Veridia felt the prickle of Queen Regina’s eyes on her before she even finished speaking. That narrow, penetrating stare that Veridia was never comfortable being under. She had just recounted every detail of what had happened last night with Arzan, if that was even his real name.

The Queen’s reaction had come in stages: first was the immediate and sharp flare of anger upon learning Veridia had walked, uninvited, into a banquet being held to gather support; and then her entire face cooled down when Veridia laid out her reasoning. And knowing Regina, she wasn’t a woman who enjoyed being surprised, but she also was not one who clung into pointless fury once it served no use.

All these years, Veridia had realized one thing: Regina did not truly care how a task was accomplished, only that it was.

The silence between them stretched, thick as syrup. The faint clink of porcelain was the only sound in the room as the Queen set down her teacup. Finally, after what felt like weeks compressed into seconds, Regina spoke.

“So,” she said, her voice just above a whisper, “you ignored my suggestion to send more assassins after him. I thought you had more at your disposal.”

Veridia kept her back straight when she knew where this was going. “I do. But only a few are in the capital. I sent some to destroy his carriage when they were on the road to Hermil, but he wasn’t with them.”

“And why,” she asked, tilting her head slightly, “did you not kill the others?”

“Because it wasn’t worth it. The risk is only worth taking when the reward is good enough. His cohort is too strong. Knights with… powers, and more than one who fights like a seasoned warrior. We’ve already failed to eliminate the captured nobles in his possession, and repeating that would serve no purpose. In fact…” her lips curved faintly, “…they’d only turn it into a sympathy tale. Martyrs are far more dangerous than corpses.”

One of Regina’s brows rose, the faintest arch of skepticism, before she lifted her tea and took an unhurried sip. “Explain.”

“By my estimates,” Veridia continued, folding her hands in her lap. “Even if the assassins managed to kill one or two of those nobles—perhaps wound some of his Knights—they would still be cut down or driven off. And all for what? You already have plans to render their testimonies meaningless, to make them sound like fanciful hogwash. Why squander lives and resources on a fight that offers nothing but the risk of making him look heroic?”

The Queen set her cup back down, the porcelain clicking softly against the saucer.

“When,” she asked candidly, “did you start caring about assassins?”

“I trained them,” Veridia said without hesitation. “Even if they are just pawns, I believe they should give their lives for better causes than this.”

“There are better causes,” Regina said, “than ridding the kingdom of a parasite?”

“Better causes always come up,” Veridia replied.

Regina groaned quietly, pressing a hand to her temple as though she’d reached the end of her patience. If Veridia could speak the truth, she would say the feeling was mutual, but for now, she still needed to play the part of the loyal subordinate shackled by the Queen’s machinations.

“You think there are better causes for your assassins,” Regina said at last, “but not for yourself. Dueling him means the whole city watching, the entire nobility scrutinizing you.”

“You told me to do that if I found no other option,” Veridia countered.

“I never said to make it an event,” Regina snapped.

Veridia resisted the urge to sigh, keeping her expression smooth. “There’s a reason I did that.”

The Queen began tapping her finger against the table. “And that reason is?”

“I believe we need a spectacle,” Veridia said. “Despite you not fearing the lower nobles, their numbers are high, and right now they believe in the princes. But Arzan is offering them a great deal in exchange for just a vote. Some are beginning to think he’ll be made a Duke, and they’re ready to ride behind him. Princes may not remain forever since only one takes the thrones, but a Duke endures. Even if Prince Eldric takes the throne, the Kellius Dukedom will not be so easily destroyed.”

Regina’s jaw tightened, her teeth grinding audibly. “I will see about that,” she said at last. “But… I take your point.”

Regina paused for the briefest moment.

“You want to kill him right in front of the entire noble population and stomp his support in one go.”

Veridia gave a small nod, then corrected her. “I don’t plan to kill him.”

Before Regina could pose a question, she added, “Doing so would invite far too many questions from far too many people, and I would lose what little support I have among the common folk. As you know, there hasn’t been a kingdom-wide threat requiring my aid in years. The common people have already forgotten me. Mortals have short memories.”

“The plague was for that,” Regina said pointedly.

“I believe that was more for Prince Eldric,” Veridia replied.

“You would have been with him,” Regina countered. “That was enough. But that damn man ruined it too. We suspect he had ties with Elias of Vanderfall. There are still sandstorms every day in the plague lands, and we can’t get near whatever is going on. The treant was pulled out of its roots. I don’t think Arzan has that much power. But be careful.”

Veridia didn’t need to be told twice. She knew very well Arzan was an enigma. Although she doubted he had been the one to pull the tree out, the report she’d received described it as little more than a husk—burnt. That, she was certain, was his doing.

Regina’s gaze sharpened. “If you won’t kill him during the duel, make sure you get the healers to poison him so he succumbs to his injuries. Unfortunately, that is.”

“I already planned for that,” Veridia said and controlled the urge to roll her eyes. After all this time, she still wanted to give Veridia commands on every little thing. “You don’t have to worry.”

For that, the Queen gave a single nod.

That… was not agreement; it was dismissal.

And so, without another word, Veridia rose, knowing the audience was over.

Veridia turned to leave, but Regina’s voice followed her to the door. “Don’t fail,” she said. “You’ve failed enough to lose all favor. If you fail again… you know what will happen.”

Veridia looked back over her shoulder. “I do.”

She opened the door and stepped out.

Her first instinct was to let out the breath she’d been holding, but instead her gaze fell on Selwin, Regina’s attendant. He glared at her in his usual fashion—meek and compliant in the Queen’s presence, but Veridia knew exactly what was hidden beneath.

She nodded at him in passing. “Selwin, you should go pour more tea for your master before you look at me like that.”

He held her stare for a second before shoving past her. “Don’t disappoint her again.”

Veridia glanced back at him. “You don’t have to worry. A slave should act like one.”

His lips twisted into a smirk. “We’re both slaves.”

Then he stepped into the Queen’s chambers, closing the door behind him.

Veridia lingered for a moment longer, eyes fixed on the door where the petite man walked inside. His words… they simmered in his mind and stroked a quiet rage. It was frustrating when even slaves had the audacity.

She turned on her heel and strode away.

I have no time to listen to a slave.

There was a duel coming and she intended to remind the entire kingdom why exactly she was known as the strongest Mage.

***

Rumours were everywhere.

So much so that no one was even talking about the banquet he had held. That had been the whole point—draw the nobles in, get them mingling, plant the right seeds in the right ears. He’d assumed it would be the talk of the city by sunrise, every noble who’d attended summoned by the princes for questioning. But nothing of the sort happened. Follow current novᴇls on novel fire.net

Instead, the only thing anyone seemed interested in was him and Veridia. More specifically, the fact that the two of them had apparently had a fight at the banquet and were now set for a blood duel.

The stories came in abundance, each one more absurd than the last. In some, he had supposedly insulted her outright, claiming to be the stronger Mage on the back of his recent victories. In others, she was the villain, goading him by making cutting remarks about his mother until he snapped.

One version—apparently courtesy of a Viscount who had been in attendance—had them trying to slap each other across the table. Another claimed there’d been a full-blown spell exchange right there in the middle of the hall. And then there was the most ridiculous one of all: that it had been a lovers’ spat. That one, thankfully, no one in their right mind was going to believe.

But whether the details were exaggerated or invented entirely, everyone seemed convinced there had been some sort of altercation between them. And, annoyingly, with how tense his last two exchanges with Veridia had been, it wasn’t as if there was no truth to it.

It just hadn’t led to a blood duel. That part had been shoved onto him, forced into the open before he could even think of refusing.

Not that he had any way to clarify the matter now. Veridia had been ready for this. The speed with which the gossip had spread was unnatural, almost surgical. He could easily picture every noble in the city waking up to their servants leaning in, whispering the latest scandal into their ears before they’d even touched their morning tea.

How was that possible? He didn’t know. Even the Watchers hadn’t been able to trace it back to her directly.

Which told him exactly how careful she’d been. Unfortunately, neither Francis nor Killian had any idea, either.

“I talked to Tiara,” Francis said, arms folded above his pot belly. “She’s been handling the Watchers here in Hermil. Despite infiltrating several noble houses, she didn’t get a whiff of it. She guesses Veridia—or Regina—has a deep network of spies already planted in those houses. They’re the ones who did it.”

“But we’ve been looking for hints of other spies, right?” Kai asked.

“Yes, we are. That’s why it’s strange we didn’t catch even a hint of it.” Killian replied.

Kai let out a slow sigh. He knew full well his Watchers weren’t the top spies in the kingdom—the organisation had only just formed, after all. But if their enemies had an active network too, at least one or two of them should have been caught. Not every noble house could be perfectly guarded, especially if there was already a spy embedded in each one.

Leopold, pacing through the room with the look of a man who hadn’t slept, stopped to frown. “Does that really matter? The problem is you’ve got a duel with Veridia out of nowhere.”

Kai didn’t answer him.

Instead, Duke William Blackwood—present for the first time in one of these discussions, sitting with deceptive ease in the corner—spoke up. “It does matter. She managed to accomplish this in just a few hours. That kind of system is something we need to understand. In the coming months, things won’t be easy. We have to think long term.”

Leopold closed his mouth at that, continuing his pacing without another word.

Kai nodded slowly, mind sifting through the possibilities. How had she moved so fast? How had she gotten the rumours into every noble household overnight? Then, the thought clicked into place.

“Mages,” he murmured.

Francis frowned. “What?”

“Every noble house has Mages from the Archine Tower working with them,” Kai said. “She didn’t need to send servants. She probably informed a few Mages, and the information trickled down to the others before reaching the nobles. Since everyone’s gathered here, they likely brought their Mages along for the journey. I wouldn’t be surprised if there are Mage banquets going on right now.”

Francis nodded. “There are.”

Kai leaned back against the couch. “Then it probably spread during one of those, at the same time as ours. Veridia didn’t stay long, and just like that, every noble knew by morning. The Watchers can’t react that fast, not yet.”

Duke Blackwood inclined his head. “It does make sense. But the question is: what are we going to do? The rumours have spread. I’d wager she’s already informed the arena.”

“I don’t think he can just reject it, citing the Assembly,” Leopold said, glancing at his father. “Right, Father?”

“No,” Duke Blackwood replied. “This and the assembly are separate matters. If Arzan refuses, Veridia can bury him under more bad rumours. She could claim he’s a coward. We’re projecting his identity as a strong Mage who’s saved the kingdom. He can’t back down. Delaying won’t work either—the Assembly’s judgment will take time, and she’d just say he’s stalling.”

Killian scowled. “But Lord Arzan didn’t even do anything to provoke a duel.”

Kai gave a dry smile. “I don’t think I did anything to provoke a beast wave or a fief war, either. Some things just… happen.”

Francis leaned forward slightly. “So you will duel her, Lord Arzan?”

Kai went silent. He was still adamant about not getting involved in this, but the truth was unavoidable. There was very little he could do to stop it. The nobles expected him to duel. The city expected it. Veridia expected it.

Part of him wanted to burn everything down just to spite them all.

As he sat there, a flicker of mana bled from him without conscious thought.

Killian’s brows drew together. “Lord Arzan, are you alright?”

“Yes,” Kai said evenly. “Just thinking about the duel.”

Then he looked around at the faces in the room. “I believe I will take part in it. But…” His lips curved, not in amusement, but in promise. “…I don’t think Veridia will like what she sees in the arena.”

***

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