He sat up quickly.
"S-sorry… I passed out."
Velqira just stared at him quietly.
Then she asked:
"How… how can someone our age defeat grown warriors?
I saw them kill knights before. They were strong.
So how… are you this strong?"
Rowan clenched his fist, stood, and looked away.
"Well… let's just say I trained really hard. A long time ago."
Velqira narrowed her eyes but didn't press further.
At that moment, King Zorque and several nobles burst out of the castle.
When he saw Velqira, he gasped with relief.
"Velqira! You're safe!"
He ran toward her.
Rowan smiled faintly.
"Well… I should go."
He teleported, swapping places with his clone.
His real body disappeared from sight while his clone dissolved quietly beside his mother.
No one noticed.
King Zorque rushed forward the moment he spotted Velqira. His cloak swept behind him, boots striking the stone with urgency.
"Darling, I've been looking everywhere for you," he said, breath uneven. "For a moment I thought something happened. You're safe—that's all that matters."
He paused, squinting around.
"There was someone beside you earlier… I thought I saw a figure. Maybe it was just my imagination."
Velqira nodded stiffly. "Yes… it must have been."
But then they both froze.
A severed head lay on the floor.
Blood streaked across the hall, leading to the freshly fallen bodies of Darius, Calus, and the assassin. Limbs cut cleanly. Cuts too sharp—too precise—to be anything normal.
King Zorque's eyes widened.
"…Velqira. Did you see who did this? Who protected you?"
"I… didn't see anyone."
She forced the words out, still shaken.
The king stared at the bodies for a long moment. Even his elite knights couldn't have done this. Not this fast. Not this quietly. Not three of them.
Finally, he turned and placed a protective hand on Velqira's back.
"Let's go. We're leaving."
They walked toward the carriages.
---
In the shadows nearby, Lady Arya watched the royal carriage pass. Her face was cold.
"They failed…" she whispered, disbelief tightening her voice.
Her gaze swept the crowd, searching.
The assassins I sent… gone.
Killed.
And not by Aldwin. He isn't strong enough to erase three elite killers in seconds without using kill cause if he use his skill the pressure might make nobles and peoplein there to collapse.
So who did it?
Her jaw clenched as she entered her carriage.
Whoever that person is… they're dangerous.
She tilted her head slightly, watching the nobles hurry out of the castle like frightened birds.
"How interesting."
Her voice dripped with malice.
"Someone else intervened. Someone stronger. Someone fast… too fast for even my assassins to react."
"And whoever that person is… they cost me time. They cost me resources. They cost me blood."
She climbed into her carriage with the elegance of a queen but the aura of a serpent coiling before a strike.
"Fine," she whispered as the door shut behind her.
I will send more to every noble who saw me bow my head to Duke Will becauseof that little brat," she murmured, voice low with murderous promise.
"And I will burn every last one of them if I must."
The carriage rolled away.
---
Inside the hall, Rowan sat beside his mother while she spoke to Aldwin. But his mind wasn't there.
Someone sent those men.
Someone wants blood spilled.
I could hunt them down right now… but there's no need.
Not yet.
He loosened his clenched fist and exhaled.
I'll wait. I'll watch. And when the time comes… I'll move.