Wulfric's eyes swept over the scene, and when they landed on the two severed arms lying on the floor, his face changed and he spoke solemnly. "I want to know what happened here. Speak now."

Letto held his breath, knowing full well that without the demon's protection, he would never have made it this far. Nova, meanwhile, watched on as though he were witnessing a clown performing his final act before retirement.

The scarred guard grimaced in pain and, lowering his head, he moved to face the king. "Your Majesty, we were ambushed by the enemy who wanted to barge inside the throne room and lost our arms in the struggle. I beg your forgiveness if we caused too much trouble."

Wulfric listened in silence, his kingly presence, honed through years on the throne, was enough to make commoners and weak knights hold their breath in fear. But here, it had little effect. Even Letto, who once might have been terrified, felt no real fear toward the king, not when the one he relied on most was standing calmly right beside him.

Once the king grasped the situation, he pointed at Nova and asked his guards, "Was he the enemy you spoke of?"

Both guards nodded silently, not daring to lift their heads. They had each lost an arm, and now they lied to the king to avoid losing even more face. The shame and guilt they felt after serving Wulfric for so long only fueled their fury at Nova, whom they blamed for provoking it all.

Wulfric turned to Nova. "I want an explanation for why you barged into my palace and severely injured my guards. You'd best say the truth or I'll find it out through other means."

Nova glanced at the two guards, their faces nearly touching the floor, then at the king, who looked more like an actor than a true ruler. He laughed, so sudden and unexpected that it stunned everyone.

The thought of Nova disobeying his orders had never crossed Wulfric's mind. To him, everyone in Lotra must follow his commands, his word was law. That's why, when Nova laughed out loud, Wulfric's mind went momentarily blank as he stared at him.

Once Nova's laughter subsided, he coldly met Wulfric's gaze. "Done with your little roleplay?"

"What did you say?" the king asked slowly. His face contorted in anger, but recalling that the man before him had just crippled two of his closest guards, he restrained himself, knowing he had no chance against him. Instead, he barked, "Granier!"

Footsteps echoed from the large door, growing louder with each passing moment. Granier, clad in his mage robes, emerged from the throne room. He glanced briefly at everyone, as though surveying ants, before approaching Wulfric and curtly saying, "Here."

'The rank-eight mage…' Nova thought. 'Back when I first came here, he must've been the one giving me that unsettling feeling of being watched the moment I stepped into the palace. Then, when I returned as Tairo, he made himself so small I barely noticed him. Now he's acting like the usual stuck-up mage, but he now can't probe me, no matter how hard he tries.'

He shook his head inwardly. 'Judging by his tone, he might even look down on Wulfric… Perhaps, if he's cooperative, I can let him keep that position, after all, he's still a rank eight mage, one of the very few I've seen. I might even learn some magic from him while I'm at it.'

Wulfric pointed toward Nova and Letto. "Take down these two. You can go as far as you want, but don't kill the one in front."

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His words snapped Nova out of his daze, and he turned his attention to Granier, curious to see what the mage would do.

Granier didn't respond immediately. His eyes briefly swept over Letto, sizing him up and dismissing him as an ant, before landing on Nova. Their gazes locked for several tense seconds. No matter how intently Granier looked, he could see nothing, as if something was blocking his senses. His eyebrows tightened in frustration.

What Granier didn't notice was the thick, invisible Aura calmly circulating around Nova acting as a cocoon of sorts.

The mage stared at him and asked thoughtfully, "Who are you?"

Standing beside him, Wulfric frowned. I told him to take care of these two… so why is he asking who they are? This isn't how he usually acts.

Nova thought, 'He's not a brute, at least.' He met the mage's gaze and said, "I'm someone who's going to give you two choices now."

"Two? I don't know what makes you think you can give me choices, much less two. Did your confidence make you blind just because I didn't strike, but asked a question?" Granier replied calmly.

Unbothered, Nova continued, "You can choose either to stand by Wulfric's side and go down with him, or join mine. In that case, you may keep your current position, as long as you don't betray the next king."

It was like a bomb had been dropped in the corridor. Even Granier, who had kept his cool until now, was shaken by Nova's words. The two guards' eyes went wide and their mouths hung open for a long moment.

Of them all, though, Wulfric reacted the strongest.

"Go down with me?! New king?!" His face trembled with rage. "You wretch! I'll have your head on a pike by tomorrow!" He whirled to Granier and barked, "Kill him, and I'll let you take anything you want from the treasury."

Contrary to Wulfric's expectations, Granier didn't let the promise of wealth sway him. He stood still, head tilted downward, mulling over Nova's words. How is he so sure he can usurp the throne when I've never even seen him before? He might not even be from a noble family, so where does that confidence come from?

He continued to reason with himself. Although Wulfric isn't a good king, my position is as secure as it can be. I'm free to act as I please without him questioning me. Do I really want to gamble all my hard work and switch sides to a nobody? He seems strong, yes, but I don't know how strong. Still… it doesn't hurt to play along and see where this goes.

Granier's eyes shifted back and forth between Nova and Wulfric. One stared at him calmly, while the other glared with a fury that seemed ready to devour him alive for even considering betrayal.

After several tense seconds, Granier turned to Nova and asked, "What makes you think the current king will fall? He has the support of both the people and the nobles, while you're just a stranger, a nobody, to everyone. How can you even think of replacing him?"

Nova chuckled at being called a nobody repeatedly in such a short time. "If you truly wish to know, gather every noble in Larmida and ask them who they support. You might find out that your king isn't as backed by the nobles as you think."

The court mage studied Nova's face, searching for the shadow of a lie. Having served as court mage for more than a dozen years, he had plenty of experience with people cunning enough to ruin entire noble houses in days, so he prided himself on being a good judge of character. When he detected no deception in Nova's words, he felt unsettled.

"You're playing a dangerous game," he said. "For now I'll remain neutral. I'll gather the nobles tomorrow and, if what you said is true, I'll join your side." He narrowed his eyes. "But if you lied, I'll hunt you down with every power and connection I have. You won't be able to sleep for fear of someone sneaking up on you. Do you understand?"

Nova nodded and asked lightly, "We need two rooms to sleep, but I've never been in that part of the palace. Mind guiding us?"

Before Granier could answer, Wulfric, who had held his silence while his anger built, finally exploded. "You're committing treason! If you don't kill him now I'll have your head on a pike too!"

"So noisy."

Nova's Aura crashed down on Wulfric with such force and suddenness that the king went limp and collapsed.

Nova looked at the two guards, who were trembling with fear witnessing what just happened, and said, "One of you, carry him and lock him in a cell until tomorrow."

Without waiting for a reply, he turned to Granier, whose face had morphed into one of surprise, and said, "The rooms."

The mage gave a deep look at Nova and nodded slowly before leading him and Letto toward the guest quarters.

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