.

  Aiden still remembered those moments clearly. The flash of steel as he’d turned and slit the son’s throat instead. It had been the reason the Order had sent him—not just to kill the son, but to send a message with the son’s death: The Order was nobody’s to command.

  That had been the last time he had defied a king. Now, he could add a few hours ago to the equation.

  “I’m just doing whatever I want at this point, aren’t I?” Aiden pushed himself up to a sitting position and threw his legs over the bed. “I guess I better get packing.”

  Truthfully, he didn’t know if he would still be allowed to leave the castle with what he’d done. He could argue loopholes and whatever he wanted, it changed nothing. He had defied King Brandis, and he had done so in front of the man’s daughter.

  While it happened every now and again, Aiden had learned not to trust a man to rise over his pride and do the right thing.

  Pushing himself up to his feet, he walked up to his closet. He didn’t have much in there, but two pairs of clothes would not be a bad idea to have once he was over the castle walls.

  I guess we’re going rogue. Over the fence and out into the world.

  There was a knock at his door when he opened his closet, and Aiden paused. He watched the door but didn’t move.

  Soldiers? He wondered. Knights?

  Had Brandis sent men to bring him? Aiden turned to the window. The thought of going through it crossed his mind but he killed it immediately. He was too high up.

  Can I take on a group?

  The knock came again. It was gentle, soft. Aiden had been on the receiving end of people trying to arrest him from his room enough times to know that that was not the knock of the violent.

  Trying his luck, he called out. “Who is it?”

  Instead of getting an answer in return, he was welcomed to a surprising experience. The lock enchantment he’d placed on the door activated.

  “I’m naked!” Aiden called out in panic.

  With his heightened senses, he heard someone gasp from the other side of the door. There was a shuffle of feet followed by a shallow reply clearly not intended for him.

  “No, he’s not.”

  Aiden frowned, recognizing the voice.

  “We mean you no harm,” the voice continued, this time loud enough for him to hear.

  When the door opened, Aiden was standing at the other end of his room, sword in hand. A finger was placed on the blade, ready to enchant it when he saw who had invited themselves in.

  His lips pressed themselves into a thin line, trying to mask his worry and confusion. Right there, standing at his door, was Rue Brandis, wife to King Brandis, Queen of the Kingdom of Bandiv, and political mastermind and schemer of the Brandis family.

  Of all the important figures on Nastild Rue Brandis was special for one reason and one reason only. Aiden knew next to nothing about her.

  A servant girl with blonde hair packed up in a tight bun stepped in beside the queen and bowed slightly. She wore a mud brown gown, and she fixed blue eyes on Aiden even with her bow.

  “Announcing the Queen, Her Royal Highness.”

  Aiden looked from the woman to the queen. He wasn’t sure if he was supposed to be pleased or terrified.

  Rue Brandis raised a pristine brow at him, brown as the hair on her head. She looked intrigued.

  Aiden bowed his head. It was more of a nod than anything. “Your Grace.”

  The maid scowled a little but the queen didn’t seem bothered.

  “Leave us,” she said with a wave of her hand.

  The maid hesitated for only a moment before backtracking her way out of the room. Rue Brandis waited patiently as she did. Once they were alone, she reached behind her without looking, took the door by its edge, and pushed it closed.

  Aiden remained silent as Rue looked around, her gaze taking in the room. Eventually, it settled on a chair in the room.

  She gestured to it. “May I?”

  Aiden nodded very slowly.

  A personal meeting with the enigmatic Rue Brandis. It was worrying.

  The queen moved gracefully to the seat she had indicated and took it. Everything about her was regal. Ash she took her seat, Aiden ran through what he knew about her. Honestly speaking, there wasn’t much to it.

  Everything he knew about her, he had learnt directly from the mouth of the master of the Order after rummaging through the entire archive he had access to only to find nothing on her.

  The first was that for some reason, she could not rule. She wasn’t permitted to. By whom? Aiden had not been told. The second thing he knew about her was that there was no major decision that occurred in the castle and kingdom that she was not aware of.

  And she’s a powerful [Enchanter], Aiden added finally. That’s three.

  “I don’t believe I am that beautiful, Lord Lacheart,” Rue Brandis said after a moment. “And I doubt I can be considered a threat.”

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  “You undid my enchanted lock from outside the door,” Aiden said slowly, intentionally. “Since coming here, nobody has ever done that. I believe that makes you a threat.”

  Of course, Aiden, he thought sarcastically. Goad the powerful woman you know nothing about.

  “That silly thing,” Rue snorted in amusement, the corners of her eyes crinkling. “It was no difficulty. Anyone with a good understanding of enchantments and over level hundred can have it done in moments.”

  “And yet no one has.”

  “That’s because we keep the really powerful away from you and your companions.”

  Aiden knew he couldn’t argue the subject with her. An [Enchanter] of over level one hundred could not undo the enchantment, not as easily as she had, but he could not say that. Putting it to her would tell her that he knew far more than he reasonably should.

  In the end, he settled for a nod.

  Still seated, Rue Brandis cocked her head to the side like a curious mother. “Should I be bothered that you’re still tense, Lord Lacheart?”

  She’s a fun child, the master of the Order had said, and he rarely found anyone outside the Order to be fun. And ‘fun’ wasn’t necessarily a compliment when it came from him.

  “I’m tense around everyone, ma’am,” Aiden answered, sliding his sword back into its sheathe.

  She hadn’t even once addressed the weapon.

  Aiden folded his arms over his chest. “And to what do I owe the honor of your presence?”

  “You call the king ‘your grace’ and call me ‘ma’am’,” the queen mused. “Does that mean that you do not even identify me as royalty, or does it mean that your relationship with us has grown sour because of what happened with the knight?”

  “I’ve had my pound of flesh.” Aiden leaned back against the wall, tried to look completely calm. “I have no quarrel with the royal family.”

  “Which implies that you are capable of having a quarrel with the royal family.” She smiled fondly. “You are an interesting child, Lord Lacheart.”

  And you are an enigmatic woman. The Order had the connecting family trees of all the monarchs in existence, Kings and Queens alike. On the subject of the Brandis family, however, Rue Brandis was the only member of her family tree, an addition to the Brandis family with no recorded genealogy.

  “Anyway,” Rue Brandis waved her hand in a dismissive gesture, “that is not why I am here. I have been informed of what happened within the amphitheater and have come to make some clarifications. Sir Valdan has already informed us of how you know of the place. A skill called [Pathfinder]… If I’m not mistaking, that’s a skill that tends to come with the [Guide] class.”

  “So he’s better now,” Aiden said. “That is good to hear.”

  She gave him an odd look, a curious look. “And what if I said that Derendoff was also alive, would you look so relieved?”

  Aiden shrugged. “I would’ve asked how long you people have been dabbling in the deep end of Necromancy. Then I would’ve killed him again.”

  Rue nodded sagely. “That’s a fair reaction considering the lengths you went to kill him.”

  “No lengths,” Aiden said with a shake of his head. “It was on my way.”

  “And the justification.” The queen kissed the tip of her fingers with a flourish. “Chef’s kiss. Sight-bound, his life was anyone’s to take, even though I cannot remember the last time a king used it in such a lethal form. It is usually designed to make people suffer, not kill them on account of preventing... You know what, never mind. Still, it left you completely immune to the punishments of murder. You were basically sanctioned to kill him. Was that planned?”

  “I would’ve killed him either way,” Aiden answered, unbothered. When a person who was sight-bound was killed, nothing regarding the killer and the killed mattered. But he found himself wondering if there had been a stroke of luck that Brandis had used the ability the uncommon way. Had it been the king's plan all along?

  Rue Brandis could judge Aiden's personality based on his answers, but she could do nothing to him based on them.

  “So his death was ordained?” she asked. “By you? That’s quite the arrogant line of thought.”

  Aiden raised a brow at her. “Ordained? I am no priest or holy man. Simply a boy summoned from his world to another without his consent.”

  Rue’s gaze narrowed on him. He could see her mind working, scheming perhaps.

  “Definitely not like your companions,” she said after a while. “And if the situation you had stumbled upon had not been stumbled upon, what would’ve happened to the former knight?”

  “No idea. He wasn’t my problem.”

  “So he made himself your problem by attacking Sir Valdan?”

  Aiden shrugged. It was all the answer he had to give.

  “Silence at the presence of an obvious answer.” Rue nodded. “Has anyone told you that you adapt well, Lord Lacheart?”

  “Lord Lacheart the older did,” Aiden said. “But he has always been known to flatter me. He once said that I was too timid and lacking in confidence. I always believed he liked his confidence loud, which is something I’ve always taken to be arrogance.”

  “You killed five poachers, disgraced a handful of soldiers, dueled a beautiful lady, slapping your way to victory, and killed a former knight in front of his king.” Rue tsked at him as if he was a child. “I doubt I’ve ever seen a louder confidence on a boy your age. Does that make you arrogant?”

  Aiden raised his hand and began ticking off his fingers. “Five poachers tried to kill me and failed. A handful of soldiers tried to disgrace me and failed. A beautiful lady challenged me to a duel and lost. A former knight was sight-bound and I claimed the quest. No arrogance, ma’am.”

  “Call me Rue.”

  Aiden shook his head. “I fear that I cannot.”

  “Why?”

  “Because calling you by your given name feels like calling your husband by his given name. With all due respect, you are royalty.”

  “Would it work if I ordered you to do it?”

  There was a moment of silence after Rue Brandis’ words. Within the silence, Aiden watched her, took her in. her long, brown flowing hair. Brown eyes that were fixed on him with a touch of amusement. She wore ear rings from which dangled small paper clips with enchantments inscribed on them.

  She had three more enchantments on the lapel of her green robe.

  No dragon design, he noted. Rumor had it that Brandis hated the dragon designs. Perhaps hate wasn’t the word, but he was not a fan of it, not the way the rest of the kingdom was.

  There was a slight bump on the robe that fell over her thigh as well.

  A weapon?

  He doubted she was here to fight him. Rue Brandis always felt like the carrot that came before the stick. She tried to manipulate you, and if that failed, then someone else came to kill you, not that she couldn’t do it herself.

  “Ordering me would not work,” he answered finally.

  “Two heartbeats,” Rue said casually. “It took you two heartbeats to decide that I would not be able to order you to call me by my name. You must’ve really thought about it.”

  “I like to think about things, ma’am.”

  Rue groaned in exasperation. “Can we find an alternative to the word ‘ma’am’? You’re making me feel old. I don’t like feeling old.”

  Not a weapon, Aiden concluded as his gaze made out the shape of what was beneath her robe. It was a rectangle. He wasn’t sure what type of weapon fit the description of what he was seeing.

  “It’s a small wooden plaque.”

  I guess I’m not the only one paying attention, Aiden thought. “If I may ask—”

  “You may.”

  “—why are you walking around with a wooden plaque?”

  “So that I can do this.” Rue slipped her hand beneath the lower lapel of the robe and brought out an iron block, then placed it on her other lap.

  I guess it’s not wooden.

  Once it was on her other lap, Rue placed a finger on it and engraved an enchantment onto the block. With her finger, she carved into it, shaving away metal with each stroke.

  It was a show of power. Aiden couldn’t think of anything else it could be.

  With the engraving done, she placed her entire palm on it, activating it. It glowed blue before a small dome appeared around the both of them. The air at its boundaries did not shimmer into distortion as it did with the enchantments Aiden used. Instead, there was an actual blue dome, translucent enough to see through.

  “Now,” Rue Brandis said, “I shall address what brought me here.”

  The dome was interesting. Even though it had emanated from the block of metal, the block was not the center of it. On Rue’s side, the dome stopped just behind her, extending all the way to stop just behind Aiden.

  He wondered what would happen if he stepped back, but it was a curiosity that he could not satisfy since he was already leaning against the wall.

  “Neat enchantment,” he complimented.

  “Thank you,” Rue replied. “I am a sort of [Enchanter] myself.”

  “It’s nice to meet a ‘sort of [Enchanter]’.”

  “I hear you are similar in your own way, so it’s nice to meet you, too.” Rue crossed her legs. “First, for the matter surrounding the knight, Valdan. I wish to inform you that his predicament was entirely my fault. My husband is not one for scheming, and he is often known to come to me for advice when it comes to such matters.”

  “He needed a scheme around Valdan?”

  “No,” she shook her head. “He needed a way to help him cross the threshold—amongst other things—in a surefire method that he would not be aware of. Ergo, schemes. Ergo,” she pointed at herself, “me.”

  Aiden remained silent.

  “What I’m trying to say,” she continued, “is that you should not hold a man responsible for the advice of his wife simply because he listens to her. A king needs a council, a good man who becomes a king needs it even more. The crown is heavier than people think.”

  “I am vaguely aware of the weight of the crown,” Aiden said. “And I have no quarrel with the king of this kingdom.”

  “And I can hold you to your word for this?”

  Aiden nodded.

  “Good. Then on to other matters.”

  Aiden frowned. “Other matters?”

  “My daughter,” Rue Brandis said. “She recently spent some time with you and has grown quite fond of you. So much so that she has begun looking to a life of adventure beyond the castle walls.”

  Well, that was stupid in its own way. What business did a princess have with adventuring outside the control of her kingdom? She was a princess and all royal families had their ways of adventuring.

  Elaswit probably felt like doing what she was about to do would make her her own person, but ultimately, it would just put her at unnecessary risk.

  Good thing she’s not my daughter.

  “Would you like me to dissuade her?” he asked. “Because if that is why you are here, I must disappoint you. I do not have that level of authority over your daughter. And I do not want it.”

  Rue snorted in amusement. “Oh, gods, no. I have enough authority over all my children. Dissuading her is not the reason I am here. I am here to get your opinion on the matter. You were stuck in a cave with her once, going through the motions of an adventurer. What would you say of her? Would she survive in the adventuring world?”

  Aiden almost gave his genuine answer before stopping himself. His expression turned thoughtful before he sighed. “I fear I cannot help with that. I have only met a handful of adventurers and none of them was close enough to tell me what the life of adventuring looked like. I do not have the wisdom required to answer that.”

  Rue sighed. “Lord Lacheart, would you trust my daughter to follow you on an adventure?”

  “I would not trust someone I do not know to follow me on an adventure.”

  “But you know my daughter.”

  “Not enough.”

  “If you fear that I will hold you responsible if she dies, you should not. I am not that petty.”

  “Perhaps, but you are a mother. Grief can do a lot of things to mothers. I have seen my fair share on my world.”

  Rue leaned forward on her seat. “I am not that kind of mother.”

  There was an odd assurance in her voice. It almost sounded as if she was telling him that she was not that kind of mother because she knew for a fact that she was incapable of being that kind of mother.

  “I have been informed of your trip tomorrow to meet your companions,” she said. “I would like my daughter to follow you.”

  That was a good sign. Unless this was another scheme, it meant that the king had no intentions of going back on his word regardless of Derendoff’s death.

  “Would it be possible for her not to?” Aiden asked.

  Rue shook her head. “For the sake of her relationship with her family, I feel that it is necessary. She has experienced a little too much in a very short amount of time. My daughter needs to clear her head.”

  “Send her to the Naranoffs,” Aiden replied immediately. “Their daughter is acquainted with a few adventurers. She can do her adventuring and head clearing over there.”

  Rue looked taken aback. Her brows furrowed in confusion. “You hate my daughter,” she said suddenly. “And if hate is a strong word then you certainly do not like my daughter’s company.”

  Aiden didn’t hate Elaswit, and he certainly had nothing against her company. But he had a memory of having to apologize for a facial expression he’d made when they were still in a potential combat situation.

  He would be lying if he said he had enjoyed his time with her in the cave. He would be saying the truth if he said that he had no interest in doing it again.

  “Your daughter is not an adventuring partner that I believe I would enjoy adventuring with,” he answered.

  “That’s unfortunate,” Rue replied. “From what she told me, she very much enjoyed the experience. There were bad moments, but all in all, she enjoyed it.”

  “Differing human beings,” was all Aiden had to say.

  Rue nodded in understanding. “I couldn’t have said it better myself.” She tilted her head to the side as if trying to look past him. “The sun will be up soon. When it is, my husband has given commands to the stable-hands to prepare the fastest jepat for you. Due to certain circumstances,” she looked pointedly at his black arm, “you have been banned from using the teleportation centers. I believe I do not have to explain that it is all for your own safety.”

  Aiden shook his head. “You do not.”

  “Good.” The queen leaned back on her seat. “You will be granted a map with marked locations. One of them will be your destination.”

  “And the others?”

  “Stopping points where you will swap out one tired jepat for one healthy jepat. The hope is that you can turn this journey into a day’s ride by pushing all the jepats to their limit.”

  “Thank you.”

  “You’re welcome.” Rue Brandis picked up the block on her leg and held it up for Aiden to see the enchantment on it. “Perhaps I should leave you with this. It is an enchantment that might prove useful to learn.”

  She placed it gently on the ground but Aiden did not move to take it. He knew the enchantment. It was a slightly modified enchantment of solitude. Once he was past level fifty, he could use it.

  “Thank you,” he said.

  “I see you’ve dispensed with the ‘ma’am’ but have chosen not to replace it.” The queen tapped her cheek in thought. “I don’t know how I feel about that.”

  Aiden didn’t care. “My apologies. I have not thought of a sufficient replacement.”

  “And you won’t use ‘Your Grace’?”

  “That is what I call your husband.”

  “It is also something that a queen can be called.” She folded her arms and crossed her legs once more. “I can’t help but feel like you don’t like me, Lord Lacheart. For one, you at no point in time offered for me to call you by your own name.”

  Because I know nothing about you.

  “Is it because of my daughter?” she asked. “Or what happened with my husband? Is it because you feel like I am something of a schemer and the reason your companion that has been killing my maids has not been punished.”

  Aiden summoned all his will into not reacting to her words, and Rue smiled.

  “You can tell a lot about a person from their reactions, Lord Lacheart,” she continued. “And you can tell a lot about a person from their lack of reactions. For example, the fact that you did not flinch right now tells me that you stopped yourself from flinching. It also tells me that you have an idea of who the killer is. It tells me that you are currently playing a game of schemes with me, making plans and eliminating them. You are on the defensive because I am much unlike my husband.”

  Aiden said nothing.

  “Do you fear me, Lord Lacheart?”

  “Only a fool does not fear a family with the ability to summon them from another world.” Aiden hadn’t moved from his place leaning against the wall. His arms remained folded over his chest, his sword sheathed in its scabbard, dangling from his hold.

  “You could very easily be a fool, Lord Lacheart. Just as I could very easily be a spy.”

  That caught Aiden’s attention.

  In the Order there were spies that were so highly ranked and important that only the master of the Order was aware of them. At one point, Aiden had learned of a king who had actually been an Order spy.

  He’d never looked into the king in question, but what if that was the reason there had been no information about Rue Brandis in the archives? What if she was a very important spy, one placed strategically in a kingdom with a [Sage]?

  It was worrying, terrifying even.

  It was a late realization, but a realization, nonetheless. Aiden had gotten himself in a sticky situation.

  She can’t be… right?

  It was terrifying to think about it. A very important spy right under his nose. It would mean that the master of the Order had known about him all along in his past life. It would mean that the master of the Order was very much aware of him now.

  “Those are a lot of micro expressions, Lord Lacheart.” Rue Brandis sounded amused. “I would be so happy if my children could learn to do that, smother all their expressions to nothing more than micro expressions. Confusion, fear, doubt, worry…” she leaned forward once more, studied his face from across the distance. “Wow, that’s quite the large shadow of terror, Lord Lacheart.”

  She’s goading me, Aiden told himself. Playing me. She can’t be a spy. It’s not feasible.

  A slow smile spread across Rue Brandis’ face. It was a terrifying thing, like a cat that had just cornered a mouse it was playing with.

  She can’t be.

  Aiden didn’t want to believe it. The thought was still rummaging inside his head when he froze.

  His eyes descended to the metal block on the ground with the modified enchantment of solitude. There was only one known person that was allowed access to the information the monitoring enchantments that riddled the castle provided. The king. And the king delegated often. And he kept no secrets from his wife and vice versa.

  So why did she use an enchantment of solitude? Aiden paled. What is she trying to hide from him, and why?

  “I have an important question for you, Lord Lacheart,” Rue Brandis said after a while.

  In Aiden’s heart, he knew he did not want to know what the question was, he did not want to hear it. Somethings existed that a person could not come back from. His very being told him that hearing the question was one of such things.

  But there was nothing he could do about it. “I’m listening.”

  Rue Brandis’ smile widened, and Aiden saw her teeth. She was like a creature baring its fangs.

  “Tell me,” she said. “What do you know about The Order?”

  Fuck.