In a minimal yet clean holding cell lay Orion Blade. Aside from his disheveled clothes, everything about him looked near perfect. His skin was smooth and glowing. His shoulder-length hair fanned around his head, dark and lustrous. Though his facial features were not as perfect as one might have liked, alas, one does not choose his.
A few minutes had passed since he woke up. Yet, he could not comprehend why everything seemed off. Wasn't he supposed to be an intruder—a criminal? Why was it that he was treated like this? Not with respect, but with politeness. Sometime after he had woken up, an elf came and place fresh set of clothes next to his table. Furthermore, inside the dim lit cell, he could see that it was anything but a cell. From top to bottom, everything was clean and contained a slight undercurrent of luxury.
'Are Great Houses more than what I thought?'
This simple yet important thought came across his mind. And this thought refused to go away. After all, while being sheltered in the White Palace, he could access quite a large quantity of information. Yet, information never really appealed him. Instead, he was simply fascinated by life in general— The concept of life and death, does a god or gods exist? Does Heaven truly exist? Ever since he was born, matters of the world never clenched his curiosity, after all, he would simply learn it later. However, due to obvious circumstances, he never had much chance of deeply diving into the politics of Earth.
Minutes later, he was finally into the new set of clothes. Which was a set of undergarments, dark gray trousers, white shirt and a pair of high lace up boots. He exited the room and came across the same man he was interrogated by— Ruven. Ruven silently nodded to Orion and gestured for him to follow.
Soon enough, they arrived near an intricate looking metal door. Ruven sent a sliver of his mana into a small orb near the door. After his mana signature was recognized, the walls in front of them lit brightly as various runes shimmered— making the door slide open. Stepping inside, Ruven selected the top floor, and following that, another set of runes lit up the floor, making both of them shoot up.
Mere seconds later, they went from the deepest level of the White Tower, to its highest floor. After exiting the elevator, Ruven silently led Orion towards the sole grand door which nearly encompassed the entire wall in front of him. Ruven knocked twice and said softly.
"He is here, my Queen"
Ruven turned to Orion and looked at him with a solemn expression and said. "Good luck."
Confused, Orion nodded at him and entered the room.
What Orion saw was somewhat what he had expected. It was an office—a grand one. Walnut colored wood served as its floor as well as its walls. Ornaments and decorative objects of varying colors adorned the space, embellishing it into what one might describe as dream office. Everything about it screamed luxury… and authority.
As Orion took a step forward, he suddenly felt his insides twist and a wave of slight nausea assaulted him.
'Spacial Distortion. Well, it makes sense, it's the Queen's office after all.'
After getting used to the feeling, Orion walked towards the woman sitting at the extravagant desk and bowed slightly before sitting down opposite of her.
"…"
Orion said nothing for a while, expecting the Queen to start.
"You should have bowed deeper. Respect is important for the strong. No matter who you are."
Orion was surprised at the first sentence she spoke. He simply answered casually as he did not sense any hostility from her.
"I apologize. I have never met any strong people whom I needed to show much respect to. The only ones I knew were my family, so… "
"Orion Blade. How did you get here?"
"My uncle, Graves Blade, brought me here for training. He told me to survive here for 3 years but I suspect it was a lie and that he would come to pick me up sooner. However..."
Orion's tone suddenly became somber as he continued.
"I recently learned that he was ambushed and is missing."
"I see." Eleanor suddenly smiled as she leaned back on the swivel chair and added. "It seems Blades are cursed. First Toren being ambushed, now Graves."
Orion said nothing for a few long seconds. He was slightly frustrated, not because her joke was misplaced and landed badly, but because she was right. It truly seemed as if the Blades were cursed.
"Orion, you see, Toren has done me a favor a while back. And from this, he took advantage of the reward he was entitled to and… he took many things from me. Some more precious than others. However, the weight of his help was simply far greater to me. He is someone I will always respect. And as his son, I will help you."
Eleanor's voice gained a certain edge as her expression became solemn. "House Blade will fall soon. However, Blades are Blades. They still possess a couple powerhouses from the other branches of the House and have Vassals under them. They will remain strong. But their strength will not be as comparable as the other Great Houses for a while until more powerhouses emerge."
Orion remained silent, slowly absorbing the information, and trying his best to accept reality.
"I will grant you one request. Think carefully, you have one minute."
Hearing this, Orion's thoughts accelerated. Before him was the Queen of Elendorm, an Elf who was not just a genius by default due to her race, but also someone with enormous power. The power of an entire Kingdom. As if this was not enough, compounding all of this was the fact that she was definitely at the Sixth Rank. And he, Orion, could request one thing? This was more than he could ever have imagined. However, he did not think much of what to request as he already had the perfect one.
"I want you to nurture me."
Hearing this, Eleanor's lips curled. "Perfect answer Orion. I commend you."
Right on the heels of that, Orion suddenly felt a chill run down his spine as he came to a realization. The Elf Queen's demeanor had suddenly changed completely. Bringing something he never expected to the table—warmth. She smiled warmly and said.
"You may leave."
Orion was in a daze as he stood up and slowly walked away. However, just before exiting the office, he turned around and asked curiously, "Why me?"
This was a question that plagued his mind for a while. Why him? His father sheltered him and somewhat imprisoned him. Why? Because he was too talented. His uncle decided to train and nurture him instead of his step siblings. Why? Because he was talented.
However, the Elf queen before him did not know any of this. He was almost certain that she had learned of his existence merely hours ago. Therefore, he could not help but ask: why him? Sure, the queen owed his father, but what about this eerie warmth she showed at his response? Her warmth was confusing to Orion. It felt almost… maternal.
Eleanor stared at the confused Orion and sighed before answering almost hesitantly.
"Because you are special... and worthy."