CHAPTER 1713: STALKED AND SUSPECTED

Inside the royal bubble, the celebration continued, but the prominent figures had already retreated to the royal castle.

Empress Morgana walked along the massive and long corridor that led to the heart of the castle.

Her movements were elegant, and her chin was held high.

All the soldiers, or rather, royal knights—standing on either side of the red carpet saluted as she passed, a greeting of respect slipped out of their lips. Ever since she became the empress, she has never been treated in a respectful manner like this.

Most of the time, she was only a beautiful decoration to the side.

She never complained.

Never point out her frustration and disappointment.

But took it upon herself to earn the empire’s respect, and this moment showed that she had succeeded.

Even without the emperor’s name, she was a respected figure of her own.

Just as she reached the end of the corridor, she halted and turned around to face the royal knights again.

"Everyone across the entire capital city was celebrating. I’m aware that you all have your duties, but it is a blissful day. Leave the castle. Meet with your families," Empress Morgana smiled beautifully—her hand folded before her stomach. "All of you are vassals of the empire too, not slaves."

Normally, if Empress Morgana ever said something like this before, none of the knights moved.

She has no authority.

And she can’t back them up if their commanders blame them for abandoning their duties.

But this time, the royal knights exchanged a look.

One of them, the closest one to Empress Morgana’s right, pivoted towards her and saluted.

"I’ll take my leave then, Your Majesty. Your heart is golden, and I’m grateful for it."

He bowed towards her and then headed for the door.

Seeing this, the other royal knights also followed suit, also wanting to be able to enjoy the celebration.

"Bless your kindness, Your Majesty."

"Congratulations on your success, Your Majesty."

"Our empire is blessed to have you as its empress, and we royal knights are even more blessed to be able to be near your presence."

In no time, the royal knights along the corridor left the castle—their excitement would be obvious had it not been for the helmets they were wearing that covered their faces. A pair—even decided to give the other royal knights stationed on other sections of the castle a heads up.

For the entire day, Empress Morgana has permitted them to take a day off from their duties.

And naturally, the royal knights accepted the reward with open arms.

Soon, there was only Empress Morgana left inside the castle, other than the servants who stayed behind.

Upon reaching the top-most floor of the castle, she stopped by the door leading to her supposed favorite place inside the castle—the high balcony overlooking the empire. She glanced over her shoulder to look at her personal assistants, "Leave me alone, and make sure nobody disturbs me. Nobody."

"Understood, Your Majesty."

Both assistants bowed respectfully and headed down to watch over the staircase.

Once they were gone, Empress Morgana stepped onto the balcony and viewed the scene ahead.

A sprawling, massive city that reached far and wide.

Every corner was filled with families, friends, and couples celebrating the day that would be known as the day when the Descendant of the Consort proved to the people that she was more than competent to be referred to with respect and awe.

It was peaceful up here, and it was not connected to the castle’s defense.

So, the breezing wind doesn’t feel filtered—pure from nature, making it a good place for solitude.

Empress Morgana took a seat on an intricate chair to the side and then lifted up her hand.

Golden engravings hummed and came to be across her hand.

It was a mismatch of symbols—that looked suspiciously like runes, and the energy coming from them has no origin in the world. Something manifested in her palm, but she tilted her head a little and waved the power away when she noticed someone approaching.

She clicked her tongue silently, annoyed that someone had disturbed her.

Expecting that it was the emperor, as this place was exclusive to him and her, she stood up.

More than that, she even tidied her clothes and hair to prepare herself to greet him.

But the person who stepped onto the balcony was not the emperor.

It was a man that doesn’t look like he belonged anywhere near the royal palace.

An ordinary man who was covered by a heavy, dark cloak that covered his entire body from his torso to his shins. No identification crest could be seen either other than the steel pauldron on his shoulder. But as she looked closely, she noticed something.

’His armor looked plain, but it’s enchanted by a master. And I can’t sense his aura.’

Empress Morgana knew that, despite his appearance, this man was not someone random.

"How did you get past my assistants?" She asked, her eyes narrowing suspiciously. "And who are you?"

"I didn’t come with ill intent, Your Majesty..." The man shook his head and walked to the edge, taking in the sight and even inhaling the fresh air deeply. "My name is Kaine, and all you need to know about me is that I’m on your side."

"You worked for my husband?"

"No... I worked for the royal family, which means I’m not only working for His Majesty."

Realizing that he must be a hidden master—that was groomed by Emperor Dominar, Empress Morgana was significantly at ease. Now that she had established herself within the empire, it was only natural for the hidden forces to approach her, too.

And seeing that she couldn’t even sense his aura, she could tell Kaine was going to be very useful.

But that’s only if she was naïve and dumb.

She’s not.

Going through her assistants unnoticed would be easy, with the kind of power he possessed, but there was one fatal flaw—the castle was fortified with multiple powerful artifacts and enchantments. Nobody could use their powers loosely inside the castle.

And that includes Kaine.

Empress Morgana wasn’t going to confront him about that, though.

"I saw the royal knights were leaving the castle," Kaine turned towards her. "Is that your instruction?"

"Am I not allowed to?" Empress Morgana asked.

Her voice was soft and calm as always, but it had a questioning undertone.

"Royal knights have sworn upon the emperor to always stand by the empire’s side, no matter what the occasion at hand is. I found it interesting you’d send them away and immediately headed here," Kaine replied, giving her a peculiar look. "Almost like you intended to do something here."

"Kaine... What is it that you came here for?" Empress Morgana asked sharply.

She wasn’t going to accept being suspected like this.

Even more so by someone who proclaimed to be serving the royal family.

Kaine turned to look at the city view again, dispersing the tension in the air with a light wave, "I’m not here to pester you, Your Majesty. I hope you take no offense at what I say. After all, it’s my duty to look after the empire, and with how the world was, I need to stay vigilant."

"Did Chaos make a move again?"

"No, but it soon will."

"Don’t worry, this time, we are prepared. All empires and knights in the world have made preparations."

Hearing this, Kaine nodded his head.

But that this wasn’t why he came to meet Empress Morgana.

"I’ve heard you got help during the mission, Your Majesty," Kaine looked at Empress Morgana again; his eyes seemed to be analyzing something. "A new knight and also a man who won Princess Davina’s heart. I believe his name is Rex..."

"Yes, he indeed proved to be more capable than I thought. And he’s the one who identified the traitor."

"Hmm, traitor... I can already guess who it was."

Just the mention of a traitor alone, Kaine already knew who it was.

The look he gave Empress Morgana was that of a knowing one, a subtle mock to her oversight.

"And have you checked his background? Where did he come from? Who was he before his rise?"

"I have done my share of research. I understand if you don’t trust my judgment—but you don’t have to worry. If you still have your doubts despite everything, feel free to say it to my husband. I refuse to be questioned like this by anyone other than him."

Empress Morgana was about to stand up, but Kaine stopped her.

"I didn’t mean it like that, Your Majesty. You misunderstood me," He urged, raising both of his hands—in a gesture of surrender. "I simply asked his background—because I was intending to help you reward him. I heard Princess Davina came personally to you about the deal, and such a brave warrior should be rewarded handsomely."

"I have that covered, too," Empress Morgana stood up—anyway, intending to leave. "I knew what he wanted, so there’s no need for you to intervene. If that’s all, I’ll be taking my leave."

Kaine didn’t stop her.

He only leaned against the balustrade and folded his arms.

Once Empress Morgana disappeared down the staircase, Kaine finally allowed his gaze to wander. He expanded and swept his senses across the balcony, probing every corner, every shadow, searching for any kind of energy traces.

But nothing stirred—he found nothing.

Then, he fixed on where Empress Morgana was sitting earlier.

But still, there was nothing.

"Hmm, I see that you’ve hidden your tracks well," Kaine muttered inwardly—smiling a little as he looked onto the horizon. "But still, I’m going to find out what you’re hiding eventually. And to do that, I think I have to pay this Knight Rex personally."

...

Meanwhile, under the pressure from Princess Davina, Rex was forced to go somewhere today.

He had a lot of things to settle, but he simply couldn’t refuse her request.

It was especially so after everything that she had done for him.

But even though he was inclined to follow Princess Davina’s plan for the day, he needed to check one crucial thing. At the very least, he needed to check this before going out for the entire day lest he regret it later.

Fortunately, Princess Davina gave him an hour.

She needed to prepare and change clothes, too; that’s the only reason Rex was given an hour.

Rex sat at the center of the bed.

He was sitting in a meditative position, his arm resting above his knee, and his eyes closed.

For a good five minutes, Rex breathed in and out as the Mask of the Banished Eclipse manifested— and covered half of his face. Due to his broken and exhausted body, it took him five minutes to summon this Soul Artifact and focus.

Once he did, a crystallized Tear of Moonlight appeared and levitated before him.

Its outline was black, and the inside was filled with pure moonlight energy.

Rex slowly opened his eyes and pulled this crystallized Tear of Moonlight towards the black mask, and the moment it touched, it seeped into the mask and spread—infiltrating his mind instantly. His eyes, which were bright red, were drowned in blackness.

And then, his body convulsed.

It was subtle, and doesn’t look painful—but it was still unnerving to look at.

Once the crystallized Tear of Moonlight was fully absorbed into the Mask of the Banished Eclipse, an otherworldly energy erupted from his body—vast, alien, and untamed. Black runes crawled across his skin like living shadows, etching themselves into his face.

Then, without warning, his soul wrenched free from his body and was hurled into another realm.

Rex could feel that the surroundings had changed.

Unlike the cool—and refreshing air of the room he was in, the place he was in right now was muted, cold, and hollow, like it was a realm where nothing resides, deprived of anything that could spark anything other than emptiness.

As his mind settled, he opened his eyes and saw a vast expanse of dark, shallow water.

And his eyes immediately fell on a figure at the center.

Notice: the user has entered the Banished Realm.