Princess Victoria stood on the terrace of the penthouse suite of Sycamore Inn, overlooking the port city that was trying to restore order after the chaos. She was holding a steaming cup of black tea in her hand, the curls of White Mist blurring her face that was too delicate to be true. Only her clear golden eyes calmly reflected the noisy street scene downstairs.
Helena appeared quietly behind her, like a loyal shadow. She handed over a compiled document and said in a respectful and steady voice, "Your Highness, the matter has been taken care of."
Victoria didn't look back, just said "hmm" gently, took the file and started reading it.
The file records the results of the treatment of the remaining forces of "Eternal Life Blessing Cult". The leader who called himself "Spade K" was imprisoned in the deepest prison of Port Belen after all his belongings were stripped away by the Investigation Bureau professionals. His spirit was on the verge of collapse after losing the fanatical support and strength of his believers, and his ambition to seek artifacts was wiped out. He just kept mumbling nonsense about "games", "bugs" and "gm".
"What are the movements of those captured players?" Victoria asked softly.
"Most of them chose to commit suicide and should have returned to their 'resurrection point' in this way." Helena replied, with a hint of a magician's prudence about this unknown phenomenon in her tone. "The remaining few who failed to commit suicide were also properly looked after. They seemed to think that this was just a failed 'dungeon event'. Apart from a few complaints, there was not much valuable information."
"As expected." Victoria closed the document and placed it on the white jade railing aside. "A group of children who were blinded by power mistakenly regarded miracles as toys. There is no need to waste too much energy on them, just keep an eye on 'Spade K'. His value lies in the network he has established, not himself."
She paused and finally turned around, her eyes falling on Helena. The calm gaze made the experienced Investigation Bureau adjutant lower his eyelids subconsciously.
"Where are Captain Edgar and the others?"
"We are waiting for your summons downstairs." Helena's voice lowered, "They... are not emotionally stable."
"Let them come up." Victoria's tone did not waver at all, as if he was just instructing an ordinary and trivial matter. She picked up the tea cup again, walked to the sofa in the center of the room and sat down, her posture elegant and impeccable.
Not long after, there was a knock on the door. Edgar Lorraine led his three team members in.
The atmosphere in the room suddenly solidified.
Anles's face was still full of anger and grievance, Lina looked nervous, and young Philip looked completely at a loss. He didn't even dare to raise his head and look directly at Princess, who was sitting quietly on the sofa.
Only Edgar still maintained his composure as the captain. He took off his hat, put it on his chest, bowed slightly towards Victoria, and said in a calm voice, "Your Highness, you are looking for us."
Victoria did not speak immediately, but scanned them one by one with his golden eyes. Her gaze is not sharp, but like the thinnest mist in the morning, it penetrates all the way and makes everyone feel an invisible pressure.
"Sit down, everyone." She said softly, pointing to the empty sofa opposite, "Don't be formal, I just want to chat with a few of you."
No one dared to sit down. They stood like stiff statues in the center of the room.
Victoria didn't mind either. She took a shallow sip of the black tea and then gently placed the tea cup back on the saucer, making a crisp sound. The sound was particularly clear in the silent room.
"Captain Edgar," she spoke slowly, breaking the silence, "I heard from Helena that your operation in Port Belen doesn't seem to be going smoothly."
Edgar's jawline tightened. "It is our dereliction of duty that we failed to live up to your expectations."
"No, this is not a dereliction of duty." Victoria shook his head, with a faint smile on his lips. The smile was very shallow, but it made Edgar feel an inexplicable chill. "On the contrary, I think you did a good job. At least, you successfully attracted Cult of Eternal Life's attention to the shipyard, creating excellent conditions for certain things to happen."
Anles's breathing became obviously heavy, and Lina's fingers twisted together subconsciously.
"I don't understand what you mean, Your Highness." Edgar's voice still tried to remain calm.
Victoria chuckled, and she picked up another document from beside her. On the cover of that document, there was a lifelike canary stamped with gold ink.
"General Bureau of Investigation's secret order, operation code name 'Canary'." She threw the document casually on the coffee table in front of her and made a soft sound. "The goal is to ensure that Victoria von Pendragon, a member of King Arthur room, died in an 'accident' in Port Belen, and pretended to have died at the hands of Eternal Life Blessing Cult."
She said the most frightening content in the calmest tone.
The air seemed to have been sucked out of the room. Philip's face instantly turned pale, his legs softened, and he almost collapsed to the ground. Fortunately, he was supported in time by Lina beside him. Anles's hand had subconsciously grasped the hilt of the sword at his waist, and veins popped out on his forehead.
Edgar's pupils suddenly contracted. He stared at the document on the coffee table that shouldn't be there, and his body became stiff due to extreme shock. He never thought that the core and darkest secret of their trip would be exposed by the target himself in such an understatement.
"You don't have to be so nervous." Victoria's voice was still gentle, and she even refilled a cup of tea for herself, "I have no intention of pursuing you. After all, you are just chess pieces, and the people playing chess are far away in the depths of that white and silver palace."
Her eyes fell on Edgar again, with a hint of appreciation and a hint of pity in her eyes.
"So, Captain Edgar, now I give you a choice."
"The first option," she held out a slender white finger, "You can complete your mission here now. Kill me, and then go back with my token to return to life. Of course, you must first think about how to deal with the backhands I left outside the city. Even if you succeed, you and your family will become a stain in the eyes of some people that must be erased. After all, chess pieces who know too many secrets are always unpopular."
Her voice was soft, but like a heavy hammer, it hit everyone's heart hard.
"The second option," she stretched out a second finger, the smile on her face unchanged, "Loyal to me."
Edgar raised his head, his eyes filled with disbelief.
"You are the most elite swordsmen in the kingdom. You should not be used in such a dirty conspiracy, and you should not be thrown away as abandoned children after completing the mission." Victoria stood up and walked slowly in front of Edgar. Her height only reached the opponent's chest, but she carried a sense of oppression that could not be ignored.
"I need your strength and your loyalty. And I can give you new life, a goal truly worth fighting for, and... shelter."
She stared into Edgar's eyes and said word by word, "Protect you, and everything behind you, from the reckoning that comes from the shadow of the throne."
The room fell into a deathly silence, except for the faint sound of seagulls calling outside the window.
Edgar is experiencing an unprecedented battle between heaven and man in his heart. Loyalty and betrayal, command and survival, responsibility and future... Countless thoughts were tumbling in his mind. He knew that everything His Highness Princess said was true. Since they took on this mission, they have embarked on a path of no return. Regardless of whether they succeed or not, their fate may have already been determined.
But now, the seemingly weak Princess in front of them pointed out another way for them. A path full of unknowns and risks, but also the only possible path to life.
After a long time, he finally made a decision.
Edgar Lorraine knelt down on one knee and lowered his head that had never been lowered easily. Anles and Lina behind him looked at each other and knelt down on one knee without hesitation.
They took no oaths, and no words were spoken. But this action already represents everything.
Victoria finally showed a satisfied smile on his face.
At this moment, Helena walked in again. She bowed to Victoria, and then reported softly, "Your Highness, our people have sent news. The priest Moria of the temple, and the girl named Mephisto, left Port Belen in a carriage half an hour ago, heading northwest."
"Really?"
Victoria turned around and walked back to the terrace, looking again at the sea sparkling in the morning light and the winding road leading inland. There was a faint smile of unknown meaning at the corner of her mouth, and her golden eyes shone with expectations that no one could understand.
"Then, let's meet again at Camelot." She whispered softly in a voice that only she could hear.