A week passed and, as planned, Nova and Letto stepped into Westhaven, the capital city of the Westoria Kingdom.

'This place is packed with stalls,' Nova thought as he slowly made his way toward the royal palace, hindered by the sheer number of people crowding the streets.

There weren't many differences between the kingdoms. Having been under the Vireah Empire for so long, they had all adopted the same style of architecture. One of the few distinctions that remained was in clothing. Here, in the Westoria Kingdom, people mostly wore tunics to cope with the hot weather.

Letto, trailing behind, asked, "Sir, how do you plan to enter the royal palace?"

After having had his hopes rekindled of becoming stronger, and with a few tips from Nova, he had trained with the sword for the past week, though with little to no progress. He could only console himself with the thought: I can't be too hasty. It's only been a week.

Nova sighed. "The same way everyone enters a royal palace, go up to the gate and ask the guards to meet the king."

"But—"

"No buts. I've wasted a week just to be able to enter the palace openly. Just follow me and, if needed, nod when I tell you to." Nova quickened his pace, and Letto followed silently, not daring to argue further.

The week spent in the forest, along with Nova's guidance, had lessened Letto's fear of him, allowing him to ask more questions than before. But that was as far as it went, his fear had only diminished, not disappeared.

Half an hour later, the two stood before the royal palace gates, where two guards stood watch.

'I hope he's received the news already… otherwise my plan is screwed,' Nova thought.

He stepped forward, and when he was about two meters away, one of the guards barked, "Halt! State your business."

"I'm here to meet with the king," Nova said.

The guard gave him a once-over, then exchanged a glance with his colleague. Both smirked. Looking back at Nova, the guard spat, "You? Do you think His Majesty has time for any random fool who strolls up here? Scram before we throw you into a cell for insulting the King."

'And now… let's see if my new status is worth anything,' Nova thought.

"I come from the Blackridge Kingdom's royal palace," he said evenly, "sent here by…" His jaw tightened before he forced the words out through gritted teeth. "His Majesty, King Avaro."

'I feel dirty just saying that once,' Nova thought bitterly. He hadn't imagined there would ever be a word he disliked using, yet addressing someone as a subject seemed to press on him like a weight. It was a strange, unpleasant feeling.

The guards' eyes narrowed. One of them growled, "If you're lying, you'd better get out of here now. Once I report to my superiors and find out it's false, you'll beg for death."

Nova remained silent, his face completely unmoved.

Seeing this, the guard muttered, "I warned you," before walking into the palace, leaving the other guard to stare at Nova with sharp suspicion.

Throughout the exchange, neither guard had spared Letto so much as a glance, dismissing him as nothing more than Nova's servant.

Minutes ticked by until, at last, the guard who had gone inside rushed back out. He gave Nova a conflicted look and stammered, "G-Go in. The Lord Commander will bring you to His Majesty."

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'Perfect. They were informed of what happened. Now I only need to give a little push…' Nova thought as he nodded at the guard. With a small gesture for Letto to follow, the two stepped into the palace.

"Phew… my big mouth almost cost me dearly," the guard muttered under his breath.

His colleague leaned closer and whispered, "Is it true?"

The first guard met his gaze and slowly nodded. The two fell silent, staring at one another.

//////

As soon as Nova stepped inside, Jareth, the Lord Commander, approached with a polite smile. "Follow me. His Majesty wishes to see you. But…" His eyes shifted to Letto, who stood behind Nova, wide-eyed and gawking at the palace interior.

"It's fine. He'll stay here," Nova said without looking back.

Letto immediately stepped aside in silence.

Jareth gave a small nod, his smile returning. "This way."

Every guard and maid they met on the way bowed to Jareth but the Lord Commander didn't seem to care as he kept casting a few sidelong glances at Nova, expecting some sign of awe at the palace's grandeur. Instead, all he saw was a bored expression, one that made his brow arch in curiosity.

Nova did glance around, but having already set foot in two other royal palaces in such a short span of time, the sight of another hardly felt special. Just different faces in the portraits.

It wasn't long before Jareth led him into a smaller hall where a middle-aged man sat on a throne-like chair. Beside him stood another man, upright and silent.

'That must be the king… but the other one? I have no idea who he is,' Nova thought.

Jareth stepped forward and bowed slightly. "Your Majesty, the one claiming to be from Blackridge's royal palace has arrived."

King Tiberan gave a curt nod, and Jareth moved to stand off to the side.

The king's gaze settled on Nova, his eyes narrowing as though trying to pierce through him. "What brings someone from Blackridge to my kingdom?" he asked.

"I came here, to your kingdom, on the orders of King Avaro," Nova replied evenly.

"And what does he want from me?"

"He doesn't want anything from you," Nova said calmly. "My orders were to destroy as many towns and cities in the Westoria Kingdom as possible before returning."

The words hung heavy in the air. To admit something like that directly to the ruler of the very kingdom he was sent to disrupt was practically a death sentence.

Tiberan's expression shifted into a thoughtful one, but before he could speak, the man standing at his side suddenly roared, "How dare you speak such treason before His Majesty! Guards, t—"

"Brynden, shut up."

The State Advisor, Brynden, turned toward the king and quickly said, "Your Majesty—"

But Tiberan's sharp eyes cut to him making the advisor falter. A shiver ran down his spine, and he bowed his head in silence.

Turning his gaze back to Nova, the king said, "Young man, you'd best choose your next words carefully. Why exactly are you here?"

Nova smiled faintly. "Because I'm not here to follow his orders."

Tiberan raised an eyebrow but remained silent, waiting for more. Nova did not keep him waiting.

"Avaro intends to use your kingdom as the vanguard to weaken Lotra, then swoop in and conquer both with minimal losses but I don't want that," Nova said.

Tiberan was not overly surprised by Avaro's plans. He'd always known the Blackridge's ruler wasn't someone to take lightly, after all, he'd plotted his way through the throne.

"Why not?"

Nova shrugged and said "Let's just say I'm not a fan of his method."

Jareth quickly walked up to the King and leaned forward whispering "Your Majesty, recently that rank 8 mage named Arix from the Blackridge Kingdom joined our army, if what this person is saying is true then our troops are in danger."

That sly bastard. He's even willing to gamble a rank 8 mage hoping to weaken my army, what else does he have prepared? I need to find out if any other person from Blackridge is in my army. Tiberan's hands clenched, though his voice remained steady as he asked, "Do you have anything else to add?"

Deep down, he hoped that was the end of it. Knowing a wolf lurked among his sheep was unsettling enough, but realizing Avaro targeted him while they were supposedly on the same side made him wonder if he now stood in the same position as Lotra.

Nova shook his head. "I've already said everything I know. But I'd like to offer you some advice."

The very idea of a commoner daring to advise the king made Brynden's eyes widen, and he opened his mouth to object only for Tiberan to cut in first. "What advice?"

"It's clear Avaro has set his sights on your kingdom," Nova said evenly. "Clashing with Lotra now isn't wise. So… I suggest you ask Wulfric to join forces, combine your armies, and strike Blackridge instead. If you don't, if you let things play out as they are, both Westoria and Lotra will fall."

Tiberan pondered on Nova's words, struggling to keep his composure. At last, he said, "You may go for now. You are also permitted to return should you have more information."

Taken aback by the abrupt dismissal, Nova was silent for a few seconds before replying, "I will." He turned and left the hall.

The moment he was gone, Tiberan shot to his feet. His voice was a low growl through clenched teeth, "If Avaro wants war, he'll have one."

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