Kaiser’s eyes, still glowing faintly from Mia’s magic, slowly dimmed to their natural crimson as he turned his gaze back to Aria. The weight in his posture softened, just slightly, and his voice shed its edge for something warmer.

  “You don’t need to worry about that,” he told her, his tone lower, more grounded. “You are, without question, not average.”

  Aria blinked, as if she hadn’t expected that, then smiled—not her usual smug grin or sharp-toothed smirk, but something real and unguarded. A lightness bloomed in her cheeks, and for a second, she seemed to shine, radiating pride and something dangerously close to joy.

  Kaiser let that moment live before turning his head toward the others. “None of you are average,” he said, scanning their faces one by one. “Not Ivan. Not Mia. Not even Elsie. I don’t know much about either of you,” he added with a glance at the two girls seated across from him, “But something in my gut tells me that if you were, you wouldn’t be here. You wouldn’t have survived what you did. You wouldn’t still be looking forward.”

  Regulus’ voice crackled through the comms again, this time playful. “What about me, oh wise warlord? You don’t know anything about your humble chauffeur.”

  Kaiser laughed, short and amused, shaking his head. “Besides myself and Aria,” he said, grinning now, “I think you might be the most extraordinary person in the room.”

  No one argued with him. Even Elsie, perched cross-legged with a faint scowl still lingering from their earlier exchange, didn’t deny it. Mia offered a small nod. Ivan looked like he was ready to burst with a declaration of his own—and he did.

  “I’ll be like that too,” Ivan said, his voice unusually steady. “I swear it. A few years from now, I’ll be stronger than both of you—Regulus and Kaiser. At the same time.”

  His tone was dead serious. There was no boast in it, no childish pride, just certainty.

  And that made the laughter come. Aria clapped her hands as she wheezed. Mia giggled behind her hand. Even Regulus was audibly wheezing in the background.

  Everyone except Kaiser. He stared at the boy with that old, assessing gaze—the one he wore on battlefields more than banquet halls. He searched Ivan’s face and watched how the fire settled in his eyes like a promise etched into bone. He thought to himself that he still didn’t fully understand how Mia’s power worked—if it twisted your words into truth, or simply ripped the lies away. But judging by the way Ivan said it… he had to believe it, at least a little.

  Kaiser leaned back in his seat slightly, resting an arm on the edge, smirking. “Then I’ll be sure to help you try that. But if you thought that paper training was rough, just know this… Compared to what’s coming, that was like playing in the sand on a sunny beach.”

  Ivan froze.

  There was visible panic in his eyes. But behind it, beneath the hesitation and the instinct to retreat, there was something else—determination. Unyielding and growing with each passing second.

  “Good,” Kaiser said under his breath, just loud enough for Aria to hear, making her grin.

  Then Kaiser’s gaze tilted upward toward the ceiling, as if the metal above could part and let him see the sky. “Your turn, Regulus!”

  Regulus’ voice crackled back into life over the comms, his tone light and taunting, as if he’d been waiting for this moment. “Hit me with your best shot!”

  Kaiser didn’t smile. His arms crossed slowly, his gaze still fixed upward. “I didn’t forget what you said earlier,” he said. “You said we wouldn’t have to worry about money. What did you mean by that?”

  There was a beat of silence. A small pause that lingered in the room like the first breath before a plunge into water. Regulus exhaled on the other end, no longer hiding the weight in his voice. “Alright then. Full honesty. I plan to introduce all of you to Lady Celestine.”

  The name drifted into the room like smoke, and then, to Kaiser’s utter disbelief, the entire room exploded.

  Aria screamed with such force that she nearly catapulted herself out of her seat, only stopping herself at the last second by gripping the edge with both hands. “You’re kidding! No way! The Lady Celestine?!”

  You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

  Mia’s hand shot to her mouth, her green eyes widening like lanterns. “Wait—wait—you don’t mean our Lady Celestine, do you? The Southern Crown?!”

  Ivan shouted over her. “You’re talking about the princess, right?! The real one? She’s gonna meet us?!”

  Even Elsie, usually content with sarcasm and mild chaos, let out a high-pitched squeal that didn’t fit her sharp teeth or her villain-hunting persona. “Elsie can’t believe this! Elsie has been trying to get a glimpse of her since forever! She’s best friends with a Hope, did you know that?!”

  Kaiser blinked. The flurry of names and reactions meant nothing to him. He watched all of them: Aria practically vibrating in her seat, Mia dazed with disbelief, Ivan talking with his hands like a mad preacher, and even Elsie wriggling in place as if the seat were electrified—and he tried searching his memory.

  “…Who is she?” Kaiser asked finally, the words low but clear enough to cut through their excited chatter.

  Aria whipped toward him so fast she nearly dislocated her neck. “She’s one of the three leaders of the Southern Liberatorium!” Her voice cracked under the weight of her enthusiasm, eyes bright with a spark of sincerity.

  “She’s also the princess of the Central Liberatorium,” Mia added, her tone reverent now, like she was afraid of disrespecting the very title. “The only daughter and the second-born of the king. But the heir in all ways that matter.”

  “She’s the kindest person alive!” Ivan blurted, unable to contain himself. “She goes to every town and village, even the forgotten ones, and helps people rebuild, teaches them, heals the sick! She’s like—like a goddess that doesn’t ask for worship!”

  “And she’s friends with a Hope!” Elsie declared again, this time louder, as if the rest didn’t hear it the first time. “One of them!”

  That snapped something inside Kaiser. He stiffened, turning his full attention back to the ceiling above. “Regulus,” he said slowly, voice now dangerously sharp around the edges. “You told me those ten… the Ten Hopes—you said they haven’t been seen in a long time.”

  “Most of them,” Regulus confirmed, quieter now. There was something measured in his tone. “Eight, to be exact. But not all.”

  He continued.

  “The Seventh Hope of Kindness still walks the world… when she chooses to,” Regulus said, and for once, there was no laughter trailing his voice, only a reverence carved deep into his tone, like the weight of old truth being spoken aloud. “She earned that title a hundred times over—saving more lives than most could ever count, pulling the broken from rubble, shielding children with her own body, giving every breath she has to the innocent, the lost, and the damned. People don’t just follow her… they change because of her. Entire regions rebuilt themselves in her name. She sparked a revolution in the South and the North, one so overwhelming in its support that it rewrote the laws, legalizing vigilantism just to keep up with the number of people who wanted to live the way she taught—who wanted to be more like her.”

  Kaiser’s jaw flexed, the faintest hint of tension threading through his voice as he leaned forward, elbows resting on his knees, crimson eyes fixed not on anyone in particular, but on the idea itself. “A woman who changes the laws just by being loved,” he muttered, almost to himself. “That’s power you can’t measure…” He looked up, the weight behind his gaze returning to Regulus. “And the Sixth Hope?”

  Regulus didn’t hesitate. “The Sixth is the King of the World. The head of the Liberatoriums. The son of the First Human. He’s the reason the Ten exist at all—and the reason they haven’t collapsed. And he is Lady Celestine’s father.”

  Kaiser fell into silence, and so did the rest. The air grew heavier, not with dread, but with something stranger—an awe that made even breath feel like a luxury. It was the kind of pause that settled between the cracks of excitement and fear, the moment before a wave crests, and he could feel it ripple through the room.

  Aria was the first to speak, her voice hushed but trembling with something close to wonder. “We’re actually going to meet her.” she whispered, almost like she was afraid the ship itself might hear and change its mind. Her hands fidgeted in her lap, then gripped one another tightly, as if to remind herself not to fidget at all.

  Mia’s shoulders were stiff, but her lips had curved into the smallest of smiles. “I never imagined we’d be this close to someone who’s met a Hope,” she said quietly. “Let alone be introduced to them.”

  Ivan leaned back, letting out a long breath as he ran both hands through his hair. “Okay,” he muttered, his tone dazed. “Okay. Don’t screw this up. Don’t screw this up. Don’t—”

  “Don’t pass out,” Elsie finished for him, though her usual teasing cadence was softened. Her legs were pulled up into the seat now, arms wrapped around her knees. She glanced around, then leaned slightly toward Mia and whispered just loud enough, “Do you think she’ll be as pretty as the paintings? Because if she is, Elsie might fully fall in love.”

  Mia blinked at that, then stifled a laugh. Even Aria cracked a grin.

  But they all turned toward Kaiser in unspoken unison. His silence had grown louder than their voices.

  “Kaiser?” Aria asked softly, shifting in her seat. “You alright?”

  Kaiser’s red eyes narrowed slightly, thoughtful rather than cold. He let the silence stretch another beat before he finally spoke, voice low and even. “You’re all excited.”

  “I mean, how could we not be?” Ivan said with a shrug. “She’s royalty. She’s a Liberatorium leader. She’s basically a living legend.”

  “Sounds like a headache,” Kaiser replied, his words sharp—but not cutting. His gaze wasn’t on them. It was somewhere beyond the metal walls, somewhere far and deep. “But legends are just people. Dangerous ones, usually.”

  Elsie leaned forward slightly, eyes glinting. “Is that experience talking, villain-man?”

  Kaiser glanced at her, his smirk dry. “Wouldn’t you like to know?”

  Aria nudged his side with her elbow. “Come on. Don’t pretend you’re not curious.”

  “I’m not pretending,” Kaiser said, stretching out his arms with a slow roll of his shoulders."Let’s see what sort of spine it takes to sit at the table with this worlds greatest heroes."

  Every victory counts! Whenever any of these milestones is reached, I’ll drop a Bonus Chapter as a reward! Hit them all, and you get even more!

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