Refocusing his attention on Queen Selene, who was patiently waiting for him to absorb the information, Orion asked, "What kind of strange power did they receive?"
"I don't know," Queen Selene replied, shaking her head. "We've tried to uncover the nature of this power, but our investigations have yielded no results. What we do know is that their abilities are significantly enhanced against the White Flame, both offensively and defensively. They become five to six times more effective when facing the White Flame."
Orion nodded in understanding and continued his questioning, "What is the nature of the trial? I'm curious about what the trial entails and what they needed to do to complete it."
"Unfortunately, we've already questioned them about the trial, but they claim not to remember anything about it. All they recall is that they mistakenly entered the trial and couldn't complete it," Queen responded, sighing in defeat.
Orion nodded once more, his frown deepening. Initially, he had been sceptical about whether a trial capable of granting someone the power to challenge a god could be easy to complete. After all, Princess Crystalia and Flintor had almost finished it and gained a fraction of such extraordinary power.
However, after hearing Queen Selene's words, he realized that it was far more complex than it appeared.
"Alright. Even though it's difficult to believe in something like this, given that I've witnessed the Princess and her personal guard confront the White Flame, it doesn't sound far-fetched," Orion replied. "But since it's an event, will only the Princess and her personal guard be participating, or can others join as well?"
Queen Selene chuckled, "No, we've decided to let all the elite warriors in the Crystalforge Clan participate in the trial, including you." She responded with a light smile playing on her lips. "We initially considered including the younger generation of the Crystalforge, but due to our lack of understanding regarding the nature of the trial and the limited number of participants allowed, we decided against it. Considering the impending war, even if we had wanted to, we couldn't accommodate more."
Orion's curiosity sparked further questions. "Aren't you concerned that I might complete the trial and gain this strange power instead of Princess Crystalia and Flintor?"
Orion couldn't help but wonder why they had included him in a matter of such significance, as it seemed like something they might prefer to keep among themselves.
Queen Selene's smile began to waver at his words, and she released a deep sigh.
"Yes, we are aware of the risks," she admitted. "We didn't actually make the decision to include you; it was the Princess of the Garden who insisted on your participation. If we had refused, she would have ordered the Guardians not to let us participate at all. So, we had no choice but to comply, even though we are fully aware of the potential consequences." Queen Selene said, her thoughts wandering as to why the Princess of the Garden would involve Orion in such a delicate matter.
After all, Orion had only been present for the past four days, and there was no way he could have formed a deeper connection with the Princess of the Garden than those who had known her from birth, and even before.
However, she quickly admonished herself for entertaining such doubts, recognizing that such thoughts were unfounded.
Orion, however, couldn't help but raise an eyebrow at Queen Selene's words, pondering why the Princess of the Garden had made such an unexpected decision.
After a brief moment of contemplation, he couldn't come up with a reasonable explanation for her choice, other than the possibility that she might be warming up to him and wanted to include him in this opportunity.
However, Orion still found it hard to believe that it was that simple. He decided to set the question aside and resolved to ask the Princess of the Garden directly when he had the chance.
"Alright, I understand everything," Orion said, nodding in agreement. "But is there a specific reason you've come here with the Princess and her personal guard?"
Queen Selene shook her head, a wry smile touching her lips. "No," she responded. "Given the extremely delicate nature of the situation, I wanted to inform you personally. But when I arrived, I saw my daughter standing outside your door. She claimed that the two of you had a very important meeting she couldn't resist attending immediately."
Queen Selene then fixed her narrowed gaze on Orion. "Mr. Orion, is there something between you and my daughter that I'm unaware of?"
"If anything were going on between Princess Crystalia and me, you would have already known about it since this is your castle. So you can rest assured, Queen Selene, that there's currently nothing happening between me and the princess," Orion responded.
He feigned seriousness as he considered scolding Princess Crystalia for being so direct with the queen. Their relationship was destined to become very close in the future, with the queen likely becoming his mother-in-law. Thus, Orion had every intention of building a good relationship with her.
However, their current interactions were treading on thin ice, and there was no need to rush when they could take things one step at a time.
Queen Selene nodded solemnly at Orion's words, acknowledging that it would be impossible for something to happen between her daughter and Orion without her knowledge in her own castle.
"Yes, you are right," she said seriously, showing her agreement with Orion's statement. "However, since we can't predict the future, if there ever is something going on between you and my daughter, please inform me directly. There's no need to go through the stress of hiding anything like that," she concluded her sentence with a warm smile, her gaze fixed on Orion.
Orion's mind started spinning with a barrage of thoughts as he tried to decipher the meaning behind Queen Selene's words.
Was she giving him the green light to have a relationship with her daughter?
Or perhaps, had she already discovered something, and was now pretending not to know?
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