By the time they returned to the hotel, it was already late in the middle of the night. They immediately rest in their room without creating any commotion. Except for Darren, everyone is already resting in their room, conserving strength for tomorrow.
The poor old vampire is still searching for Death Rose in every corner of the Twilbo Forest. As Death Rose only blooms in a place devoid of other sentient living beings, they are usually found in this forest. The thick mist in the woods could hide some areas from others for a long time.
There is a bit of disturbance when royal guards drag Eric, but no one dares to raise a question after getting a silent glare from the Duchess. Angus and Jayna didn't do other night activities and rested to recover their energy.
They still don't know what Darren did to Altras' elder, so they are sure there will be some opposition or fight with the examiners tomorrow. In the worst case, they must escape and return to the Heart Kingdom. During that time, they need to be in perfect condition.
They also need to prepare in case they get into the fight with the force that has enmity with the Eternal Kingdom. Since they are in one group with Mira and Darren, they may also be targeted by the Eternal Kingdom's enemy.
Still, they are pretty confused about this infamy. With Mira as the true ruler, there is no way her fame is not spread once she destroys one or two kingdoms on a whim like what they heard from Darren.
They speculate Mira has just recently returned or somehow appeared before returning to the Eternal Kingdom. They still remember that the previous Vampire King died not too long ago. Most vampire races' current infamy is because of their biased Vampire King Alfred.
As the high noble, Angus and Jayna also learn all the known seventh-grade leaders from each nation to avoid offending them carelessly. The vampire king Alfred is famous for his nasty habit of looking down on women and enslaved people.
He is one of the major reasons the Eternal Kingdom became number one as the slave marketplace in Firuman. When people need to search for a specific race as their slave, they will go to the Eternal Kingdom to buy it.
For them, Vampire King Alfred is one of the seventh-grade leaders they must avoid. However, they never expect the new ruler of the Eternal Kingdom to be similar to Anna when it comes to doing stuff.
Although Mira is more mature than Anna who just does what she wants without care, she is still quite irresponsible. Angus and the others feel like meeting the second Anna but are more mature. If they don't know their background, they will consider them a real sibling.
However, they also could understand why Mira acted like this. If she is strong as they thought, it is normal for her to react this way since no one could match her strength. To her, the others are just like bubbles that could easily burst.
Ordinary common sense couldn't be used when dealing with her. While everyone rested and slept in their room, the Duchess didn't sleep and stayed awake in her room. Currently, she is meditating on the floor.
*BOOM* Every few minutes, she will open her eyes and move at her full speed to punch forward before going back to meditate. Her fast moves keep creating a large airwave to the surroundings.
Like Leon, she also experiences a spiritual limit when separated from Leon, which deteriorates her combat power. Although she is already slowly recovering, she is still not returning to her previous peak.
Moreover, she is not only shackled by her spirit but also by a major limitation of the human body. Although her mutated mana core is refined and boosts her physical power, she still has her limit when she reaches sixth grade for over a dozen years.
These two limits prevent her from breakthroughs and slowly chipping away her combat prowess. Now, she is already released from her spiritual shackle. She decides to break through her physical barrier and become faster.
She is confident she will become at the seventh-grade level if she manages to overcome this barrier. Extalia still does not give up on reaching seventh grade like Leon wants. She didn't like just staying behind and supporting Leon. She wanted to walk on his side.
While Leon is entirely open to her, the duchess gets many information about seventh grade. There are many ways to break through seventh grade, but the most important thing is it needs miraculous external help.
Be it an unimaginable mana explosion, natural disaster, or even getting hit by lightning, all it is always external factors that help people to break through. Moreover, this miraculous external factor must happen at the right time and place.
She knows even until she dies of old age. She will never be able to find this miraculous external help unless she gets really lucky. But, she also couldn't just stay still. Based on the information Leon's gathered, most of these miraculous events happened in a time they never thought.
The Duchess speculated it is not because they are just located at the right time and place but because these people are ready to reach seventh grade and are granted by the world. Extalia realizes the miraculous force seems to come to them when they are ready.
Before Jade and Leon's breakthrough, they are ready to sacrifice their lives and entire existence. One is because of old age and frustration at his powerlessness, while the other is because they are in the war and need to win.
They have the drive and are ready to gamble everything to break through. Although in Leon's case, it looks more like an accidental event than in Jade's case. Still, it didn't change the fact that external factors somehow happen when they are ready and reach a certain state.
Among the three of them, Extalia is actually the most talented in combat and mind compared to the other two guys. What Leon needed to learn for years, she could achieve in just a few months.
Before Jayna and Angus were born, she was hailed as the most geniuses combatant in the Heart Kingdom's history. Unfortunately, she wasn't born in the Royal Heart Family and wasn't recognized by others then.
As the Duchess keeps training to reach her previous peak, she hears someone knock on her room. She stops training and decides to check who wants to meet her this late.
The room is heavily enchanted, preventing any booming sound from passing through. Otherwise, she will wake everyone in the hotel from her practice. Therefore, she is not disturbing anyone with her training.
Looking through the small door hole, she finds Roy wearing a cloak in front of the door. The Duchess immediately opened the door and welcomed the royal guard leader.
"Roy, What brought you here? I thought you would only be back in the next few days." asked the Duchess.
"Can we talk inside?" asked Roy in a serious tone.
"Alright, get in. But, prepare for Leon's wrath that you will come into my room alone at night." joked the Duchess.
"Haha… If it is for the group's safety, I will definitely bear it." replied Roy.
Hearing this, she knows Roy will talk about something important and serious. As soon as they enter the room, they use magic tools to apply another barrier for eavesdropping.
"So, what do you want to talk about?" asked the Duchess.
"While I was gathering some information, the Nergal's crown prince approached me." said Roy.
"Arnet, what did he want?" asked the Duchess.
"He wants to betray all of you and the Heart Kingdom." said Roy.
"That's plainly stupid. Even if you want to betray us, you royal guards can't do it." said the Duchess.
"Yes. I believe Arnet also knows about this. But, he still came to me and offered to betray all of you with the pretext Heart Kingdom didn't have any more future as we are joining hands with the Eternal Kingdom." explained the Duchess.
"In return to get sheltered by Nergal and released from the soul-bound contract, I need to help them catch you. This makes me think that if Nergal can capture you, the person who gets affected the most will be His Majesty." added Roy.
"I see… I guess our relationship also reaches their ear. Well, not that we are trying to hide it in the first place. So, what are you going to do?" asked the Duchess.
"I decide to pretend to join hands with them with the pretext that my soul contract has few loopholes." replied Roy.
"That's not what I mean, Roy. I asked you whether you would betray us. Since the start of your story, you have not said anything about whether you accept or refuse their offer. So, tell me, Royal Guard leader, Roy Flamberg, are you going to betray us?" asked the Duchess seriously.
The Ducchess' amber eyes seem to be looking through Roy.
"*Sigh* As expected of the Crimson Flash, I couldn't hide anything from you. You are right. I will be lying if I say I didn't consider their offer. Even in the end, they will just use me to get you. I may not regret betraying you." replied Roy.
"Is this about us joining forces with the Vampire?" asked the Duchess.
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