A single, dimly lit candle flickered in the center of the room, its weak flame struggling against the silver moonlight that spilled across the floor. Hana’s quarters were jarringly humble, a small, sparse cell that felt entirely divorced from the sprawling, gold-veined luxury of the rest of the castle.
To any outsider, or even to the recovering girl in the medical wing, it looked like a room born of poverty, as if the kingdom had run out of coins by the time they reached the Sword Saint’s door.
While that theory held a grain of truth, the room’s simplicity was its greatest weapon.
The bare stone and modest furniture served a singular, hidden purpose of anchoring massive, suffocating silence. The chamber was warded so heavily against sound that the world outside simply ceased to exist.
Because the room lacked the clutter of luxury, the magic could flow unimpeded. Mundane objects such as the steady wooden clock and the heavy frame of a cedar wardrobe, acted as conduits.
They functioned as the cornerstones of an invisible barrier, weaving a shroud of protection that turned the humble space into an impenetrable fortress of quiet, where not even a whisper could escape to the hallways beyond.
If the room’s residents sought to bridge the gap between their sanctuary and the world outside, magic and voice alone would fail them. The wards were so powerful that even a scream would be swallowed by the heavy air before it reached the wood of the door.
To call for aid, one had to physically break the seal of the room by poking a head out into the hallway like a diver surfacing for air, and manually hail whoever happened to be passing by.
Such a place proved to be quite uncomfortable for anyone living there, but it served as a perfect spot for meetings that did not want interruptions or curious people.
“How’s the girl doing?” Viera asked, her nails lightly tapping against the window’s frame as she watched the guards exchange positions for their nightly shifts.
From where she stood, she could easily see the entire capital city, something that was unfeasible even from her throne room.
“She’s doing fine. Surprisingly, she’s extremely good at mana control within herself,” Hana replied, standing closely behind her.
“If you reallllyyy dig into your memories, I did tell you this would happen. Kuno may be a weirdo, but she’s always had a knack of predicting stuff like this.” KL leaned back on the only chair in the room as he threw a rubber ball back and forth to entertain himself.
“If you had just listened to her, maybe all those lives at Kala wouldn’t have been lost.”
His point was one that even Hana couldn’t refute. Guilt tightened her throat as her eyes lowered in shame at her own failures.
Viera, however, remained unfazed as she maintained her dignity and composure. “We didn’t know that such an attack was going to happen, only that a girl with arcane capabilities would appear soon. To imply this is our own undoing is a grave misspeak on your part, Kos.”
“Yeah, and all you did was focus your efforts on trying to stop the cultists. How can you, as the Queen, not connect the two dots together sooner? The cultists were searching for information. Literally, what kind of information is said to be rare and inaccessible by most?”
“So by default, of course they’d search Kuno’s hometown.”
“If you ask me, you were just being plain incompetent.”
“Honey. Enough.”
Hana glared at KL, but unlike before, he remained unflinching as spectral daggers shot from her eyes.
“Hana, honey. I don’t know if you have any right to be mad at me right now.”
The tossed ball halted as he pulled the chair forward, leaning his right elbow to face both Hana and the onlooking Viera.
“Who you’re really mad at, is the Queen over there that is only ever good for freezing things.”
“Your loyalty to her means jack shit when we’re talking about lives, the lives of our people that were lost unnecessarily because of her failure.”
“Sure, you moved quickly after you realized the true threat, but the pattern was so clear and obvious from the very start, which neither of you followed through on until it was too late.”
Hana snapped her body toward KL, a scowl scrunching her face as all traces of peace vanished.
“So then why didn’t you warn us about the attacks? If you’re so smart, why didn’t you tell us what to do?!”
“Don’t you think putting us solely at fault is a bit unfair? As someone who noticed the patterns and didn’t tell us, you are just as responsible for the deaths than we are.”
The married couple stood their respective grounds, neither willing to waver under the other’s remarks.
Tension swelled in the space between them, ready to burst like an overinflated balloon.
Hana’s soured expression towered over KL’s, visible disdain etched across her face at the words spoken about her. If he were an ordinary knight, or even a retainer, she would not have hesitated to draw her blade.
But she knew the kind of man she had married. Not once since the day they met had he ever spared her from the weight of her mistakes.
Where others comforted their partners with sweet words, KL offered scorn.
Before her, the man who would normally startle at a simple tonal shift had been replaced by a relentless beast of anger and fury.
“It’s a bit unfair to accuse the newly appointed Guildmaster of that.”
From the corner of the room, a high-pitched voice emerged, striking red-blond hair spilling from the shadows.
Leaning against the wall with one leg propped for support, a young girl clad in a lavish dress adorned with countless pieces of jewelry spoke, her arms crossed in a stance of pure, unchecked confidence.
Her sharp interjection shattered the silent war being waged, and the couple turned their attention to Veronica.
“Unfortunately for you freedom advocates, the Law of Guild prevents him from aiding any nation without an official request for help first.”
Hana cut in, “and what do you know about laws when all you’ve done was run away from your home, Veronica Velion?”
“I may be a disowned princess, but I still try to keep up to date with shifting political trends.”
“Plus, my disgrace of a brother will never be a true ruler of the Empire. That role is reserved for me, and me alone. I intend to take it back no matter what.”
“Besides, it is common practice to scout the land you plan on taking over one day, correct?”
Finally drawing her gaze away from the hypnotic sight of the slumbering city before her, Viera turned to face the room.
“It is my fault for not noticing such patterns earlier, and I believed at the time that this was a task that didn’t require the Guild’s aid. I take full responsibility for the lives lost.”
Though she addressed only three individuals, the structure of her words suited a press conference or an official city announcement.
“I have summoned you all for a different topic.”
“The Mage Tower Selection.”
“In exactly three months and five days, we will have to either declare a new Mage Tower Candidate or forfeit the tournament once more this year.”
“Hana, do you believe you’ll be able to train our young mage to be at that level of skill, in that timeframe?”
Placing her hand on her chin, mental calculations ran through the Sword Saint’s mind.
Nearly three days had passed since she first began training Saya, and although the progress had been smooth, it was nowhere near sufficient for the proposed timeframe at their current rate of improvement.
Knights considered prodigies often underwent a year of training before they could hold their own in battle. For Saya, an inexperienced mage, she would require a minimum of two years of practice before even being considered for such a title.
So far, she had practiced only close-quarters techniques using nothing but her fists, as casting true arcane magic could prove catastrophically destructive.
Saya had begged countless times for permission to cast arcane magic, but the risk remained far too great. Raw power was a resource she clearly possessed, but one cannot wield destructive magic if they die in the process of casting it.
“I don’t believe so. Three months is too short of a time, even three years I would consider to be too early.”
Veronica spoke up, “that’s because you’re not employing the right strategies against that mid-biter.”
“You may not be present to train her at all times, but I see everything through the window of my room.”
“That mud-biter performs better when you’re not there.”
“Are you implying my training is lacking?” Hana asked.
Scoffing at her remark, Veronica shrugged. “No wonder why the Guildmaster was angry at you. You’ve got peas for brains.”
“It’s because when you’re not there, she’s not fighting for you, she’s fighting for the boy laying in bed at the end of the hall.”
She claimed it as a matter of fact. Not a single shred of doubt colored her voice, as if she understood who Saya was at her core.
Left dumbstruck, Hana’s eyes widened as she took a step back, recoiling from what the princess across the room had stated.
“Honey, no matter how much you tell her to fight for herself, she will always choose to fight for the ones she loves.”
“That’s what makes her fundamentally different from you. You believe in your ideals, your morals, and you fight for them. All she cares about is bringing back her best friend.”
“I can relate to the girl, I’d do the same thing if you were in the same situation.”
Deviating the conversation, Veronica continued, “why do you even care if the mud-biter qualifies for the tower anyways? You already have an arsenal of candidates at your disposal, do you not?”
“She doesn’t,” KL added. “Her dumbass hired every single one of them. Normally it shouldn’t be a problem, but…”
“But I’m growing weaker, and my hold on the Frostlands won’t last much longer.” Viera lowered her head in shame as she rolled up her right sleeve. On her forearm, shards of crystal-blue ice protruded from her skin like spikes.
“Your mana is getting out of control!” Veronica exclaimed.
Viera nodded slowly, rolling her sleeve back down.
“I need my chosen ones to act as a final line of defense in case my hold shatters. But now, I also require an envoy to be sent to the Mage Tower, in hopes of finding Kuno.”
“As you know, a representative of the nation can’t be sent unless they are a candidate themselves.”
Veronica sighed. “And the existing participants aren’t so nice to let a non-candidate from joining them.”
“I’m guessing that’s why I'm here. You wanted to see if I was a potential candidate.”
Hana stepped forward. “Unfortunately, no. Even with your chain-blade, I don’t believe you’re capable of defeating the current candidates in a battle.”
A vein burst from Veronica’s temple as her temper flared from head to toe. She was aware of her own weakness; to claim she stood equal to the candidates would only fool herself.
It wasn’t the truth that angered her, but the way Hana delivered it.
“Know better than to disrespect me, Sword Saint.”
“I may be disowned, but I can still call your favorite rival with the snap of a finger.”
Without a shred of fear or hesitation, Hana approached Veronica, closing the distance until the heat radiating from the other woman’s skin was a physical presence between them. She stopped just short of a collision, leaving barely an inch of empty air to separate them.
The Sword Saint stood nearly a full head taller, yet she didn't look down so much as she loomed. She met Veronica’s fiery glare with a steady, cooling gaze that refused to yield.
The two locked eyes, the air between them thick with the scent of Veronica’s perfume and the sharp sound of their synchronized breathing.
Gritting her teeth, Hana asked, “and you think I can’t beat Isolde in a one-on-one fight?”
“Give me a break royal dog, last I heard, you were forced to draw your Soul Symphony against the Nightveil Nun, and still lost.”
“Perhaps that mudbiter should take lessons from her instead. Seems to me her fighting style matches hers more than yours.”
Hundreds of pebble-sized ice shards erupted from Viera’s Birthmark, freezing the room solid.
Like a maiden within an ice storm, her dark silhouette stood unmoving amid the chaos. The wards sealed the chamber, preventing even the wind from escaping. Should the three perish where they stood, no one beyond those walls would ever know.
The loose dress she wore tore apart under the sudden tornado of wind. Spikes of ice scraped against her skin as they rose higher with each passing moment, like violent blades birthed and grown from her arm.
“Enough!”
Viera exclaimed.
She no longer intended to allow such disrespect and interruptions during her summons. While she considered herself lenient, especially toward those she regarded as friends, her role as Queen would not be cast aside under her watch.
While she considered herself to be lenient, especially towards people she considered to be friends, her role as a Queen would not be thrown aside on her watch.
Slowly, the wind subsided, leaving fragments of destruction scattered across the roof, walls, and furniture.
Hana and Veronica stood in awe, having witnessed the power of the being who once held the title of the Witch of Glaciation.
It was a sight KL had seen many times before; her outbursts had long since become a nuisance in his life. But to Hana and Veronica, the ferocity was unprecedented, known to them only through legend.
Being the only one not gripped by fear, KL asked, “so, what were you going to say?”
“If Saya is not capable of being a candidate, then I want to build her up to be one.”
“Just because Kuno foretold her appearance, does not mean she receives special treatment whatsoever. A bird cannot learn to fly if they do not leap from their nest.”
“We have three months, and you will utilize that time to train her to the best of your ability, is that understood, Hana?”
The Sword Saint swallowed and nodded firmly at the task she had been given. She could not tell whether the cold had frozen her throat or whether fear had begun to crystallize her blood. Her “Gift of the Wind” felt almost childish in comparison to what she had just witnessed.
“Veronica.”
Before another word could be said, a heavy tremor surged through the stone foundations, rattling the furniture and causing the glassware on the bedside table to chatter against the wood.
A bright flash of blue light briefly illuminated the room before fading. The flare left a static charge in the air, raising the fine hairs along their arms as the shadows of the furniture snapped back into place.
Viera reacted instantly, snapping her arm toward the window behind her.
It was an instinctual reaction, she knew that the Sword Saint beside her was more than capable of protecting her in any circumstance, yet she still raised her arm in a defensive stance all the same.
The room fell still, a sharp contrast to moments earlier, when they had been at each other’s throats. All four individuals stared at one another, waiting for someone to speak about what they had just witnessed.
“Was that… arcane?” Viera took command.
Arcane energy was something she was relatively unfamiliar with, but she had witnessed her share of arcane output from the Butterfly Mage in her younger years. If that thin blue beam of light was any indication of arcane magic, then there were only two possibilities.
Either the Butterfly Mage had returned, or there was another arcane mage in the city besides Saya.
The door burst open, and one of the maids stumbled in, gasping for breath. She leaned her slender body against the doorframe, her chest heaving as she struggled to pull in enough air to speak.
Her face was flushed, and a bead of sweat traced down her temple. She gripped the wooden frame, her eyes darting between Hana and Viera in pure panic. The silence of the warded room was completely overtaken by the sound of her ragged breathing.
“Your Majesty! We have reports of Saya Idlansil destroying the Church of Eudoxia.”
At the end of her words, KL burst into laughter. He rose from his chair and tucked the small ball he had been idly playing with into his pocket, the motion cutting through the tension in the room.
“Who knows,” he said, still amused. “Maybe I was wrong, and she’ll be capable of becoming a candidate soon after all.”
“Honey! We’re not done with our talk!” Hana said sternly. But the Guildmaster had no intention of remaining. His silhouette passed the slumped maid as he exited the room.