The Capital of the Alethani Kingdom was massive—even bigger than Elise remembered. It had been years since she had last visited, and back then, they had hardly any time to look around. Since the Vandenberg territory was situated on the far western edge of the Kingdom, her family only traveled to the Capital for important occasions.
Their arrival was delayed by three days because they had to hand over the bandit captives to the closest fort along their route. Surprisingly, none of the bandits had sustained serious injuries, yet they had all passed out regardless. Fortunately, they did not wake up until they were formally handed over. Moreover, none of the officers were injured despite being heavily outnumbered. While such unusual circumstances naturally attracted suspicion, the officers didn't have time to dwell on them, ultimately concluding that they had simply been lucky. Elise, however, knew the truth.
When she had confronted the Traveler about it, he merely said, "No one had to die in that situation; you would have blamed yourself if that had happened." His reasoning initially made Elise proud of her decision not to kill them, but his following words quickly shattered that pride.
"Your control is still sloppy, and your sword skills are no longer matching your enhanced physique. We need to work on that. You severed one of those men's arteries; he was going to bleed to death. Another was on the verge of being crippled, unable to walk ever again. Two others would have limped for the rest of their lives because of the injuries you inflicted. Your decision-making is good, but you need to be far more precise."
It was yet another reminder of her incompetence. Even though she had improved drastically, there was always more to achieve. She felt as though this realization should have overwhelmed her, but perhaps as another side effect of her Blessing, it only made her more excited. She had to learn more and work harder. This had been her calling since birth. Now, if only she could persuade her father.
However, that was only the first obstacle. There were still people actively trying to capture her. Elise glanced at the man now sharing the cage with the Traveler. His severed hand and the deep gash on his face had been treated, but his face was still swollen from the punch Elise had thrown two weeks ago—not to mention his broken teeth.
He had woken up before the other bandits, but no matter what she or the officers tried, they couldn't get a single word out of him. Consequently, the officers were taking him directly to the Capital for further interrogation.
Ever since the bandit incident, the Investigation Bureau officers had been acting differently around her. When one of them tried to confiscate her sword, their captain intervened, stating she should keep it. His reasoning was that if a similar attack occurred, she needed to be able to protect herself. Elise could even see a fleeting glimpse of approval in their eyes. The gazes of the citizens surrounding them now, however, were an entirely different story.
They arrived at the Capital's outer walls at noon. The gate guards recognized the Investigation Bureau's insignia and let them pass without stopping them. The outer city buzzed with people going about their daily routines. Their party parted the dense crowd like water along the narrow roads, weaving between the crude workplaces and modest houses of the outer district. Even so, these buildings were far superior to the dwellings found in remote villages. Recognizing the officers, the citizens hastily moved out of the way.
Their curious stares were mostly focused on the cage in the center of the convoy. It held a hefty, heavily beaten man alongside another who was casually sleeping next to him. Who could they be? What crimes had they committed? Countless unspoken questions filled the air. Yet, Elise could distinctly feel the weight of judgmental stares directed at her back as well.
Unintentionally, she filled herself with Energy as a subconscious defense mechanism. As a result, she could feel the raw intent directed at her. Even though she could not physically hear their words, she knew exactly what they were whispering about. Was she the one? The disgraced noble who broke off her engagement to the Crown Heir and ran away?
She was used to these kinds of looks—stares filled with despise and disapproval. Thankfully, there were relatively few of them. She wondered why that was. With hundreds of people around, she could only sense malice from a handful. Was it due to her own incompetence in sensing Energy, or was there another reason? She decided to ask the Traveler about it later—assuming they ever saw each other again, of course. As the architecture around them grew increasingly refined, they finally reached the inner walls.
Just as she had anticipated, the city guards and four of the escorting officers took the cage away upon reaching the inner city walls. They were likely heading straight to the palace dungeons. The Traveler didn't say a single word; he merely offered Elise a lazy wave from where he lay. Was he truly always this passive and careless? She had fully expected him to do something—anything—once they reached the Capital. She had assumed he was just playing along on the road to avoid causing her further trouble. But willingly getting locked inside a dungeon cell? Wasn't that taking the act a bit too far? Or did he have some hidden plan?
The inner city, while less crowded, was almost as lively as the outer districts. Elise should have guessed that if the outer city had heard the rumors, the inner city's gossip would be far worse. It felt as though absolutely everyone knew her identity, openly watching her with judgmental eyes. How could the news have spread so fast and so widely?
Elise rode her horse in the center of the remaining officers, closely following their captain. She actively restrained herself this time, deliberately avoiding the floating Energy so she wouldn't have to endure the harsh, judging thoughts of the onlookers. However, this was not enough to drown out the physical noise. Amidst the loud buzzing of the crowd, a particular, excited voice caught her attention. Elise glanced in that direction and spotted two young girls around her own age. She couldn't make out their exact words, but their tone was unmistakable... Were they actually cheering for her?
Amidst the sea of judgmental glares and toxic whispers, those two girls felt entirely out of place. They kept waving and calling out to her with broad, genuine smiles until they were completely out of sight. What a weird bunch, Elise thought. What could their reasoning possibly be?
That brief, puzzling encounter kept her mind occupied as they approached the royal palace, distracting her from the cascade of recent events: the fabricated accusation of a scandalous affair, the brazen kidnapping attempt, and the unnaturally fast-spreading rumors. There absolutely had to be a larger conspiracy at play.
At the palace entrance, an attendant formally welcomed them and led the group to the room where Elise was to be held in custody. Since she was a noble, throwing her into a dungeon cell was out of the question. The captain of the escorting officers ordered his men to confiscate her sword before departing with two of his subordinates—presumably to file their mission report. Reluctantly, Elise surrendered her blade to one of the remaining guards.
The attendant had appeared visibly tense throughout the escort; having eight heavily armed officers accompany a single young woman naturally made him question the necessity of such extreme security.
They escorted her into a large, luxurious guest room where a young maid was already waiting. The attendant quickly excused himself, and the officers stationed themselves outside in the hallway after performing a brief sweep of the room. One of them still carried her sword slung across his back. She reminded herself that she would also need to retrieve her armor from the horses later.
Unsure of what to do, Elise stood awkwardly in the center of the room for a moment. It had been a long time since she had stayed in quarters this lavish. This would have been her permanent reality had she chosen to stay behind—living in a luxurious palace where everything was handed to her without any struggle or hardship. What a terribly boring life, she mused.
"Would you like me to prepare a bath for you, my lady?" The smooth voice of the young maid abruptly pulled Elise from her thoughts; she had entirely forgotten the girl was even there.
"Yes, please," Elise answered with a grateful nod.
She was just about to start undressing when a sudden knock at the door interrupted her. Given her current, stressful situation, the familiar voice she heard from the other side was the most heartwarming thing she could have possibly asked for.