Starting With an SSS-Rank Swordsmanship Talent

“Alaric, it is time to go.” The princess’ voice drifted into his ears.

Alaric turned his head and nodded to Irish. “Alright. Let’s go.”

The princess took him to the top floors of the castle using a secret passage known only to the members of the imperial family and a few of their trusted subordinates.

“Do not release your mana. There are many powerful warriors here.” She reminded him with a stern look.

Alaric nodded his head. The closer they got to their destination, the more nervous he felt.

I wonder what she looks like…

According to Irish, she looks just like me and we even share the same hair color.

While he was immersed in his own thoughts, they soon reached the end of the secret passage which was a thick iron door with a few ancient locks with different mechanisms.

The princess unlocked each one with great ease.

Seeing how familiar she was with the mechanisms, Alaric guessed that she had probably used the passage quite a number of times before.

Click!

The last lock made a clicking sound.

“There are more imperial guards on this floor, but they will not do anything unless you… Never mind, just follow me. Explaining this would be useless.” The princess pushed the door open, revealing a room filled with old books.

The musty smell inside the room reminded Alaric of the abandoned warehouse in their estate where all the unused books and furniture were stored.

Seeing his curious gaze, Irish explained. “This used to be your mother’s study, but after she had been placed under house arrest, this place had been abandoned. She didn’t want anyone to enter this room so it was left unattended.”

So it is her study room…

Alaric’s eyes flashed with complicated emotions as he observed the dusty room.

“There are imperial guards outside so don’t do anything that will attract their attention.” The princess warned him.

“Alright.” Alaric absentmindedly nodded.

Upon stepping out of his mother’s abandoned study room, a long hallway greeted them.

Alaric saw more than ten imperial guards standing upright. Each of them was as strong if not stronger than Knights and by his estimates, there were about fourteen of them on this hallway alone!

Just how many Knights do they have in this castle?

Alaric furrowed his eyebrows as he quietly followed the princess.

The imperial guards turned their gazes and looked at him deeply. They didn’t make a move, but he knew that if he were to make one wrong move, these guys would definitely attack him on the spot!

As soon as they passed by everyone, he could feel their heated gazes on his back.

They made a few turns before they finally arrived in front of a room guarded by two Transcendents.

These two are weaker than William, but they have better equipment.

He thought to himself as he inspected the two Transcendent Knights.

“Your Highness, we don’t allow outsiders inside. You can go in, but this guy must stay here.” One of the Transcendents spoke in a serious voice.

Princess Irish glared at the man and snorted. “This man is a friend of mine. Are you sure that will stop him from entering?”

Her words were laced with threats, but the Transcendent remained firm. He shook his head and responded. “Your Highness, please understand that we are only doing our job. We don’t want to use force so please don’t make things difficult for us.”

The princess frowned.

Just then, a voice suddenly echoed from inside the room.

“You two owe me a favor. Let them in.”

The two Transcendents hesitated upon hearing this, but after almost half a minute of internal struggle, one of them sighed and relented.

“Open the door.”

The other Transcendent, a middle-aged man who had a saber tied to his waist, frowned upon hearing this. It looked like he was against the decision, but he gritted his teeth and eventually relented as well.

“Fine, but you must hurry. If the others will find out, we might be in trouble.”

The princess smiled at them.

After making sure that no one was nearby, the two Transcendent Knights opened the door for them.

The princess eagerly walked in, while Alaric anxiously followed.

Upon entering, he saw an array of books placed neatly on the rows of bookshelves that were almost twice his height.

Beyond these bookshelves was a white-haired woman whose back was facing them. She seemed to be preparing tea, her movements graceful and elegant.

Looking at this unfamiliar back, Alaric felt an unusual sense of closeness that he had never felt before.

His heartbeat subconsciously quickened.

“So you have come…” The woman turned around and looked at him with a faint smile.

Her face heavily resembled his own. He didn’t even need to undergo some kind of genetic test to know that this woman was his mother.

She beckoned to him and said. “Come here and have some tea. I prepared this after I heard of your arrival.”

Her voice was strangely soothing, like a massage after a long day.

Alaric didn’t say anything and quietly took his seat. He then looked at the freshly brewed tea and slowly reached out to grab the teacup.

Meanwhile, the princess quietly sat on the chair adjacent to him and watched the scene with a light smile.

Alaric brought the tea to his mouth. The aroma coming from it was fragrant and refreshing.

After taking in the scent, he took a small sip.

Gulp.

A bitter taste greeted him, but it soon exploded with a mixture of flavors.

“Sometimes you need to experience bitter hardships before you can enjoy the taste of freedom.” An emotional voice drifted into his ears.

Alaric jolted when he heard those words. It sounded like she was describing the taste of the tea, but the words also represented her experience.

“It is a good tea.” He calmly remarked.

“I am glad that you like it, my son.”

Alaric’s eyes trembled. He turned his head and looked at the white-haired woman sitting opposite him.

He was tongue-tied. He didn’t know how to react or respond to the situation.

The woman smiled faintly. “You must be shocked right now. A stranger is calling you her son. I understand that it will take some time before you can accept the truth.”

Seeing you is already enough. I am glad to see you in good health, my son.

Jade wanted to approach her son and hug him tightly, but she controlled herself.

Alaric lowered his head and took another sip of tea.

The explosion of flavors calmed his agitated heart.

Just as he was about to say something, an urgent voice suddenly drifted over.

“I apologize for interrupting your conversation, but you must leave now. A few imperial guards are coming for an inspection.”

Hearing this, Alaric sighed and stood up from his seat. Not even two minutes had passed, but his first meeting with his mother was already interrupted.

“You should leave. Those people must be the Grand Duke’s subordinates.” Jade didn’t want them to leave so soon, but there was nothing she could do.

The Grand Duke, huh?

Alaric frowned. He had received a mission just a while ago to punish criminals. He guessed that this was related to the Crimson Tower and the very mastermind behind the creation of this establishment was the Grand Duke!

Before leaving, Alaric looked at his birth mother and spoke. “Just wait for a while. We will get you out of this place. I promise you that.”

Jade was momentarily surprised by his words, but after regaining her composure, she felt a wave of warmth. She nodded her head and responded with a faint smile. “Alright. I will wait here.”

Alaric stared deeply at her before he turned around and left.

“Thank you for the tea.” Alaric’s voice echoed before the door slammed closed.

Jade beamed. She had never been this happy since she was locked inside this room.

I am sorry, my son, but your mother cannot stay idle. How can I let you guys do all the work?

Thinking about this, she took out a coin-sized orb from her desk’s drawer and crushed it.

The time has come…

***

At this moment, on a quiet street somewhere in Codera, an old man dressed in servant’s clothing was sweeping the pavement while humming a jolly song when the bracelet in his hand suddenly broke.

The old man’s face abruptly changed when he saw this. He then looked around and quietly walked towards an empty corner.

“So the time has finally arrived…”

He mumbled to himself as he disappeared into the dark alleyway.

***

Inside a flower shop, a young and beautiful florist was happily cutting the stems of her flowers when she noticed something.

She lowered her head and saw the ring on her finger breaking apart before turning into dust.

Her eyes flashed with profound light as he muttered. “I have waited for two decades and Her Highness has finally called…”

Similar things happened all over the capital, and soon, these individuals headed into the same location.