The Castle in the middle of nowhere.

We dug through the book, and I had to admit it was incredible. However, its spells were all over the place, from at least fifteen new healing and specialised spells that removed different status effects to weak poisons and incredibly potent curses before finally listing a few devastating combat spells. Healing, buffs, barriers, combat spells- this tome had everything. But some… most of the attack spells and barriers require dungeon amounts of mana to cast, counted in thousands or even millions.

"Irene, look... *sigh* These spells are great, but most of them are simply out of reach for most of the mortals. You would need thousands of casters to channel all their mana into the person... Well, you, Amber, Luna, or Lanka. Alternatively, you would have to use my mana." I looked with great scepticism at the most potent spell in the book- Armageddon. "Even then, its cost is not only ridiculous, but its effects are nothing that can't be achieved using conventional methods."

"What do you mean?" Irene mostly agreed with my statement. She looked at the impossible amounts of mana needed for casting that spell- one million. "I mean, what conventional methods?"

"Sending our army? I mean- yes, the psychological effect of destroying whole cities and laying waste to entire countries is something worth considering, but if I want to save this world, I can't just nuke entire swaths of land!" I frowned and wanted to turn the page, but a curious voice stopped me.

"Nuke? What does it mean, my Lord?" Lanka asked, tilting her head.

"It's hmmm..." Shit. I thought the local language was contaminated enough with terms from my world. Slurs and profanities were the best examples of that. However, before I could come up with an explanation that did not include nuclear physics, Irene cut in.

"Look here, Lanka..." She tapped on the page. "It's described here, using the words of the Hero Nathan Kane: a destructive force similar to the nukes of my world."

"Oooohhhh!" Lanka read the description one more time, and Irene winked at me.

"Love you," I said soundlessly, and she covered her lips to hide a giggle.

"Exactly!" While it wasn’t an explanation, I gladly accepted that much. Only my Queens knew I reincarnated in this world. "But still- most of these spells will be an incredible asset. Lanka, please take that spellbook to Stella later. After all, it's the first complete spellbook we have."

Irene and Lanka nodded in agreement. We talked a bit longer about the book and some plans for the future, and Lanka started to look sad.

"What is wrong, Lanka?" Irene asked, "You seem to be worried about something."

"My Lady...My King... *sigh* It's about my life. Please, don't think I'm ungrateful or disrespectful. On the contrary- I am happy that my life took a turn in a good direction. But I am now one of Your Highness's residents... What about the guild? And my sister? I don't want to part with her."

Her voice was sad and uncertain, but she knew she was an important part of something much bigger than her life. Irene had happily mentioned many times how she was glad to have Lanka around, and of course, I was still indebted to her for saving Amber.

"Hmm... Maybe it shouldn't be me talking, but..." I looked at Irene, who was thinking about her answer as well. Honestly, I was not thinking much about this particular part of Lanka's life and future. "The only thing I would request of you, Lanka, is to join the Flower Girls party as their support. If you don't want to move to the Middle Castle, then I don't see any reason why you should. Everlight is part of Avalon in the same degree as the rest of my Kingdom."

"What King Theon told you is true, Lanka." Irene softly smiled at the worried girl and explained further. "For my part, I will require your help in the main cathedral. You will probably be acting as my herald and voice in the future. I'm the second Queen of Avalon and Saintess of Eriar, and right now, my duties are sparse. However, sooner or later, I expect that to change, Lanka. Your life will not have to change immediately just like that."

"Besides, it's not really a huge problem for me to grant residency to Idna. Sooner or later, most people in Everlight will be granted residency, so don't worry. However, I will be grateful if you keep that secret for now, at least."

"I will! Thank you, my Lord!" Lanka brightened.

"By the way, Lanka. We will have to… adjust your name to be more flowery..." I smiled to myself, but Irene and Lanka looked at me in surprise. "I want her to join The Flower Girls' party. We have to help her fit in with the theme... What?"

"Theon, Lanka is a name derived from Lantana. It's a beautiful plant that blossoms with clusters of small flowers. It's rather a common plant that grows everywhere." Irene smiled lightly, but I knew she just now wanted to roll her eyes at my ignorance.

"Ohhhh... Case closed then!" My strategically chosen response showed both women the depth of my botanical knowledge. "There is one last thing I want to discuss with you, but I want Amber and Luna here... Give me a moment."

I blinked and ordered my closest denizen to inform Amber and Luna to join us here. Using this brief moment, I glanced at Cridia's party, and as expected, they were still lost in the fog, but Jester was preparing tons of snowballs and was instructing the skeletons to throw them at the spies on his mark. I didn't know what he wanted to accomplish, but he was definitely having fun. The group did not attempt to search for its missing members, which was depressing. Amber and, soon after, Luna joined us and sat near me and Lanka. Instead of sitting on my right, as always, Amber allowed Luna to take her place. Instead, she sat near Lanka and combed her golden-brown hair with her fingers. Amber completely ignored Lanka's embarrassment and once again trampled her well-established beliefs about royalty, commenting on how beautiful she looked now.

"I discovered another Hero and his Kitsune recently." Lanka looked at me in surprise but said nothing. "They were killed a long time ago, here, in this very place when it belonged to the Blood Dungeon. I will request your help, Lanka, during their funeral."

"But of course, my Lord! I will happily assist Lady Irene!"

"Thank you, Lanka, on behalf of Marcus and Sidri."

Lanka’s eyes widened upon hearing the names of legendary Heroes. Irene simply nodded with understanding. In the end, Marcus was a fellow Champion. Even if I didn't know him, it was suitable for me to ask for Lanka's help during his funeral. I decided to quickly change the topic and deal with the last problem on my hands for today.

"There is one more thing I want your help with, Lanka. You are unaware of this, but the group we identified as spies is in one of Avalon's zones. They were probably sent here on a recognisance mission, but our slime spies could not get to the bottom of their mission orders." Lanka considered that for a moment, but she couldn't focus because Amber started scratching at the base of her ears. I looked powerless at Amber, and she gave up after giving me a grin and winking.

"*ekhm*They probably want to map the area and check what type of denizens you own, my Lord." Lanka managed to stay serious despite all of Amber's efforts. "Have they tried to plant food nodes? I heard it's common practice among the so-called inspection teams."

"Hmmm... Not yet. Anyway, not long after they arrived in Avalon, one priestess became separated from the rest of the group and got lost in the mist. However, she was followed by four mercenaries who, instead of saving her, intended to kill her. Jester saved her," I briefly explained.

The ladies sat in silence, digesting the news. They were disturbed by it but honestly not surprised at all. They live sheltered from the darkness of the outside world for soon-to-be two months at best. The dangers and evil so common outside were still very much alive in their memories and nightmares. They looked at each other, ashamed they couldn't be as indignant or disgusted as I was; that was just the daily news back then, a thing to be wary of- the inevitable risk to life. I didn't blame them; all four were closer to the victims, or as Irene was a victim, than the perpetrators. I would never allow anyone so twisted and treacherous to stay in Avalon.

"I ordered her to be brought here. I want you to see her and help me to decide on her fate." I looked at them, and they nodded. "I don't know if I will need your active help, but your presence alone will be good for me as for her."

•••

Amber considered what Theon had told them and internally sighed. Being "Righteous" made her beloved man adhere strictly to an internal code. However, it seems he hadn't noticed it yet, or what was more probable was that it was so similar to his own codes, morals, or beliefs he didn't mind. She cherished his good heart, but he was never an idealist; he knew that his good intentions would not stop threats, and his kind words would not change the world on their own. She felt secure near him, knowing that he would kill any offender stupid enough to threaten them- herself and her sister Queens in particular. Righteous or not, Theon was not taking this world's dangers lightly. He told her once: Si vis pacem, para bellum- which meant if you want peace, you must prepare for war, and he was doing exactly that. The scales of his preparations initially terrified her because it looked like Theon was willing to fight against the entire world. Lately, Amber had forced herself to read more of Sebastian's reports, and she now understood why...

About two months ago, she had decided to risk everything. She was unsure if she wasn’t just changing her meaningless life into another nightmare. But she felt that Theon was different from the other people she had met before, and all his actions so far confirmed she was right. Theon was even different from any other legendary hero before him: they were often violent, selfish, shamelessly prideful, or just too haphazard to change much or even anything in the world. Her life had changed like the life of the girls from fairy tales that the heroes had brought to this world. It was as if the goddess of fate had smiled upon her and, with a magic wand, changed a poor beggar girl into the Queen of Avalon. Since that miracle happened to her, she did her best to support Theon in every way possible.

Amber fixed herself on the sofa and stopped teasing Lanka after Theon gave her a scolding gaze. She couldn't help but giggle and mischievously wink at him, but he was preoccupied with explaining why he wanted them all here.

As Theon explained briefly how the priestess ended up being caught by Jester, she paled. Before meeting Theon, she rarely trusted anyone, and that story was exactly why she didn’t. She was always afraid of being enslaved and sold as an expandable labour force at best or as a sex slave at worst. Death wasn't that bad compared to the pain and humiliation most slaves faced each day. What happened to that priestess was… unfortunate, but it wasn't anything special either. Amber still had fresh memories in her mind of when she hid in the forest and saw bandits killing travellers along with slavers capturing anyone they met. Back then, she did almost anything to survive, but despite her miserable life, she couldn't force herself to end it. She never once considered selling her body, as that would surely lead to less official enslavement. Instead, she avoided people as much as she could, foraging in forests and spending the winters in the bigger cities.

Despite the fact she always tried to run away from her past, something always forced her to return here, living in the forests so close to the Blood Dungeon. Back then, she had often used a method she learnt from the forest people: dirtying her long hair with mud and fallen leaves and using them as a camouflaging veil to move unnoticed from place to place, avoiding roads entirely. She now believed that it was Eriar who forced her to stay around, and he had protected her for all those years so she could meet Theon. She looked at her husband's face and regretted that she couldn’t feel the same disgust and disappointment with the degree of the treachery of this world, but she was not even surprised by it. She was sad for that girl and pitied her, but there was nothing she intended to do about it. The consequences of a single mistake or ill-placed trust could be fatal for Avalon.

Two paladins brought the girl inside Lanka's tea room and removed the cloth that blindfolded her. The poor girl was trembling in fear, but she was shocked even more by her surroundings. She looked around in silent awe, reacting the same way as everyone else who was allowed to see the unthinkable riches of Avalon. Amber covered her lips to hide her smile at her own memories of when she was the first mortal to see the glory of Avalon. Her husband would most likely interrogate this priestess, but she doubted he would order her to be executed.

The girl was tall for a human, almost as tall as she or Irene was, but was probably a bit older. Or maybe she just looked tired and older because she couldn't afford to eat well enough and was overworked. Hmmm... Sebastian had reported food shortages in the Cridian Kingdom, so maybe even the church's prized healers couldn't eat well enough? The girl was in her twenties, with short, straight brown hair. Her face was neither cute nor ugly, and she was rather average, mercifully spared from any scars- a common sight among the adventurers, indicating she was a priestess who had never left her church for long. Her robe was simple, poorly made, and from the cheapest material, but it was in very good condition and mostly clean. Many church-bound clerics or priests didn’t care about their robes. She even had shoes on her person that, not so long ago, Amber would have considered incredible.

"My name is Theon Avalon, and I am King within this domain." Amber looked at Theon in surprise.

She had never heard his voice be this cold and menacing. He sounded like she had always imagined the powerful Kings of old from the legends. Amber barely masked her shock, but just a glance at Irene and Luna confirmed that he had surprised them all. Theon was calm as he spoke slowly without hostility, but his voice was like the promise of swift death if she lied in any of her answers. One glance at his eyes was also enough to know that he always knew the truth. The girl instinctively tried to step back but was stopped by paladins who crossed their large ceremonial but deadly halberds with the smooth ringing sound of metal hitting on metal, cutting off her way out.

"Who are you?" Theon asked and picked up his cup of tea.

"My... I am a lesser priestess of Hestia from the city of Cridia. Lord of Avalon, my name is Gloria," she replied slowly so as not to stutter. Theon raised his brow, surprised, and Amber wondered why.

"Gloria, you must know why I wanted to speak with you. I will not sugarcoat it- this is your trial. Your future will be decided in this room, and it's only up to you how it ends. We will ask you questions, and you should know that we will know if you tell us the truth or not."

Gloria trembled in fear but clenched her fists and slowly nodded. She even started to calm down slowly. She gazed at Lanka for a while, so maybe she knew her or somehow managed to identify her as a person. However, Lanka was no longer the same woman Gloria could have once known. Lanka was now much more powerful and a proper noble of Avalon, which meant she followed the same code as King Theon. And yes... The World Words nudged Amber, Irene, and Luna to do the same- to follow the code that King Theon had shaped for his Kingdom. It was a strange feeling, to be honest- not knowing exactly what the rules were but knowing immediately what was right and what was wrong when you must make important decisions.

"Tell me, Gloria, why did you come here?" Theon asked lightly, but Amber could tell that he was probing Gloria. He wanted to know if she was willing to cooperate or would futilely resist, making everything harder for herself in the near future.

"I was told we should investigate this place, Lord. The subject of said investigation is what kind of place this is and how strong its monsters are. I was told to go as combat support because I am useless as a healer..." she said after a long pause, probably trying to decide what was more important for her now.

"And why is that so?" Theon asked coldly. Amber now understood why Theon sounded like that: to break Gloria's will without actually hurting her. She was already terrified by everything that had happened before, so keeping her scared was easier and safer for her.

"I..." She hesitated for a brief moment and pursed her lips. "I was not told why. But after I accidentally separated from the group, I... I was almost killed by the mercenaries that were meant to protect us. This is outrageous! I'm sure that head priest Ghilur is looking for me now with the rest of the inspection party!"

"No one is looking for you, Gloria. No one is even looking for the mercenaries that tried to kill you." Theon put the teacup on the saucer so that its ringing was the only sound in the room. This simple gesture captured Gloria's attention and burst the bubble of illusions she had built over the years spent in the safety of her church. "Do you have any suspicions about why you were sent here? Why did they target you?"

Gloria rubbed at her robe while tears flowed from her eyes. Amber looked at Theon, who discreetly shook his head, and she immediately understood what he meant. 'Not yet'. In Amber's opinion, Gloria did not deserve such harsh treatment. However, Amber had learnt that Theon never hurt or even scolded anyone without a purpose. Gloria took a deep breath and rubbed her face. When she looked at them again, Amber saw a new resolve in her.

"I was worthless for the high priests. I couldn't learn healing or buff magic and... And I can't hear Hestia anymore." Gloria lowered her head once more.

"That's not exactly what I meant."

"If you ask, Lord, why our group was sent here, it was to investigate..."

"I see..." Theon sighed, and with an unreadable expression, he slowly asked. "Tell me, Gloria, were you aware that your superiors had sent you here as a spy before Queen's Josla planned attack within the first days of spring?"

"I... I heard only rumours..." Gloria looked at Theon in terror. "But no, Lord. I was not aware we were to spy on the dungeon. Please, you must believe me..."

"I don't have to." The butler refilled Theon's teacup, moving almost unnoticed despite the fact he paraded between them and the still-standing Gloria. "Tell me, what does your church want to accomplish by sending you here?"

"I don't know. But in our group were people from all the significant guilds and churches. I felt out of place with them, Lord... As if my presence was unnecessary..."

"What did you want to achieve then?" Theon asked much softer this time.

"I just wanted to return alive..." she almost whispered. "In my stupidity, I wished to learn the fate of Hero Marcus Hyrkle and Heroine Kitsune Sidri Hyrkle, the champion of my Goddess."

"Sit down, Gloria." She felt her legs folding as a soft chair hit the other side of her knee. She sat heavily on a very comfortable chair.

Amber had observed all this in silence and without a single emotion. She was deep in her thoughts, wondering if she could ever do the same. Theon had made it clear to her many times that, as Avalon's foremost queen, she would have to take over some of these responsibilities when the time came, most likely including situations like this one.

•••

Gloria had never once lied to me; she chose to speak only the truth. However, she had not told me much, either. Fortunately for her, she never was at risk of losing her life once Jester captured her.

"Gloria, you never lied, but unfortunately, I can't let you go." I started slowly, still wondering what I wanted to do.

The tears started flowing from her eyes, but she pursed her lips and looked at Lanka with a begging gaze. I was tempted to leave them alone and see what she would do, but decided against it. She had her portion of dread and fear, so it was better to go with the planned minimum.

"Gloria, I hereby sentence you to imprisonment. You will be under house arrest since you never intended to bring harm to Avalon and its inhabitants." I said, and she was instantly relieved.

I crossed my arms, wondering if she understood the chance she was being given, and noticed Amber's worried look. I smiled softly and allowed her to take over the conversation.

"Priestess Gloria, I am Amber va'Theon, the Queen of Avalon. Please, tell us about the newest rumours from the capital." Amber asked with a warm smile, leaning on the sofa.

"What rumours, Lady?" Gloria was surprised. "I don't believe that the rumours of mortals would be entertaining for such a glorious scion as you are, Queen."

"On the contrary, I'm very interested in hearing what people tell each other from ear to ear." Amber's smile was so charming it couldn't be resisted.

"Lady Amber, people speak about many things lately... Many rumours regard this place, but people know whatever this place was, it will be conquered by the kingdom with the spring..." She looked at me, but I just smirked.

"Do you still believe that with winter ending, this place will be destroyed?"

I smirked. Oh Amber, you cunning little kitten...