A Tense Conversation at the Palace

In the midst of the rainy, foggy weather enveloping the coastal settlement of Aetheria, two figures moved with an air of mystery. The first, a girl cloaked in a mini-sleeveless blue-black cheongsam, is walking upstairs, holding a suitcase, her face veiled by the shelter of her umbrella. As she climbed, another girl emerged from the upper reaches, donning a long, resplendent cheongsam of golden white. The staircase has small lamps nestled on either side, casting a gentle glow and illuminating the path. Both girls held an oil-paper umbrella aloft, their paths crossing on the staircase.

"I heard two girls came from the Murk." With a silent pause, the girl in white says this without looking at the other girl.

"Yeah, I heard," the girl in blue replies.

"And one of them was found holding a witchcraft to her."

"Ohh.."

"You know what this means, right?" The girl in white asks with a smirk.

The girl in blue doesn't reply, and after a long pause, she starts walking ahead, and with that, the two continue on their paths.

The news of Marie and me coming from Murk spread like wildfire in the country. Most of them felt anxious, as everyone here was already aware of the Deities who came from there and left a great threat.

"Hey, Did you hear two girls came from Murk?"

"One of them was found with a weapon."

"Shouldn't Queen just execute them? What if they are with Deities?"

"Yes, but I heard Queen has accepted them for some reason."

"What is she thinking?"

If it wasn't their assumption about us being corporated with Deities, then it was religious priests that made more heinous rumours.

"Those girls broke the veil of God and came here to ruin our peace."

"We must have them executed on site."

"Let's all come together and protest against the decision of the Queen."

So one thing was clear: we can't walk around in the country thinking we'll be treated equally and rightfully, and regardless of whatever anyone said, for some reason or our good luck, Queen didn't change her decision, which we were very grateful for. but...

"About what you asked earlier, Eleanor, To come with you and help your kingdom. I am afraid, even though we have a common enemy, we can't help, as we can't just go into the Murk without knowing where we'll end up. Especially when you yourself don't know how you ended up here. Going there without understanding will be axing our own leg, as that's 1000 years of blind territory."

"Right.." I replied.

Our heads bowed before the Queen as we sat before the grand arches of the royal palace, in front of Queen Silvy.

Kiren and Dante stood beside her, wearing black. They are called Greater Knights as they are special guards of Queens. While other knights wearing their robes stood straight, their weapons gleaming in the ambient light of the silver-white halls, mixed with an ethereal calmness. I have held my witchcraft in my hand, as it's the rule that when you are inside the palace, your weapons must be out in the open so that the Queen can see them and no one launches any surprise attacks.

"So either we take our time and understand Murk, then travel to your kingdom, or you both become strong enough and risk going back alone and saving your kingdom."

Marie and I didn't reply to anything, as we were lost in thought about what we should really do.

"So what would you like to do now? Eleanor and Marie." Silvy asked.

What should we do? What is the best decision to make here? Understanding Murk is a long shot, and I don't want to just leave it to them while we do nothing, so I made up my decision.

"We'll train and become Knights of Aetheria." I answered.

After a long silence, suddenly whispers that could be heard filled the room. The other knights seem to be against this.

"Is she for real?"

"The Queen shouldn't allow this."

"They are outsiders."

Even Marie looked at me with a surprised glare as I didn't ask her before saying that.

"I see.." Silvy answered.

"MY MAJESTY, I AM SORRY, BUT I AM AGAINST IT."

A heavy, straightforward voice resonated from behind us, rejecting our proposal.

Other knights did not say anything about the Queen's decision. At maximum, they could whisper around, but for someone to step forward like that takes a lot of influence and power in the country.

"May I ask why are you against it? Dieter." Silvy asked.

It's Dieter, the chief advisor to knights and queens. He has a strong build, a long beard, and is an adult, probably in his late 50s.

"It's obvious, because we don't know them," says Dieter, spreading his arms and sounding casual. "And allowing someone like that in the Knight can let the country's secrets out. What if they are spies from enemy nations?"

His words took the flow of conversation as other knights who weren't saying anything are now loudly agreeing to it and rebelling against us.

"Huh! What are you saying? We are not spies." said Marie.

"Shh..Marie, control your voice." I tried gesturing towards her, but ignoring me, she was glaring at Dieter.

"Any way to prove that?" Dieter asked.

"When I was found, I was good as dead. Don't you think it was just a coincidence that I was saved?" Marie said.

"That's the generosity of our country, Aetheria, and our queen. Something that everyone is aware of." Dieter said. "What if you purposely put yourself in that condition just so we could feel sensitive towards you?"

"But that's not the case!" said Marie.

"And more importantly, don't you all find it weird? No one in the past 1000 years has transcended Murk, let alone returned from that place, and now suddenly we are seeing two girls coming from some different country, which no one is aware of. What is this? A fairy tail?" Dieter said.

"But..." Marie is getting restless, and her voice got buried in between the knights hurling at us.

Dieter's smirk looks evil in itself, but he isn't wrong. In the end, it's about the national security of their land. If someone were to come like this out of nowhere from Murk in Ashura Kingdom, we probably would've answered in the same way.

**SNAP* The sound of a hand fan closing echoed in the room, and within a second, everyone got silent.

"Dieter, you are forgetting that those two rascals who were giving us threats also came from Murk." said Silvy.

She released her crossed legs, straightening her posture with deliberate grace. She rested one hand on her knee while the other confidently held her hand fan vertically on the ground, as if taking the support of a sword. an unmistakable gesture of serious authority.

"Deities. When I faced them off, it made it clear that they don't have to pretend before attacking. Those high-prided selfish devils won't bother playing this little game of infiltration with us."

said Silvy. "And when Marie and Eleanor were in a coma, I had someone check their intention. They seemed like good souls except for the extreme rage burning that was found in Eleanor. And it feels understandable knowing what she saw and has gone through recently."

Silvy scanned our intentions? I am surprised, but at least that will help them know that we are not spies or anything.

"My Majesty, what if she is from a neighbouring nation holding a grudge against us? Then that rage can exist, modified with cooking up a story as she is saying." Dieter said.

Like a true advisor, he is persistent and thinks from all angles.

Sigh* Silvy looked down and released her breath.

"Then, in that case," said Silvy, "I'll ask you to trust me and my instincts, Dieter, like you always have."

She stares into Dieter's eyes.

"I was an advisor to your mother too when she was queen, and I watched her raise you, and during her last moments, she held my hands and said the same thing. —Dieter, please have faith in my daughter like you always had for me."

Dieter lowers his head, recalling memories from his past with the previous queen.

No one said a word after that; even Silvy was just looking at him, hoping he'd change his mind. They seem to have a strong bond with each other, and Silvy shows high honour and respect for him.

"But if they..." said Dieter.

"If they turn out to be traitors, I will take full responsibility," said Silvy, "and kill them with my own hands."

"Well, then, there's nothing else for me to say. Have it your way," says Dieter, staring at me before walking away.

"Thank You. I will never forget this favour." said Silvy.

Sigh*

"So I guess there's no one but me in your support, Eleanor..Marie.." said Silvy, smiling as she settled into her throne with regal ease, gracefully fanning herself again.

"Yeah, thank you very much." I said it with a bow.

"But... that's not true!" said someone from behind us.

A young-looking knight, with red hair in a lavish way, came stumbling ahead. He laid his hand in front of Marie, as if asking her out.

"I will always support Marie!" He said, "I've spent enough time with her, and trust me, my Majesty, she is the most beautiful and elegant person I've ever met."

Support Marie? Spent time with her? I looked at her in confusion, and she seemed to be tearing up in a disgusting way for some reason.

"Elea, help me.." said Marie, holding my shoulders.

"Huh? what happened? Who is he? Do you know him?" I asked.

"When I woke up, he was the guard stationed near me. I asked him for directions and your whereabouts since that time he is after me."

"Ohh.."

They were both circling around me, with that knight asking Marie to sit and talk to him, and she was running away.

"Elea, do something."

"Marie, don't worry, I can die for you. I won't let anyone touch you."

"Whaa-" Fascinated, I responded.

Soon, it felt like they were playing a tag game and circling around me. I don't know to whom to say what. As their noise exhausted me, I rested my hand on my head, feeling the weight of the day bearing down. As I turned to face Silvy, I was surprised to see her also releasing a weary sigh. 

Our eyes met, and a shared understanding passed between us as we exchanged gentle smiles at each other.

*SNAP** the hand fan closes.

The day came to a close, and we found ourselves still within the grandeur of the palace walls, surrounded by knights and the graceful presence of Silvy. Following a dinner, I sought solace on the balcony; I didn't feel like eating much. Marie seems to be enjoying the food except for the forced conversation she has to have with Alex, who was sitting beside her, non-stop, talking to her.

As the cool evening breeze brushed against my skin, I gazed out upon the sprawling landscape, lost in contemplation. Suddenly, I heard soft footfall from behind me, and without a word, Silvy joined me at the railing. Her presence feels comforting for some reason, as if someone is really close to me, even though I've recently met her.

"You don't each much?" she asked, gazing at the sky.

"I do usually, but today didn't feel like it." I said, "Probably because I was remembering having dinner with my family."

"I understand," said Silvy. "But you should eat full, as tomorrow morning you'll be leaving, right?"

"Yeah.."

It's been decided. From tomorrow onwards, we'll be starting our training, and sadly, there are no knights or teachers who have proper Infusion mastery with chains, so I have to go somewhere else, and Marie will be training directly under Silvy and the greater knights here. So until our infusion ritual is over, we are not going to meet each other.

"So where is this place exactly?" I asked

"In the mountains of Keral, at the top, there's a temple. There, you'll meet a man named Marthanda." said Silvy.

"Marthanda.." I repeated.

"He's a legendary warrior of our kingdom who put an end to war at the coast several years ago, when my mother was queen. Now he is a retired man who takes care of the temple."

"I see."

"He doesn't use chains, to be exact, but his Infusion, he calls it Urumi. A type of sword that moves like a whip. It somewhat resembles your witchcraft, so I decided to put you up with him." said Silvy. "He doesn't take students anymore due to something that happened a few years ago, but now I personally sent him the request, so there shouldn't be any problem."

"Thank you. I can't appreciate you enough."

Now that I am watching Silvy this close, she looks very beautiful and elegant. She is straightforward with her words and sounds scary, but she is a very gentle-hearted person.

"Umm..Silvy, may I ask something?" I said.

"Yeah sure."

"Why are you helping us so much?" I said

Her gaze bore into mine, a silence stretching between us as I waited for some convincing answer.

"I don't know, to be honest," said Silvy, walking back inside. "As I said, I just feel like it, so I am doing it. No other reason."

"That is all?" I asked.

She stopped on her toes, and without turning towards me.

"Yes, that is all." said Silvy.