“Former champion, A general and leader of Black Dragon Knighthood, Labio De Mire, has been shockingly defeated by none other than a nobody- a janitress, Alice” 

 

“News Flash, the undefeated Labio of the Black Dragon is now dead! Defeated by a janitress during the picking of the opponent, the winner is a woman named Alice, our reporters are still trying to get a hold of an interview with her-”

 

“Labio, the undefeated champion- defeated-”

 

“Black Dragon Leader killed-”

 

Shut-

 

“...” confined in a high-class room, in the middle of the rich part of the Myriad kingdom, Alice sat on a rather unbelievably soft and fluffy coach, the sword of Labio beside her, glowing in an ominous red. She sighed and threw the remote aside, resting her back, looking up to the ceiling adorned with paintings- or rather just a sticker to make the room more grand and royal. After the fight, two knights escorted her to a hover car, then flew down to the big city of Myriad Kingdom, Naim City, after that, she’s placed in this supposed to be home-y room but in reality, it’s a detention room where she’s at the basement of this building. “I killed someone…” she mutters, resting her arm on her face to cover her eyes from the blinding lights of the chandelier.

 

Holy shit…She quickly stood up. “I fucking killed someone…” 

 

“Yes, that you did” 

 

“Wha-” Alice quickly grabbed the sword from her side and turned around to see who just suddenly spoke, a woman who seemed a little younger compared to Alice was standing by the opened door. Right- the doors are noise-proof…rich nobles.

 

“Relax~” The woman in a white slim dress that has the significance of a nun's clothes, smiled, her eyes briefly gazing at the sword in Alice's hand, then chuckled. “Seems like the sword is already giving you its power,” said the woman before walking over to the couch, Alice furrowed down her eyebrows and looked at her hands, she didn’t even notice that!

 

“I..” Alice panicked and quickly placed the sword on the tabletop, then hid her hands behind her back. “I-I don’t think that's the case”

 

“Oh?” The woman's lips curled into a smile, circling the couch. “What do you think is the case then?” She then sat on the other side of the couch, flipped her white silky hair, and gestured to the pink-haired woman to sit down as well, and Alice did, compared to earlier where she could man-spread her legs, they were close and her hands were on her thigh, shoulder stiff and the back is straightened. 

 

“Well...I guess I’m still...sh-shaken about everything,” Alice said, an awkward smile forming on her lips. The woman in white nodded and crossed her legs, the slit of her dress moved and showed her bare thighs hugged by a black thong. Alice's eyes quickly darted away, a single tear of sweat on her cheek. Is this how nuns dress up these days? Given that Alice stopped coming to church when she reached high school, she was only familiar with nuns wearing dark robes to cover everything. The nun in front of her- does cover the woman’s body properly, but certain designs purposely show off a part of her body, which are the thighs and how the fabric hugs her curves and really brings her soft-looking pair of bottoms to stand out.

 

She took a single, sly glance. Well, amen. Before finding other things to look at.

 

“Still in your fight or flight? I wouldn’t blame you, you just fought Labio” Hearing his name, Alice's heart felt heavy; uneasy. She has no idea who Labio was before she killed him in that pit, the thought of her taking someone's life is unlikely, yet here she is.

 

And it’s…haunting, the image of him slowly dying by her own bloody hands, the sword covered in his blood, the look- that hopeful and joyful look that he gave to Alice, made the maiden feel like a psychopath. The woman in white observes Alice, from head to toe and rests her hand on her chin. “Everyone…has their own way of handling trauma” she stated. Alice looked up from glaring at the floor.

 

Her red eyes stare right at the woman's eyes, she’s intrigued. “For example, I talked to someone new to knighthood, his first kill was a criminal- he reacted in a very normal way, stuttering, anxious feet, zoning out…” She rested her hand down and intertwined her fingers together. “Much like you” then she showed another gentle and reassuring smile. “So don’t worry, I’m here to help”

 

Alice blinked. “Ri-right, thank you…”

 

“Oh! Where are my manners? My name is Silvia. " While sitting, she bowed her head, Alice panicked and felt like she needed to return the bow as well. "I am the current saint of The Black Dragon, a pleasure to meet the new heir of the Black Dragon- oh my please, no need to bow to me” Silvia raised her head, smiling while she giggled from Alice's innocent formality.  

"I didn't want to be rude...besides, I don't think I deserve to be called that" Ah a saint, so is this what saints wear on a daily basis? Alice thought.

The woman is amused, her lips pursed and nods.

"You are right, you do not deserve such a title" The woman looked down, and Alice felt a pang of guilt in her chest, her lips frowning and her expression turning sour. "Labio, that man, all he could think about was to get stronger- any power he could gain to protect the kingdom, he even went as far as to use the sword of Chaus" Silvia's eyes landed at the glowing sword on the table, with a longing look, she turn her attention away and sighed. "He rose through the ranks and became the leader of strongest knighthood, then joined the arena to show off how strong he is and get more recruits, as if the current number isn’t enough"

The room felt solemn, and heavy after Silvia finished her story, Alice held her hands together, she wanted to take the sword and pierce it through her chest if it could make Labio wake up from the coffin at the lower section of the castle, which at the most tallest mountain in the Myriad Kingdom.

"I still have no idea how you won against him, my eyes are on you, Alice" Silvia's tone drastically changes, from a caring one to a sharp and poisonous one, her eyes are cold and predatory. "I'll find out the truth, eventually, and until then..." she smiled, tilting her hand to the side. "I'll be by your side to help you"

She said that twice now..."Uhm, what will happen to me?" Alice fiddled with her finger.

"First of all let me get this straight to you right away, you are a current enigma, a woman becoming the leader of the profound Black Dragon knighthood, is a calamity for the other knighthoods- after all, you are the very first female to be one" Silvia words were like a blender, shredding down Alice guts, then puke out those guts on the expensive tabletop along with the sword on it because the pressure is immaculate. She’s aware of how the knighthood is an extremely only male field- they do accept females, yet the pressure of being harassed turns the rates down the slope, but for someone like Labio to pick a woman as his very last enemy and lose against that said woman, it could cost a turmoil in the system. “Second, the king does not favor you, at all”

Oh ok. “Third and last, the media has its eye on you.” Silvia pointed her manicured finger to Alice's forehead. “Meaning that whatever you do there is a journalist out there who is writing a story, whether positive or negative, it will affect your image” The white-haired woman drops her hand and rests it on the armchair. 

“Am I…like a celebrity now?” Alice asked, then shrunk to her seat when Silvia raised an eyebrow at her, almost as if the white-haired woman couldn't believe what she heard.

Laughing. “Oh my! A celebrity?” She said almost in a mocking tone. “You really thought that after defeating the strongest man that ever existed in this world would only get you that title?” her laugh slowly fades, turning into an alluring, deep chuckle. “Your current title in the media industry is far more than that, although I am not sure what it is, I assure you that it's not a celebrity”

“Okay…” Does she have something against celebrities? I feel like she has…

Silvia stood from her seat and walked over to the table to directly face Alice. “The royal court wants to hold a meeting with you, the reason is disclosed, only you will know after you enter the room, in the meanwhile” She stepped her foot in on the edge of the couch, between Alice's thighs, causing for the poor girl to be startled, unconsciously opening her legs a little wider, this reaction made Silvia rose an eyebrow in amusement. “I’ll be helping you for tonight”

“Wh-what?” Blood rushed through her cheeks, the feeling of someone hovering over her was appealing. “No- sorry, I get what you mean! Is that why you’re here? I-I just think this is…unnecessary?”

Then Silvia smirked. “I was only kidding”

“Oh-!” Alice breathes out a laugh, her red cheeks slowly returning their original color, Silvia scoffs and removes her footing on the edge of the seat before heading towards the door. She gave Alice a side glance. “Have a good sleep, Alice, I’ll be seeing you tomorrow” Then without a noise, she opened the door and closed behind her, heavy and light footsteps outside the door slowly faded, until she heard the familiar ring of the elevator.

“Ugh,” she sunk on the couch, holding her stomach, feeling the gut-wrenching inside.  “What the fuck did I get myself into” she sobbed. 

 

The elevator chimed, and two metal doors separated, Silvia walked out with two black knights walking behind, following her pace as she strode through the lobby, the people who saw her as she passed by all bowed their heads. Her white hair sways from side to side, reaching down to her back, the white silhouette clinks every time she takes a step on the polished marble floor. 

 

“Have a safe trip, saintess” The guard by the large entrance- which is a sliding door, said, bowing his head while Silvia nodded at him and walked out of the building, The Grustov Hotel, located in the big part of the Naim City of Myriad Kingdom.

A black limo, adorned with gold lining and gold dragon ornament on the hood, is already waiting outside. One of the knights who was escorting quickly opened the door, letting the saint carefully step into the ride, before closing it, and heading to the other car, which is, compared to the limo, a much bulkier vehicle. The two cars left the area and headed to the main highway.

From the appearance of the cars itself, each and all of the cars made way for them, making the trip easier and faster. Silvia looked out the tinted window, her eyes gazing at the two large towers in the middle of the Naim City, giving light in the midst of the night.

The image of Alice flashes in Silvia’s mind, making the woman sigh and turn to face the whiskey section of the limo, a line of beautifully made glass, with a diamond pattern at the bottom, she grabs one and pulls the whiskey bottle from the small fridge compartment, of course, she never forget to put specifically two ice into the glass, then pouring the whiskey after.

She doesn’t seem like she knows what she’s doing. She thought, bringing the lips of the glass to her red ones, and taking a nice slow sip, the flavor was rich and the burn in her throat was satisfying. Why did you do this Labio, she takes another sip. You’re making things complicated as if it’s not one in the first place. Then a big sip.

Thunk-

Sucking her tongue, Silvia sets down the glass on the coaster, the ice clinking together, she brings her hand to brush up her bangs, closing her eyes as she takes a deep breath. Just focus, regain the honorary image of the Black Dragon, or die trying.

 

Soon after the short ride from the hotel through the city, the two vehicles arrived at private land, they drove past a large empty field and then stopped to wait for the front large fence gate to open, the camera from one of the pillars that supported the gate looked down, the red eye scanned the limo from back to front and when it detected the black dragon ornament at the roof, it beeps.

 

And the gate opens. The two vehicles drove forward, reaching the stairway of the front entrance of a large mansion, a two-story mansion, along with a huge garden, a training ground, and a 0.05-hectare pool. solely dedicated to training as well as for entertainment. Another part of the land is a four medium size battleground. This is the house of Labio, the outside world calls it the Warriors Paradise, with how well maintained the equipment is and how the environment just fits right for training, many dream of living in this place.

Silvia steps out of the limo, greeted by a grey-haired man butler, with his refined moustache and a monocle. "Welcome home, Saintess Silvia, Mistress Athrea, and Master Aquo are waiting by the dinner hall" The butler bowed and said so. 

"Hm? They're early today" Silvia commented before walking to the door, opened by two maids, bowing as the saint passed by. They close the door and follow suit behind the butler, who's behind Silvia, striding towards the dining hall from the east side of the mansion, with no servant present by the doorway, Silvia pushed the double door with ease.

"Finally," spoken by a light-pitched male, his tone is dragged, clearly he's bored. poking his dinner with a fork.  In the dining hall, there is a large long table that could take twenty people, two people are seated far from Silvia's position, and the man who spoke earlier rests his elbow on the table and his chin on his palm, with his light blue hair that matched well with his yellow eyes, he only glanced at Silvia before rolling those sun colored eyes to the different part of the room, on the opposite side in front of him is a woman- or rather a girl.  Her red fiery hair is tied up in a twin tail, and her forest green eyes are sharp as a cat, she tries to appeal as a mature woman but her young look betrays her.

She's quiet as a tiger during a hunt as Silvia joins them in their dinner. 

Clink Clank

The noise of the utensils clashing against the plate filled the awkward silence in the hall, Silvia chewed her food, her eyes glancing at the two siblings in front of her, her heart jumped a little when the redhead settled her spoon down and wiped her cherry lips with a towel.

"It's strange," She said. Silvia slightly tilted her head out of curiosity. "What is it, Lady Athrea?"

Athrea, while looking down at her plate. "Even when he is permanently gone, the routine is still the same, the only difference is that- we came home from school early today out of sympathy from the principal"

"..." Silvia continued to chew her food, and Aquo chimed in.

"Ugh, don't be so surprised, it's not like we actually care," said Aquo,  waving his fork with an attitude and sassy tone to Athrea "Besides-" he paused, no words spoken from his parted lips. "Ugh-! whatever- I just don't care that he died!" his index finger rubbed his temple in a circle before sighing and dropping the utensils. "I'm finished, I'll be heading to my room, do not disturb me"

"See, same as ever" Athrea placed her towel on the table and stood up. "I'm finished as well, I'll be in my room to study" a maid followed behind her, heading towards the door, opposite from where Silvia came in. Athrea paused, turning to face the saint. "Don't bother waiting for Mother, she'll be at the funeral in at least two weeks"

And with that, Athrea left the halls with her maid. Silvia sighed heavily, looking down at her half-empty plate.

The next day, Alice's eyes were already open before the knocking from the door came, Silvia stepped in, compared to what she had worn last night, this one was much more tame, mostly thanks to the white robe covering a half of her body, hanging by her shoulder, only her left arm and left leg is visible. “Oh, you're awake,” she said, raising both of her eyebrows.

From the soft cushion of the bed, Alice sat up and fixed her bed hair with a comb she grabbed from the nightstand. “I- couldn’t get a proper sleep last night,” she said so, then placed down the comb back and hopped off the bed, wearing a black sleeveless shirt, and the black slim yoga pants she was wearing yesterday, she couldn’t shower nor change to any clothing since there none of those in this tiny room.

All of her belongings, like phones and wallet, aren’t with her, probably still at the Arena.

Silvis' eyes looked for the sword, and it was still where it was last night, at the tabletop, recklessly displayed out in the open. This woman… She thought and grimaced, but shook her head, clearing the thought and calmed herself down.

“Uhm?” 

“Today you’ll be meeting the royal court, I'll only escort you to their front doors, after that, you are on your own,” Silvia said, her tone lowered to indicate how serious this matter was. Alice simply nodded her head, tapping her fingers together out of anxiety. “Also, don’t forget the sword…”

Silvia and Alice, along with four escort knights from the Black Dragon knighthood- left the Grustov Hotel, riding inside a black limo. 

The ride was as quiet in winter by the mountains, Silvia looked out at the window, her beautiful jawline stood out, and her chin rested on her hands which one on top of the car window. Alice looked outside as well, being in the Naim City is a big thing for her who lives in a ghetto. Branded clothing stores at every block, cyborgs and androids scattered amongst and blended well with the species as worker robots. At every corner you could see every creature and human that dresses well, everyone is in their own fashion and uniqueness. Orcs, beastmen, even elves.

 

“First time?” Alice turns her head to Silvia, she has a small smile on her lips, Alice feels shy, nodding her head. “Uh- no not really, I’ve been here but only 2 two times, it’s when I got a rich client who paid me to clean up a small after-party mess and the other was similar, a pool party, I was in a team since it’s a large modern house”

 

Silvia nodded her head. “Interesting, what a turn of events, isn't it? You were just a mere maid and a nobody and now, you are someone”

 

A little pained, Alice laughs off her insult. “I don’t think I was a nobody”

 

“Oh?” She raised an eyebrow. “Really?” Silvia questioned, a small smirk on her lips, clearly amused.

 

“Yes, I’ve handled a lot of clients, I cleaned their house as if it’s mine, I talked with them, listened to their stories while I did my work…” her red pupil looked down on the carpet of the car floor. “Being a cleaner doesn’t seem much, and I agree, but it’s because of this job that I get by every day, and I get to save up for college” She closed her eyes once and took a deep breath, before gazing at Silvia's black eye. 

 

“Please, don’t look down on me, I am an honest worker and I don’t like being insulted” Silvia expected a sharp and harsh reaction from Alice, as all commoners would normally react, yet the woman in front of her not only did not retort violently, she also gave her polite words. 

 

“Mhm…” she hummed. “I see, I’ll keep that in mind” She returned her gaze out of the window, and Alice sighed in return. I guess it’s enough she thought to herself, before looking out as well.

 

Three brazen generals in their respective armor walked down the halls of the royal court, the heavy armor had past battle cut, deep or not each damage showed experience in the battle, any individuals who saw them from afar would move aside against the wall and salute with their head held high. When they reached their destination- the one with the Lion general pushed the door open wide, and the other two followed suit as they entered the courtroom, it was only Alice, the five ministers, and the king himself inside the room.

 

Upon gazing at the king, the three generals quickly marched forward in front of him and knelt. Pumping their fist to their left heart and bowing down their head. “Greeting to the great King Midas” the three spoke in unison.

 

“Rise” Midas simply said, wavering his hand up.

 

The three did so, marching toward the other end of the table, and taking a seat. 

 

Alice could feel their heavy gaze at her, she could only look down at the sword resting on her thigh, she would rub the thick metal scabbard of the sword, only then raise her eyes when the king cleared his throat. “Shall we start?”

 

Everyone nods their head.

 

“Well then, Miss Alice, care to tell us how you defeated Labio?” Midas asks, clasping her hands together, resting both of his elbows on the table and relaxing his shoulders, his ocean blue eyes making Alice feel like she’s a transparent being. 

 

“I-uh” Her red iris once again gazed down at the sword. For god sake! She thought before taking a deep breath. “I-I don't know”

 

BAM!

 

“Impossible!” the general who wore the hawk helmet yelled, slamming his fist on the table out of pure contempt. “Labio isn’t someone who can be easily defeated, you saw him yourself, you were watching” He rose from his seat and madly marched towards Alice's side, the poor woman wanted to get up and run but was frozen by his large figure hovering above her as he slammed his palm on the desk, creating a large crack under.

 

“You better start talking” his face got closer, and due to the helmet, Alice could only stare back into the hawk's eyes. 

 

“Hawkins, please…” the king rubbed his temple, the five ministers at the right side of the table were quiet, possibly nervous because of Hawkins's action.

 

“But my king…!” The hawk's general lips immediately closed when he heard another sign from the king, with a clenched fist– he shoved the chair as well as the table, walking back to his seat with a grumble, much like a kid.

 

The wolf general grabbed the table and pulled it back in proper order.

 

“Ahem…” Midas cleared his parched throat. “Let me be clear and straight with you, Miss Alice, I am not in favor of you becoming the new leader…” 

 

The young woman nodded her head.“...But”

 

Everyone’s head turned to their king with wide eyes. “I believe we have to make an exception…” Midas soft gaze gradually hardens. “During the fight, when he dropped his sword… you picked it up and used it against him”

 

The king’s words were hinting, and the generals were quick to catch up yet none of them spoke. Alice wanted to see their reactions, but couldn’t. The ministers were whispering among themselves, like cicadas on a summer night. Midas eyes were looking at her with intensity– what was it about his sword? Even Silvia was going on about it last night. 

 

“I’m assuming you have no idea what that implies…” Midas spoke, one that was mocking someone's status and intelligence, followed by a chuckle, grooming his black beard. “The sword of Chaus is a living legend, inside that blade rests a Beast God who used to rule over the land of dragons and demons…”

 

Alice did not really understand the flow of this conversation, she wasn’t the type of person to nerd about the history of the world, nor to be interested in Gods and other spiritual beings when she has a debt to pay and a dream to achieve. Her whole dream in this journey after her parents died was to become someone in society and have a stable life, and not to become like them.

 

“Which means…no one can just touch it” Midas continued, leaning a little on his arm that rested on the armchair. “Yet here you are” his wrinkled eye squinted at Alice, the lass could only look down at the sword, feeling the intense pressure of being glared at and stared at;

 

“A lot of men had tried to steal Labio's sword, yet all of them perished with just their fingertips touching the surface of the source…Labio's the only person in the world that could use it…and now you.” 

 

The room was heavy, well to Alice it is. Midas spoke once again, his tone began to soften as he leaned back in his chair. “To tell you the truth is…you are unworthy of using that sword…yet–” he groaned, rubbing his soft palm against his wrinkled face. “...We can’t change what happened, from now on, you’ll be trained the way Labio trains, the new face of the Black Dragon leader has to be strong”

 

The hawk general slammed his fist. “But sire’!” The cracks underneath his clenched fist are deep. “She’s a woman! What would the people think!”

 

The wolf general joined as well, flabbergasted by his king's decision. “She did not even win properly! Labio did not fight back when she was attacking him!” he growled, the hand resting on the table making a crunching sound as he dug his claw deep into the wooden board.

 

“He's right, my king! A woman cannot wield a sword!” cried out from the ministers.

 

“She’ll just tarnish the image of the Black Dragon!”

 

“Listen to us, my king–”

 

“Quiet…” The running mouths of the ministers and the generals quickly shut upon hearing the tone of their king, it is soft, yet at the same time lies a dangerous warning. 

 

“I am already aware of the consequences of this situation…I only called you all out here to be my witness” 

 

Hawkins huffed once again, eyes back down on the floor while the wolf turned his gaze to Alice, a low growl could be heard, while the Lion General…he was just sitting there, looking forward.

 

“And you–” His attention turned back to Alice, the poor woman's shoulder shook in surprise, her eyes slowly– hesitantly looking up to her king. “I hope you are aware of the possibilities of having a woman in a male-dominated job…everyone will be out for you if you’re not careful”

 

Alice nodded her head. “Good.” Midas let out a sigh. “Now let me declare it…” He pushed back his chair and stood, reaching up to six feet tall, but compared to Labio, the king was still small. Alice had just noticed how many trinkets the king wore, all shined and twinkled against the light, some of them were medals, others were just accessories of jewels and gold.

 

“From now on, you, Alice shall be the official leader of the Black Dragon Knighthood…the knighting ceremony will be held later today…look forward to it”

 

“The-...the what–”

 

“This meeting is dismissed…” Everyone stood– except for Alice and faced the doorway, following behind their king. Midas paused and turned to face the new knight leader. “...Stay here, Silvia will fetch you”

 

Alice could only nod as all of them let, but not before glaring at her. The pink-haired woman let out a loud, heavy sigh of relief, her back slouched against the table and her forehead planted on the board, her red eyes glued to the sword in hand before she shut her eyelids and sighed once again. “Labio…” she muttered. “Why me…”

 

The new leader of the Black Dragon pulled herself up and lifted the sword to eye level, her hand held the grip and the scabbard at the same time and slowly pulled the two apart, the blade gradually showed, a red mist emitting from it, but the mist held no foul stench or anything, it was just something, just a red mist.

 

Placing the empty scabbard on the table, Alice looked at the black sword in her hand with a furrowed eyebrow, the blood on its blade– his blood, was no longer visible but the image of Labio gagging in his own blood flashed in her mind– the grip on the sword tightens as she shut her eyes.

 

She reached for the scabbard and blindly contained the sword, once that was done, she sighed and opened her eyes, hugging the contained blade close to her chest.

 

“God I can’t believe this…” Silvia's voice rang from the other side of the door, Alice quickly looked up and saw the white-haired woman pushing the double door open with a scowl on her face, her yellow eyes gazing to her side and saw Alice seated like a puppy lost in streets, big wide doe eyes with her tail between her legs. 

 

Almost immediately, she rushed to her side and sat beside Alice on the wooden seat. “The King just told me that there would be a knighting ceremony…what happened?” she asked, rushing the other woman.

“I-I didn’t even get to put a word on the table…! I was quiet the whole time…” Alice's eyes flutter, glancing side to side as she spoke, holding the sword closer to her like it has become a comfort item for the woman.

 

Silvia sighed, then groaned– bringing her soft palm to her face and aggressively rubbing them. “This is…” she paused, eyes darted towards the seat where the king was sitting earlier. “Might not be so bad…this is the best outcome for you…Otherwise, you would have been killed and the king could have announced that the sword's power was becoming unbearable for you…”

“That is so…specific,” Alice said, concerned. 

 

“Now tell me, what else did you two discuss?”

 

Alice spent a good hour and ten minutes– this includes her stuttering and messing up the information while she told everything to Silvia, the white-haired woman crossed her legs and leaned back, arms on the armrest whilst she replied with a hum or a nod whenever Alice would pause to catch her breath.

 

“And so…that’s everything,” Alice said, sucking in her dry lips.

 

“What about Lionhart? He didn’t talk? Not even a mutter…?” Alice shook her head. “He only sat there, unmoving…” Alice also mentioned that the only time he moved was when the king stood to leave the room, Silvia's lips pulled inward, nodding her head in agreement.

 

“Lionhart has always been like that…though, I thought he’d be at least interested in this matter” Silvia brought her manicured finger to her chin, lightly tapping them. “Seems like he still shaken, after all, he and Labio were blood brothers…”

 

Alice gulped down the lump of saliva stuck in her throat, Blood brothers…Oh boy.

 

The Saintess stood from her seat, pushing the chair back flipped her gorgeous white silky hair to her back, and let out a sigh. “Come, let us leave– you need to get ready for the knighting ceremony,” she said, striding towards the door, Alice immedietly followed behind, placing the sword and attaching it to the belt around her waist.

 

“So…question, what do you do in a knighting ceremony?” Alice asked, walking beside Silvia after they left the room, two Black Dragon knights followed behind the two of them.

 

Silvia glanced down at the pink-haired woman. “It’s when a person is declared to be a knight”

 

“Right right, but– how do they do that?” The yellow pupil meets the red one again. “You’ll see”

 

Just as they left the Four-Knight Commission building, Alice's iris shrunk– “Make way!” Exclaimed both the Black Dragon Knight, his large and thick metal shield held upfront, blocking the incoming paparazzi. Flashing light blinded the leader of the Black Dragon Knight along with her saintess, bringing their arms to eye level to block the camera from irritating their pupil. 

 

“Make way I said…!” Growled the other knight as he kept pushing the ocean of reporters. 

 

“Right…” Silvia groaned. “These guys are here…forgot to mention that” 

 

“Are you serious? Of all the things you could have forgotten…?!” 

 

The two lowered their heads, covering their eyes from the flashes– Alice could feel her breathing shallowed, being surrounded by so many people, she felt suffocated. The pink-haired woman felt a pair of hands wrapped around her shoulder and they started to power walk through the reporters, everything was so blurry for the woman, as she looked up all she could see were the faceless silhouette with bright lights, shoving their mics to her face.

 

“Is it true that you are trying to raise a rebellion against nobles?!”

“Are you really just a janitress?! Or are you actually a skilled woman from the South!?”

“How do you feel after killing Labio?! Did you ever wonder if he had a family before you killed him mercilessly..?!”

 

Family…? Alice's eyes flutter, her mind going numb.

“You! Back off– guide them to the car immediately– I said back off!”

 

Silvia pursed her lips inwards as they headed to the car, a knight opened it for her. She helped Alice hop in and slammed the door shut, the shouts from the reporters could still be heard, fortunately, it’s muffled.

 

“Alice…” Silvia looked down on the woman, shaken. “Alice!”

 

“Huh– Oh…” Alice looked around, her wide doe eyes fluttering a little before turning to Silvia, her breathing returning to normal. “I-im fine”

 

“Tsk” she scoffs and rubs her temple, sighing heavily, hoping no wrinkles will show because of this situation, but it can not be helped, a saintess is always busy along with stress whether she likes it or not. “Don’t overthink about their question, they just want to make a reaction and make a title about it”

 

Alice nodded, eyes glued to the ground. “Labio…has a family?” upon hearing this, Silvia paused and looked at the woman beside her and nodded with a hum.

 

“...I killed a father” Alice pressed her face against both of her palms, sighing while she leaned down to her knee.

 

Silvia's eyes watched her, watching closely at her reaction– her eyes squinting. Is she really feeling remorse and guilt? Someone shouldn’t be able to feel such emotion if they’re not sympathetic. Maybe…she really is just a citizen and Labio…let himself be killed.

 

This realization made the white-haired woman soften her gaze towards Alice, her hands lifted to reach to the woman's back, hesitating– but after a sigh, she pats her back. “...After Labio’s funeral, they’ll be sent to the city”

 

“What?..!” Alice shot her head up, facing Silvia. “Why…?”

 

“Labio isn’t the champion anymore, and according to the Arena’s rule and contract, if the current champion is to be defeated, all of his status, wealth…his everything, will be given to the winner, and they are to be thrown back to the middle class…possibly the lower class if they don’t have any money saved up”

 

“I don’t want that to happen!” Alice exclaimed, turning her body to face Silvia properly. “There must be a way for me to help his family, what if I just don’t throw them out? Let them live in his house– uhm I can stay at my current apartment, I don’t need–”

 

“Trust me I already thought this through…and I hate to say that the only way for them to stay in the mansion…is if you marry his wife”