The messenger brought the four of them to the guest rooms. They were then instructed to shower and groom themselves, before presenting themselves to the queen to receive her blessings.

The queen is benevolent indeed, to even allow us to stay in the guest rooms of the castle, even for a moment.

For some peasants who just saved a town, though it is an important town, we are being treated really well.

Cecil admired the guest room that she would share with Hana. Whereas, Xue would share a room with Gom, since they were teacher and student, it wasn't a problem.

They decided to beautify themselves, especially after experiencing the queen's generosity.

Soon, they made their way to the throne hall. Xue and Gom were impassive, while the two women were still gawking at the imposing and luxurious interior of the castle.

The messenger gradually stopped, in front of two large mahogany doors. The guards standing at the doors stared on ahead, not glancing at the group of guests beside them.

"I assume you know how does one address our queen," the messenger said, gesturing for the guards to open the doors. "Now, please enter."

The doors opened and the group strode in, Hana was still glancing around and Cecil has stopped.

The throne hall was brightly lit, most of the walls covered by windows that lined side by side. At the end of the throne hall sat a magnificent throne, and a woman occupied that seat.

She was in resplendent in crimson-red gown with frills of white that accentuated her lithe figure. Her blonde hair was tied into a thick bun as she wore a tiara on her head.

The queen had a benign countenance, and she was absolutely beautiful, her face flawless.

"Your subject pays respects to Her Majesty."

They all greeted uniformly, with the women bowing with their hands crossed over on their dress. Whereas, the men placed their hands by the sides of the body, bowing as well.

"Please, raise your heads." she ordered, her voice soothing and tranquil. "Let me have a good look at all of you."

The queen rose up from her throne, sauntering towards them with a kind smile on her face.

"To think that the academy had such beautiful and handsome students, the principal informed me that three of you were key players in saving the town."

"That is true, Your Majesty." Gom agreed, nodding with a bow.

The queen's forest green eyes lit up in approval, stretching her right arm out to the side. "Bring me the tablet."

A maidservant hurried out, placing the tablet in her hands as the maidservant bowed and dismissed herself.

The queen made her way to Hana, standing in front of her. "Please, step forward and tell me your name."

"Hana Katae," Hana smiled brightly. "Your Majesty, can I just say...you look so pretty!"

Cecil and Gom wanted to laugh and cry upon hearing Hana, while Xue was indifferent to Hana's words.

The queen chuckled in response, "Thank you, Hana."

Cecil smiled helplessly on the inside.

Since she is the heroine, she can do no wrong in this world.

The queen stretched her hand out and Hana clasped her hand over hers, shaking hands.

"Hana Katae, I, the queen of Puleun, on behalf of this nation and the civilians, would like to thank you for your heroic efforts."

"It was my honour, Your Majesty."

The queen smiled and moved on to the next person.

"Please, step forward and tell me your name."

"Xue, Your Majesty."

The queen continued these same words, and the same reply was heard from the other party, continuing on to Cecil. It was only until she reached Gom, that she decided to hand the tablet over to him, finishing her words.

"Gom, please present this to the principal of the academy. It is my honour to be in the same presence as all of you, you have truly done a great deed."

"It is our honour as well, Your Majesty."

"I have prepared a small banquet at the courtyard, please do join me before you say your farewells. If you would like to stay in Puleun to enjoy its sights, please approach my steward, he will arrange for your rooms accordingly."

Cecil was taken aback by the queen's generosity. They were only students and teachers who decided to save the town, they were treated as if they were esteemed guests instead.

***

It was a lavish banquet, and there were even dancers which caught Cecil's interest as she observed their movements. Compared to her mother's style, their dancing were more coy and ladylike, moreover, their costumes were less revealing compared to Cecil's.

Cecil watched on, as well as reading medical books in her spare time, she was still practicing her dancing as well. She even had her daggers this time, thus she could use the sword dance movements.

She began to wonder if she could implement her own movements as well, albeit, it would be deviating slightly from her mother's style.

Mother did encourage me to do so. Hmm, maybe...

Growing bored, Cecil looked at Hana beside Xue, who was savouring her meal and she recalled the bags of sweets Hana devoured along the trip, smiling to herself. She then moved on to Xue, who was seated in between the two of them. He would snatch the food and eat it, grimacing visibly.

"You do not like the food?" Cecil questioned.

Xue looked at Cecil, shaking his head. "Not me."

Kai: "I hate eating ginger on its own."

Alric: "I-I don't like tomatoes..."

Xue: "..."

Whenever Xue ate something they disliked, they would grumble and groan in disgust in his head.

Cecil felt pitiful for Xue, whose alters were definitely different in terms of tastebuds too.

In the novel, Xue did not interact with them in anyway, thus, they were quiet the entire time. However, due to the changes in the plot, they became interactive, even inside of Xue's mind.

Cecil wasn't sure if this was a good or a bad thing.

Whatever it is, I hope it doesn't make Xue explode in anger...

Will it be worse if he absorb more of his fragments? I...don't want to think about that.

Xue placed another piece of food in his mouth, and his eyes growing dark at the two noisy voices in his mind.

"Is there anyway to make them shut up?" Xue growled in annoyance. "Forever?"

It was her first time seeing Xue wearing annoyance so openly.

Cecil imagined two little puppies running around at Xue, yapping and Xue was helpless, since he couldn't chase them away no matter what. Thus, he resorted to snarling at them, only making them yap more.

Xue heard a small, audible laughter from Cecil, raising his eyebrows.

"You are laughing."

"So-sorry, it's just so pitiful and...and a little funny..." Cecil tried to conceal her laughter, failing badly.

[ Previous impression points : 85
Remaining impression points : 84
Protagonist "Xue" doesn't like you laughing at his misery. ]

Cecil cleared her throat, straightening her back.

Suddenly, the jovial mood was disrupted by a commotion at the entrance of the courtyard. There was incoherent shouts and people barking out orders, and everyone could clearly see two figures dashing into the courtyard.

Everyone turned to look at the figures, stumbling into the courtyard into a kneeling position. The dancers were startled, their instincts leading them to scatter and the music halted abruptly.

"Your Majesty! Your Majesty! Please hear us out!"

"Guards! Take them away, hurry!"

"Halt," the queen commanded with a hand signal, and she stepped down from her seat, approaching the figures who were an elderly couple. "Please stand--"

The queen paused, upon seeing their wrinkled and haggard faces, along with their frail bodies. It was a wonder how they managed to break through to the courtyard with their conditions like this.

She sat down in front of them, maintaining eye level with them, her face warm. "It's alright, speak from there, tell me what ails you."

No one moved, and Cecil raised her eyebrows, the author stated that the queen of Han was one of a kind. The status of a queen was only a front for her, and she did not mind lowering herself to a commoner's level.

"Your Majesty, please, my-my son is not a murderer. It is impossible for him to be a murderer."

"Your son? Was he wrongfully accused?"

The elderly woman nodded vigorously, and the elderly man was weak as he could only nod slowly.

"What's his name? I will approach the chief of justice--"

"Yo-Your Majesty!" A servant suddenly rushed up to the queen as she spoke to them, whispering in her ear.

The queen's face darkened, her kind expression twisting.

"Guards! Escort these two out immediately!" she demanded, standing up and the guards handled the elderly couple gently.

"Your Majesty! Please wait! Your Majesty, my son has been wronged! He has been framed!"

The queen seemed to be conflicted, her eyes closed as she turned away from them.

"Halt."

The queen called out after a moment, sighing heavily. "Escort them to the throne room instead, I...I will listen to them, after this banquet."

The elderly couple brightened up, teary smiles forming on their faces.

Meanwhile, Xue who finally had some silence in his head due to the commotion, was annoyed once again when Alric spoke.

Alric: "The strange story, it might be true after all..."

Kai: "What is it?"

Alric: "I travel around a lot, and I heard this strange story about the queen. She was pregnant, and she gave birth to a child...but the child died."

Kai: "A disease?"

Alric: "...no, they said the child was...murdered."

Kai: "...!"

Xue did not care, sighing as he shut his eyes.

Whereas, Cecil looked askance at the elderly couple being dragged away.

Hana just glanced about, confused, and their teacher, Gom, simply sipped at his tea.

[ Warning: From now onwards, your actions of your group, including you, will affect the outcome of many things.
Please be advised. ]

Cecil, sipping at the tea at that time, almost choked at seeing the ominous message.

***

《 start 》

Who are you? What are you doing?

Taking back what's mine.

Are you...absorbing my soul?!

It's mine.

You can't do this. Not when I still have things left unsaid and undone!

I don't care, you don't even exist.

You bastard, once our souls have combined...I'll give you hell.

It won't matter.

--- Path to the Supreme God

《 stop 》