As soon as I heard the rustle of chains behind me and the footsteps, I tried as hard as I could not to look at her.Fear was already flooding over me.My breathing became ragged again and I started sweating profusely."Mother! It's so good to see you again! I hope you'll release me from that terrible dungeon they've locked me up in!" The black-hearted witch said."Silence, Cassandra. Tell me the truth. Did you harm the people of our nation? And did you harm that man over there?" The Queen asked."O-of course not!!! I love the people of Albatross! And that man is the primary accuser! I never harmed him at all!" Cassandra shouted."Liar...liar...liar...evil bitch...gah...my head..." I said.The King glanced at me strangely and so did Isabella.It was honestly very difficult to listen to her.I was overwhelmed with fear and anxiety. Hearing Isabella whimpering was enough to bring me to tears by itself. And that wasn't even the worst part.It was just...Well...Vengeance was sure making
I entered the room and saw the Queen sitting by herself at a desk.Several stacks of documents were laid out on it and the room was kept well-lit by a few beautifully-made lamp stands that glowed with magic."Ah, so you've come. Have a seat," the Queen said almost dismissively.I walked over to the chair facing the Queen and sat down."Now then, I have a few questions for you, Mizik. May I call you Mizik? Or do you have some sort of title you wish for me to use?" She said.I simply stared at her with a blank expression. My posture and my eyes remained as neutral as possible."That was me giving you a turn to speak. Are you nervous?" I shook my head and continued staring into her eyes."Then what seems to be the problem?" She said."I desire your permission to speak freely. I want an open and honest talk," I said simplyEvryss rolled her eyes."Is it not enough that I have invited you to chat? You, a lowly commoner, should be grateful for the honor of speaking to me, the Queen of Alba
I entered the room and saw the Queen sitting by herself at a desk.Several stacks of documents were laid out on it and the room was kept well-lit by a few beautifully-made lamp stands that glowed with magic."Ah, so you've come. Have a seat," the Queen said almost dismissively.I walked over to the chair facing the Queen and sat down."Now then, I have a few questions for you, Mizik. May I call you Mizik? Or do you have some sort of title you wish for me to use?" She said.I simply stared at her with a blank expression. My posture and my eyes remained as neutral as possible."That was me giving you a turn to speak. Are you nervous?" I shook my head and continued staring into her eyes."Then what seems to be the problem?" She said."I desire your permission to speak freely. I want an open and honest talk," I said simplyEvryss rolled her eyes."Is it not enough that I have invited you to chat? You, a lowly commoner, should be grateful for the honor of speaking to me, the Queen of Alba
After those events, I began to truly settle into a new routine.The Queen still didn't like me, but I made a continuous effort to present myself as a gentleman.Walter actually helped me learn the basics.Over time, I would even attend certain classes upon Isabella's request and learned things about leadership and politics.Next, there was another glaring issue.Part of the problem that the other nobles and even the Queen had with me didn't have anything to do with my familyI was a half-noble with no formal education, no titles, and no proper upbringing. Even if the King was working on granting me a title, my childhood consisted of my father trying his best to raise and educate me himself.But my father mainly taught me practical things. How to survive, how to work, and how to fight.He always told me to remain as humble and uncorrupted by the high life as possible because one day I would be part of it.The result was that I lacked a proper education that most nobles received normal
The next few days went by very quickly. Nothing of real note happened despite the usual. I decided to take a break from adventuring as well since my schedule was filled up with other things.The wedding, of course.I'd done it. I kept my end of the agreement and managed to remain in the King's good graces.As of now, I was finally fifteen years old.In one week's time, I would be the husband of the most wonderful woman I had ever met.Granted, it didn't say much, considering I had never really been with any girls, but I digress. Since I aged, Isabella put a stop to all of her studies and began working diligently on planning the wedding.She wanted to make that day absolutely perfect for the both of us.Unfortunately, due to my rather humble upbringing, I didn't really have an eye for the finer things. To be honest, I would have been okay with a very simplistic wedding with a few friends.However, I was dealing with nobility and royalty. They had other plans...I spent quite a lot of
The morning of our wedding day started very differently.Immediately after waking up, Isabella and I began getting ready for the day.By that, I mean the bridesmaids requested that I leave Isabella's room and get dressed by myself.I wasn't allowed to see Isabella again until the ceremonySince security was much tighter around the castle, today, Walter had several butlers help me get ready as well.After I was dressed, I headed over to the room where the ceremony would be taking place. Despite security being so strict, I was concerned about intrusions.The incident a couple of days prior had left us all a little shaken. Mainly Isabella and myself.I looked around the room at the expensive decorations and well-dressed nobles.I still felt out of place here, but that was alright. I was determined to enjoy this day to the fullest and wouldn't stand for anything bothering me.Walter was to be the best man at the wedding today. He stuck by my side at all times.This must be what Isabella f
The gate opened and I walked out onto the dirt-covered hard ground.Stone walls surrounded the arena on all sides and up in the stands, I could see many nobles from the wedding ceremony. Likely wanting to see if I really could wield Vengeance as well as I claimed.Among them, I also saw Isabella with an incredibly worried expression on her face. Don't worry, It'll be fine. I'll try to make this quick.I stood facing Arvild.Neither of us had our weapons drawn.Both of us already had shields, however. We were waiting on Walter to start the duel."Arvild, you are a despicable human being. I hope you know this," Walter said angrily."Just start the duel, old man. I can't wait to tear this foolish bastard limb from limb!" Arvild said angrily. There was a slight twitch in his eye as he spoke. Yeah, he's definitely lost it."By the power of Honor, I will judge this duel. This is a duel to the death. Arvild Darius vs Mizik Iratus. The rules are simple: use whatever means necessary to kill
Before I died, I wondered to myself.How had I lost so badly? Was it not a fairly normal question? Why had this sword, a blade renowned for its power and ferocity, become so weak? It was as if I wasn't even using a magic sword anymore.I pulled all my strength back and slowly tried to stand up.The after-effects from Rage of Iratus were severe on the body.It made it nearly impossible to function after using it.The skill had incredible power, but it was only to be used as a trump card. A final ability to end a battle quickly.I eventually got to my feet and stared at my opponent.I knew I was probably going to die.Arvild had sustained a fair amount of damage from me, but he was still fighting at mostly full strength.By comparison, I was already waist-deep in the grave...Why was Vengeance so weak? Why was it acting like it wasn't even my sword? Didn't I at least deserve to know? I tried talking to it so many times before, but it never wanted to respond.The last time I heard it wa