"Did you hear? Rumours are saying that a soloist cleared the Elurion Tower alone?"

A small party of hunters was walking through the streets of Elurion, the capital city of the Silverblessed Kingdom.

As they headed towards the giant tower that stood higher than any other building on the continent, they started to speak of recently spread news.

One of the young men, a black-haired knight in silver steel armour, scoffed.

His name was Johnson.

"Those rumours are fake. They said that the soloist was an Adept Rank. We all know that isn’t possible. Even the Kingsmen can’t clear it alone!"

The party continued debating whether the rumours were true or not until eventually, they arrived at the entrance to the tower.

They hoped to go through and search for any low-level loot left behind. If there was none left, they would try to make trades with some of the other men.

However, that plan wouldn’t happen.

There was a large gathering outside the tower. This wasn’t just any old gathering.

"Those... aren’t those the king’s men?"

The party froze as they watched ten carriages surrounding the giant entrance to the tower.

There were knights in silver armour, mages in robes, and even archers posted on top of buildings, waiting for someone to exit the tower.

There was also Prince Cain, with his brilliant blonde hair, white armour, and black cape. He was standing with his two best knights, Ruth and Mary.

The party members gulped in unison and didn’t dare get close. All they could do was watch from afar, like many of the other civilians in the city.

Then, the door to the tower opened.

Everyone fell silent.

The knights clutched their weapons tighter.

The ends of the mages’ staffs began to glow.

The ranged fighters nocked their arrows.

They all watched as a man emerged from the door, holding hands with a woman.

This man and woman wore identical clothes. Both were dressed in black and gold suits that made them look like royalty.

The man’s hair was as dark as night, and in his hand was a longsword made from what seemed to be red dragon scales, a material that was almost impossible to get hold of.

The woman’s hair was white as snow, and she stood much shorter than the tall man. She wielded no weapon except for a small notebook.

Prince Cain’s eyes suddenly went wide.

"It’s him..." he announced to the surrounding men. "That is the man I told you about. But that woman... isn’t she..."

Everyone remained silent as the man and woman descended the stairs, never letting go of each other’s hand.

The white-haired woman flashed the prince a smile once she was close enough. Prince Cain stepped forward, his mouth slightly open and his eyes wide.

"Sister Charlotte..." he said.

"The princess is back..."

"Is that the princess of the kingdom?"

"The one who went missing three years ago?"

...

As Charles watched the gathered kingsmen chattering amongst themselves in disbelief, he felt Charlotte’s hand becoming slightly damp.

Her grip was shaky.

He glanced over at her and saw that she was trying to put on a brave face, like a real princess.

Yet he knew that she was incredibly nervous.

She had already rewritten her novel slightly, making sure that everyone in the world saw her as Princess Charlotte, daughter of the Silverblessed Kingdom’s king.

However, actually facing all these people whilst knowing that she was only acting as the princess made her feel extremely nervous.

Charles squeezed her hand gently, and it stopped shaking. Her eyes widened ever so slightly as she glanced up at him.

Thank you... she said to herself silently.

Finally, Prince Cain stepped forward.

"Dear sister... how do you know this man?"

Everyone could tell that he really wanted to ask why they were holding hands; however, he didn’t have the nerve to.

Charlotte had already told Charles the explanation she would be giving everyone.

To him, it sounded crazy, so he made sure to keep his spells ready.

If they start to doubt me, I’ll just remove that law.

Charlotte swallowed nervously before eventually answering.

"Father always told me to marry a powerful man. There is no man more powerful than Charles Abraham. He is a knight who climbed the Elurion Tower alone and saved me from the highest floor. I am to take him as my husband."

"..."

Silence hung in the air at first. Then everyone broke out into more chatter.

Prince Cain’s cheeks became red, and he could only stare in silent disbelief. Knight Ruth had to nudge him slightly and bring him back to his senses.

The prince shook his head to clear his mind.

"I..." he stuttered. "Father will want to hear of this. You can’t make such a decision without consulting the—"

"Isn’t there a war going on, Prince Cain?"

Charles cut the prince off, immediately drawing everyone’s attention.

Prince Cain stared at Charles blankly.

"There is... which is exactly why the kingdom doesn’t have time for wedding ceremonies and—"

"There won’t be any ceremonies," Charles cut him off again. "I’ll prove my might on the battlefield, and once the kingdom is safe from our enemies, we can focus on ceremonies. Now, should we bring your sister back to the king? I’m sure he will be eager to hear about this."

"..."

Every word that Charles spoke stunned the people in the crowd. There was no one who wasn’t taken aback by his words.

Everyone knew the dangers of the war. It was believed across the world that the Silverblessed Kingdom was about to fall to its enemies.

Yet here, an Adept was claiming to be able to bring the nation to safety.

They wanted to laugh, but how could they when he had cleared the Elurion Tower?

Prince Cain wanted to cut the man down then and there, but he knew that the king wished to speak to him first.

So, he had no other choice but to bring him back to Elurion Palace.

He let out a sigh and turned back towards his carriage.

"Fine. Let us return to the king."