The council chamber of Valtoria was grand enough to silence even pride itself.
Golden light spilled through the stained windows, casting fractured beams across the obsidian floor. The faint hum of mana lamps filled the air steady, rhythmic, and ancient.
But as the doors opened, the hum seemed to fade.
King Aldren Valtoria stepped in, his very presence commanding reverence. His long white cloak trailed like moonlight, his expression unreadable calm yet heavy with power. One by one, nobles, generals, and scholars bowed their heads, awaiting the words of the realm's ruler.
Every sound vanished.
Every gaze dropped.
The silence was total.
Until a lone voice broke it.
"Do you have to walk so slowly?"
Gasps filled the room instantly.
The words came from Vincent Wryd, slouched in his chair at the far end of the council table, one leg crossed, one hand rubbing his temple like a man forced into a conversation he didn't ask for. His dark hair was slightly unkempt, streaked faintly with gray the only sign of age in an otherwise sharp, battle-worn face.
"Honestly," he muttered, "at this rate, I'll die of boredom before you reach the throne."
The entire room tensed. Guards exchanged worried glances. One advisor whispered, "Does he not value his head?"
King Aldren simply chuckled, taking his seat with unshaken composure. "Still impatient, I see, Vincent."
Vincent leaned back. "Still dramatic, I see, Your Majesty."
A low murmur rippled through the council. Only Duke Evaton Voldric composed as always allowed himself a small smirk. "It amazes me you speak to the king like that and live another day, Wryd."
Vincent gave him a tired look. "It's called mutual respect, Duke. You should try it sometime."
The king exhaled quietly, a ghost of amusement on his face. "Let's begin. There's much to discuss."
Duke Voldric stood, hands clasped behind his back. "Your Majesty, we have secured a potential alliance for the Beast Kingdom's reconstruction. The war has left them on the brink of collapse. Their instability threatens our borders."
A murmur of agreement followed.
Voldric continued, "A foreign coalition has offered to provide aid resources, weaponry, and trade routes. In return… they ask for something."
Vincent's eyebrow twitched. "Something," he repeated slowly. "Or someone?"
The duke hesitated. "Three individuals. Students from Saint High. Ragnar Wryd, Light Excalibur, and Yuuki Sato."
The council exploded in disbelief.
"What?!"
"They're children!"
"Why would a foreign power want students?"
Even the king's advisors looked confused some fearful, others intrigued.
Vincent froze. The name echoed in his chest like a knife.
"…Ragnar?" he said, his tone suddenly sharp. "My brother?"
The silence that followed was suffocating.
King Aldren sighed. "Vincent"
"Don't," Vincent cut him off, standing abruptly. "You're telling me that some unknown power wants my brother and his friends, and you're even considering it?"
"Doctor Wryd," one councilor interjected nervously, "you must understand this alliance could stabilize the Beastlands. Their people starve while their kings tear each other apart. It's"
Vincent slammed his hand against the table, rattling the goblets and papers.
"You think I care about their politics when you're offering children like currency?"
The king's tone hardened. "Vincent, control yourself."
"I am in control," Vincent hissed. "You're the ones losing it."
His gaze swept across the room piercing, intelligent, and furious.
"You all know what Ragnar's capable of. You've read the reports the mana fluctuations, the output records. That kid's potential is off the charts. Light and Yuuki are no different. You think it's a coincidence that those three are being requested?"
Voldric's eyes narrowed. "Then what do you suggest, Vincent? That this is some kind of trap?"
Vincent laughed bitterly. "Trap? No. It's interest. Obsession. Someone out there knows exactly what they're worth and wants them for it. And you're about to gift-wrap them because the Beast Kingdom cried for help?"
A tense pause.
King Aldren spoke softly, "You of all people should understand sacrifice, Vincent. You've saved thousands you know that sometimes a few must be risked for the many."
Vincent turned to him slowly, eyes dark. "Don't you dare talk to me about sacrifice."
The room went still.
He stepped closer to the throne. "I spent years rebuilding this kingdom's medical corps. I created the Regenerative Elixir that kept your soldiers from bleeding out on the battlefield. I invented the Mana-Stabilization Serum that saved your daughter's life when her magic nearly killed her. I have bled for this kingdom, Aldren."
A faint flicker of guilt crossed the king's face.
"And now you expect me to stand by while you sell my brother my family to a bunch of nameless foreigners? No."
Voldric's jaw tightened. "Your passion is noted, Doctor Wryd. But emotion doesn't rule kingdoms reason does. We'll put it to a majority vote."
Vincent's laugh was low and disbelieving. "A vote? Fine. Let's see how deep the rot goes."
The king raised a hand. "All in favor of accepting the deal?"
Hands rose. Slowly at first, then more. One, two, six, ten. Almost the entire council.
"Those opposed?"
Vincent's hand shot up immediately, joined by only two others the royal medic beside him and a younger knight who hesitated before committing.
The king exhaled deeply. "Majority approves. The terms will proceed to negotiation."
Vincent stared around the room, eyes burning. "You people have no idea what you're inviting into this kingdom."
He pushed his chair back, the scrape echoing harshly against the floor. "When the day comes that your 'allies' show their true faces remember who you sold them for."
He turned, cloak flaring as he walked toward the door.
"Vincent" the king began.
But Vincent didn't stop. He paused only at the doorway, his voice low but filled with venom.
"If anything happens to Ragnar, I'll make sure none of you forget his name or mine."
Then he was gone.
The heavy doors slammed shut behind him, leaving only silence and guilt in his wake.
And though no one said it aloud, every person in that chamber shared the same uneasy thought:
Why would a foreign power want three students unless they knew something the kingdom didn't?
Perfect — I'll keep Ragnar's dragon origin, Light's elven blood, and Yuuki's otherworlder heritage in mind but not mention them in the story.
This next scene will pick up right after Vincent storms out of the council chamber.
It'll reveal that the "backers" are actually from the monster nation, give it a fitting name, and show Vincent's immediate, silent realization — that he knows why they want Ragnar.
The tone will be tense, political, and heavy with hidden meaning.
But as he reached the end of the corridor, a familiar voice called out.
"Vincent."
He stopped.
King Aldren Valtoria stood in the doorway, his crown now removed, his voice far calmer than before.
Vincent didn't turn. "If you've come to justify that circus, don't waste your breath."
The king sighed and approached, the sound of his boots slow and measured. "You know I can't refuse a united council. Even if I wanted to."
Vincent turned slightly, enough for the light to catch his eyes cold, sharp, exhausted.
"You could if you had a spine," he said.
The insult didn't sting; Aldren had known Vincent too long to take it personally. "You forget yourself, Wryd."
"No," Vincent replied, his voice low. "I remember too much."
A silence stretched between them years of friendship, loyalty, and mutual trust strained thin by politics.
Finally, the king said, "You wanted the truth. You'll have it."
Vincent's gaze lifted.
"The nation that offered the deal," Aldren said slowly, "is not a foreign kingdom of men. It's the Dominion of Nareth the nation of monsters."
The words hung heavy in the air, colder than steel.
Vincent didn't react right away. For a heartbeat, his expression was unreadable. Then his jaw tightened ever so slightly a faint twitch in his cheek.
"…Nareth," he repeated, almost whispering it.
"Yes," Aldren continued. "They've requested formal contact for the first time in over a century. They're offering peace trade, knowledge, and security for the Beast Kingdom's recovery."
Vincent's fingers curled into a fist. "Peace from monsters. How poetic."
Aldren frowned. "You sound as though you know them."
Vincent turned fully now, his eyes meeting the king's calm but dark, like a storm he refused to let break. "Let's just say… I know what they're capable of."
"Then you understand why we can't ignore this offer," the king pressed. "Nareth's influence grows with every passing year. Their armies have evolved their science, their magic. If we reject them, they may side with our enemies."
Vincent stared for a long moment before replying, voice measured, cold.
"Do you even hear yourself? You're not just opening your borders to monsters you're handing them names. Lives. You're giving them a reason to come closer."
"And you think refusing them will stop that?" Aldren countered. "You think the Dominion will simply vanish if we ignore them?"
Vincent's silence said enough.
The king's tone softened. "Vincent… whatever you're afraid of, tell me. Why would Nareth want those three specifically?"
Vincent's gaze dropped to the floor. A shadow crossed his face not fear, but recognition.
He whispered almost to himself,
"Because they aren't after students… they're after what's inside them."
Aldren frowned. "What do you mean?"
Vincent's eyes flicked up, the moment of weakness gone. "Forget it."
"Vincent"
"Drop it, Aldren." His voice was sharp again. "If I'm right, then the less you know, the safer this kingdom will be."
He turned to leave, cloak sweeping behind him.
"Where will you go?" the king called out.
Vincent stopped only once more, his back still turned. "To prepare. If Nareth's involved… then this is no trade deal. It's a hunt."
And with that, he vanished down the corridor, his shadow swallowed by the dim light of the castle hall leaving the king of Valtoria standing in uneasy silence, haunted by a truth he could almost feel but couldn't yet name.