The corridor's walls were white and not a single dent can be found hanging on them. The walls has many cross-shaped holes that allow the light to past, and every two meters, small statues of angels can be seen were unlit candles are placed on.

[ I... I wonder if I'm late now... ] Nina said to herself as she continues to walk.

Holding her staff with both of her hands, she tried to fasten up her pace. Sweat then began to appear on her forehead. One would say that she sweats because of the energy she was spending, but to those who knew her well, they know that it was because of her nervousness.

Looking ahead, a large door can be seen; it stood at the end of the corridor.

*Gulp

As she saw the door, she began to slow down. And at the moment she arrived in front of it, she had stopped at her tracks.

It has been a few weeks since she has been on a mission; a task. This day, for the first time, she was called again. But of course, she came here prepared; she already know why they had called her, and what are they going to talk about.

Vlad Alucard, as always, would be their topic of discussion. But this day, he is not all there is that they will talk about; there is also the successful recovery of Arthur, her co-hero.

As she stood there, she starts to recall everything that had happened. How the two had fought and how it ended up to be.

She remembers it. They were humiliated. That person, Vlad Alucard, had said that he wanted to try the strength of the heroes, and in the end, he said that he was disappointed. They were more than humiliated.

( Vlad Alucard. ) she remembers his name.

He was an honest person - that what's Nina thinks of him. She wanted to think of him as an arrogant person, but she just can't seem so. That day, he had spoken everything that was on his mind with honest truth. How he wanted to test their strength, how he said he was disappointed, how they were weak, and how he had refused to remove the spell he had cast on Arthur just because he says he doesn't deserve it. He was frank at almost everything, and he was not afraid of them.

Her companions were all devasted, their pride had been stepped on, but that was not the case for Nina. Instead of being angry, she had only respected Vlad, and that was because of his strength that equals the level of his arrogance. Unlike the other people she knows of, who only have arrogance yet no strength to prove it.

[ ... ]

*tap

But as her mind started to wander off, she felt a hand on her shoulder.

[ Ninsama... What are you standing here for? Aren't you going to enter? ]

[ Ce-Cedrick-san...? ] she stutters as she looks at the face of the person standing beside her.

[ Cedrick-san... I'm sorry, I was a bit late and it seems I got nervous I might get scolded again... ] she replied to the person, Cedrick.

[ Don't worry about it, Ninsama. No one will scold you for being late, on the other hand, I will be the one that will get scolded. ] as he said so, he began to caress her shoulder.

Nina felt uncomfortable.

He looks at Cedrick's face again, and she felt a little creep out by the smile he was showing. It's almost the same smile he sees Arthur makes.

Cedrick - the youngest member of the council and an advisor to some of the kingdom's princes. He is known as one of the smartest people in the kingdom, and one of the most renown.

He is also the oldest brother of her companion, Arthur.

[ Umm... Cedrick-san... You're always the earliest to attend these council meetings; may I ask why are you late this time...? ] she asks as she tries to brush off his hand.

[ Oh? Are you perhaps curious, Ninsama? Well, there is really nothing to it... I just attended to my dear little brother and ask him personally about this Vlad Alucard person. ]

[ I-Is that so...? ] as she hears his word, she showed a distressed look on her face.

Even though they were not close, she quite knows about Arthurs's personality. He will surely be biased to everything he will report.

[ Well, it's not that I will side with him that much just because I've heard his side. I'm sure this Vlad person is still as reasonable as you all say. ] as if he had read what was inside her mind, he rea.s.sures her.

[ Umm... May I ask what Arthur-san said...? ]

[ Ninsama... Well... all he said was that he regrets fighting off Vlad Alucard. ]

[ Umm... I-Is that really all...? ] she senses he was lying and so she asked again.

Hearing her ask again, Cedrick knit his brows at her.

[ Of course, there's nothing else. ] as he replied those words, he finally let go of his hold on her arms.

[ Ninsama, they will get angry if we get any tardier than this. How about we enter now? ]

[ Ahh... Yes. I'm sorry. ]

[ No, I'm sorry, it seems you're about to enter when I arrived. I have delayed your entry. ] he bowed a little to her and soon continued to walk towards the large door.

[ Let's go, Ninsama. ]

[ Ye-Yes! ] she followed behind him with hesitation.

A creaking sound was heard as Cedrick opens the large doors. And as it became fully open, he enters inside - stops - and waited for Nina to enter too. As the person with the higher status, her entrance was the most priority.

And so, Nina took his sign and walk pa.s.sed him. And as she enters, a circular table full of people was revealed to her.

The circular table was big enough for 50 people to fit, and so almost 50 are already sitting.

Some of the people sitting are familiar people to Nina. Some Dukes, Marquises, Counts, Viscounts and other people with higher and smaller t.i.tles are sitting all over the place, including the heroes.

[ Nina, you're a princess and hero at that too, you can't be late as always like this. You also, Cedrick. You've never been late at anything like this before. ] an old odd-looking man complained.

He's the current advisor of her father, the king. Guro - a marquise - he came here in place of the king.

[ I'm sorry. It took time for me to prepare... ] Nina apologizes, turning her head down.

Nina might be the princess, but as the king's advisor and a major part of the kingdom, she was ought to show him respect.

[ For me, I took some matter with my brother. He just recovered and I wanted to talk to him as both his brother and as a part of this council. ] he explained with short words.

[ There will be no excuse next time. You two, have a sit. ]

Immediately, two servants cleared up two chairs for the two of them.

Nina sat on the other side of the table, away from Cedrick but close to her companion.

There, she saw Caiden, Anna, and Alicia. They all nodded at each other, recognizing their existence.

( So Caiden-san and Alicisan are already here, huh? I will greet them later properly... ) she thought as she looks at them.

But soon, she turns her head away from them and looks at the person in the center which voiced:

[ Now, let's begin. ]

Everyone turns quiet and they look to focus their eyes on the person that was in the center.

[ Our plan to get this Vlad Alucard person a part of this country. A person who can defeat a hero with one spell... The result of our invitation will result in either him, becoming our ally, or becoming our enemy. He is just too strong to be left alone. ]

Different responses from people listening were formed. Some took serious faces while others have carefree and seems to be not caring. Those who have met him definitely know how strong and scary he was, and those who don't, don't care, most of which are the n.o.bles with high status.

[ Also, as some of you already know, we will also have another visitor. We also need to prepare for that. ]

[ Ohho~? Do you mean the vessels from the Holy Empire? ]

That's when suddenly, the faces of those who were uninterested brightened up.

[ Of course, we will have two large individuals coming, and we can't be able to show them any disrespect. We will have this event to have good relations.h.i.+p with them. Introduce your family and make relations. ]

[ The holy empire and Vlad Alucard... I wonder how this event will turn out to be... ]