Chapter 13

Hundreds of miles away from the capital of Melromarc, in the sovereign nation of Faubrey, a woman sat in a dimly lit study.

She wore a gown of deep purple velvet, her long lilac hair cascading over her shoulders. A delicate, folding fan rested on the mahogany desk in front of her. This was Mirellia Q. Melromarc, the true ruling monarch of Melromarc, currently away on a desperate diplomatic tour to unite the neighboring nations against the Waves.

The candles flickered, though there was no breeze in the room.

Mirellia did not look up from the treaty she was reading. "Report."

From the darkest corner of the ceiling, a figure seemingly detached itself from the shadows. Dressed in form-fitting black garb with a mask obscuring their face, the elite covert operative—a Shadow—dropped silently to the floor, kneeling on one knee.

"Your Majesty," the Shadow spoke, their voice magically altered to be perfectly genderless and flat. "I bring urgent news from the capital. The summoning was executed by the King and the Church in your absence."

Mirellia sighed, rubbing her temples. "My foolish husband. I told him to wait. Let me guess, he summoned the Four Cardinal Heroes without the consent of the other nations, sparking a diplomatic crisis?"

"He did, Your Majesty. However… there was an anomaly." The Shadow paused. "Five heroes were summoned."

Mirellia’s hand froze over her parchment. She slowly looked up, her violet eyes narrowing. "Five? The Sword, the Spear, the Bow, the Shield… and what else?"

"A Gauntlet, Your Majesty. A young woman named Maya Lin. She wields a silver weapon of close-quarters combat."

Mirellia snapped her fan open, hiding the lower half of her face as her mind raced. A Fifth Hero? The ancient texts barely mentioned anything beyond the Four. This was a massive shift in the world's balance of power. "Continue. How did my husband handle this?"

"Poorly, Your Majesty," the Shadow reported dutifully. "As expected, he showed extreme prejudice against the Shield Hero, Naofumi Iwatani. Furthermore, the First Princess, Malty, attempted to execute a sabotage operation against him on the first night."

Mirellia’s eyes flashed with cold fury. "Malty. That girl is a cancer on my kingdom's diplomacy. She tried to frame the Shield, I presume? A false accusation?"

"Yes, Your Majesty. A claim of assault. However, the plan failed entirely."

"Oh? Did the Shield Hero defend himself?"

"No, Your Majesty. He was saved by the Gauntlet Hero." The Shadow’s voice took on a faint, rare tone of professional respect. "The Gauntlet Hero, Maya, intervened during the public trial. She perfectly mimicked the persona of a naive, rule-bound maiden. She cornered the King by demanding the accuser be placed under a temporary Slave Crest of Truth to 'protect the honor of all Heroes.' She weaponized the Church's own rhetoric against them."

Mirellia let out a sudden, sharp laugh, the sound ringing off the stone walls. "A Slave Crest? Brilliant! She trapped Aultcray in a corner. If he refused, he looked guilty to the other Heroes. If he accepted, Malty’s lies would be exposed." The Queen's smile was razor-sharp. "This Maya Lin is not just a brawler. She is a politician."

"Indeed, Your Majesty. The King was forced to abandon the physical punishment, though he did cut off the Shield Hero's funds and exiled him from the court. The Shield is currently surviving in the slums, hunting low-level balloon monsters alone. He is struggling, but his spirit appears unbroken."

Mirellia nodded slowly. "And what of the Gauntlet? Did Aultcray target her next for ruining his plan?"

"That is the most fascinating development, Your Majesty," the Shadow said, bowing their head lower. "After the trial, Maya immediately shifted her demeanor, feigning intense, tearful sympathy for the 'victim' and for Princess Malty. She completely convinced the Princess that her intervention was merely the act of an emotional, bleeding-heart fool."

"Malty believed it?"

"Completely, Your Majesty. The Princess is currently acting as the Gauntlet's sole party member. But she is not controlling the Hero. The Hero is controlling her."

The Shadow produced a small, magically encrypted crystal from their cloak and placed it on the Queen's desk. "Today, Maya led the Princess into the Deep Woods. She feigned incompetence, forcing the Princess to exhaust her mana pool fighting high-level monsters, only for the Gauntlet to land the killing blows. Maya leveled up from Level 1 to Level 9 in a single afternoon, hoarding all the valuable drops, while the Princess was left completely drained."

Mirellia stared at the crystal, utterly astounded. Malty, her treacherous, scheming daughter, was being used as an unpaid mercenary and a magical battery by a foreigner.

"Furthermore," the Shadow continued, "upon returning to the capital, Maya physically carried the exhausted Princess to the inn. She then bathed the Princess and offered her profound physical affection and praise. Princess Malty is now completely infatuated and deeply docile. The Gauntlet Hero has successfully neutralized the kingdom's top spy by turning her into a pampered pet."

For a long moment, there was absolute silence in the study.

Then, Queen Mirellia began to laugh. It wasn't a sharp, political laugh, but genuine, breathless amusement. She leaned back in her chair, shaking her head.

"Unbelievable. The Gauntlet Hero outmaneuvered the Church, saved the Shield, stole all the experience points from the Deep Woods, and tamed my wild daughter with soap and flattery in less than forty-eight hours." Mirellia closed her fan with a sharp snap. "She is dangerous. She is terrifyingly intelligent. And she is exactly what Melromarc needs."

Mirellia stood up, walking over to the window to look out at the foreign city below.

"The Waves are coming, and my idiot husband has fractured the Heroes' unity before the war has even begun. The Shield is isolated, and the Sword, Spear, and Bow are being pampered by yes-men. Only the Gauntlet seems to understand the true stakes."

She turned back to the Shadow, her eyes glowing with royal authority.

Interactive Choice: The Queen's Orders

Queen Mirellia needs to decide how her Shadows should interact with the situation in Melromarc while she is stuck in Faubrey. What are her orders?