…
{3rd Pov}
Reina Van Astrea was standing before the Council of the Wisemen, particularly Miklotov and Bordeaux as she broke the news to them.
"The beast that haunted the world for 400 years, the White Whale, and the Sin Archbishops of the Witch cult, representing Greed and Sloth had been slain" She said earning gasps from them.
"The White Whale had been killed?"
"Not only that, two Sin Archbishops of the Witch Cult are dead?!" Miklotov expressed his shock alongside the others.
He was the brain of the Kingdom, so he knew the best what it meant for an Archbishop, much less two to die.
Archbishops were thought to be invincible, there had been cases of them annihilating cities, and the best of the best losing against them.
Even the so-called Archbishop of Pride died only when the Divine Dragon Volcanica made a move.
It showed how great was the death of a Sin Archbishop.
"Have you killed them, Miss Reina?" asked Miklotov while stroking his beard, after all it would made complete sense if Reina has slain them.
"I would like to inform you that I have not killed them… It was my Lord, sir Zero who slayed the Beast that haunted the world for centuries" she said.
"Zero? There is no… No- Wait a minute was it that bodyguard?" asked Miklotov as his eyes narrowed.
She smiled and replied: "Yes, It was Zero who bravely slayed the beast, and brought judgement to the two Sin Archbishops. I have sworn my fealty to him"
Her answer shocked everyone, as they never expected for the Sword Saint to swear her loyalty to someone.
Bordeaux's eyes narrowed as he considered the implications of what he had heard.
Sword Saint, Reina Van Astrea was a monster, a catastrophe if unleashed.
In fact, more than a decade ago they passed the Reina Law, which meant she was not allowed to leave the Kingdom unless given the order from the throne itself.
She was also not allowed to use any of her Divine Protections to manipulate people in any way.
She was also not allowed to be unchecked, having to give regular reports of what she did.
She was chained… and now she has sworn her loyalty to someone completely irrelevant to the Kingdom.
Bordeaux had searched about Zero's identity after his fame rose by defeating the 'Finest of Knights' and what did he found? Nothing, not even a hint from where he came from.
This had made him suspicious and now hearing Sword Saint swearing her loyalty to him…
"Reina Van Astrea… Since you have sworn your loyalty to someone, I ask of you. Who will be your first priority? Your Liege or the Kingdom?" his words caused an uneasy silence.
Reina Van Astrea's face became impassive before forming a smile, one that caused Bordeaux to shudder.
"It is simple, my first prior-"
"Silence!" Miklotov interrupted her.
"There is no need for such questions. We all know where Sword Saint's loyalty lies, rather we should be worried on how to take the news of the White Whale's and Sin Archbishops' deaths"
"Reina Van Astrea, do you have someone else to testify it?" asked Miklotov.
"Yes, Lady Crusch, Sir Julius, Sir Felix, Sir Wilhelm Van Astrea and many other soldiers have seen the corpse of the White Whale, lying beside the Flugel tree and they had talked with my Liege, confirming he had killed it" she replied.
"Very well. Knights! Summon them! As for you Reina, you are dismissed" said Miklotov and she gave a small bow before parting.
"Miklotov why did you interrupt her? We must know whether her loyalty is shaking or not" asked Bordeaux, other Sages also looked at him.
"There is no doubt… Her first priority is her Lord" Miklotov said surprising them.
"Damn it! Then why did you…" He stopped as he realized something and became terrified
"Do you realize it now? If Sword Saint's loyalty has been truly shaken… and if there is a fallout, what do you think will happen to us?" he said.
"We cannot defeat the Sword Saint" admitted another Sage.
"Yes, we know what kind of monster she is, and if that monster is against us, it can very well destroy our Kingdom" Miklotov said.
"We must approach this situation carefully… we are indeed afraid of the Sword Saint, and we should be considering her abilities. But if we take a radical approach, it will end very bad for us" Miklotov said.
"What do you suggest Miklotov? What should we do?" asked Bordeaux.
"First we must consider why the Sword Saint swore a fealty to someone… who is not even a noble of Lugunica" he said and everyone nodded.
"Perhaps, he is controlling her?" one suggested horrifying others.
"If that's the case, then what can we do? Do you think we can take on someone who can slay Sin Archbishops and White Whale and easily control the strongest successor of the Sword Saint?" Bordeaux snorted.
"I truly believe that's not the case… There must be another underlying reason, perhaps admiration, respect or" Miklotov paused for a moment "Love."
"Love?! Sir Miklotov you surely jest, how could the Sword Saint fall in love?" asked a Sage.
"Hoho! Nothing is impossible, and if this loyalty is brought by such feelings than some scheme, then it is better."
"First we must verify about the White Whale's demise, and then see Zero's stance and try to tie down him to Lugunica if we must" he explained.
"What better way to tie him down, other than to confer him a title of Nobility?" Bordeaux grinned.
"At the same time, we must secretly prepare for the fallout with the Saint" Miklotov said causing everyone to become serious.
"We must not try to have a fallout with the Sword Saint at all costs, only as a last resort. If we can control Zero, we can control the Sword Saint" Miklotov said.
"We shall discuss the measures later; it is not as if we do not have dozens of measures for the Sword Saint" Bordeaux snorted.
"Very well, first we should confirm the deaths of the White Whale and the Sin Archbishops"
They nodded, everyone getting ready to do their parts.
To be continued...
(A/N: I got randommf to get the proofreading since Amon is missing and he asked for it.
I hope Amon returns, meanwhile let's remain as the King for this week. The story meanwhile is getting spicy at chap 7 and 8.)