Starting With an SSS-Rank Swordsmanship Talent

Later that evening, in the estate of House Silversword, Alaric was in the hallway heading to his bedchamber when he discovered Caecus hurrying toward him.

”Your Highness, the empress is heading here in her carriage. With their speed, they should be here in about ten to fifteen minutes.” Caecus reported.

Alaric nodded, seemingly anticipating this to happen. ”Tell the men to secure the area. Don’t let any unauthorized person enter the premises.”

Caecus acknowledged the command with a salute. ”I will relay your orders.”

Alaric waved his hand and headed to his chambers to change into a new set of clothes. It would be impolite to see the empress in his casual clothes. She might not mind, but the others would definitely gossip about it.

After changing into formal attire, he went down to the main hall. Caecus, Galanar, and a few other Transcendent Knights were there, awaiting further instructions.

”Let’s go greet Her Majesty,” Alaric said as he walked briskly.

Caecus and the gathered warriors followed silently.

Upon stepping out of the mansion, they saw a luxurious carriage heading toward them. It was guided by the Crimson Phoenix Knights Order.

In the dead of the night, seeing the beautiful warriors of the knight order was quite the striking sight.

Leading the entourage, Bai Seol-hwa, raised her fist midway into the air, signaling the convoy to slow down as they neared the mansion.

The clip-clop of hooves on the cobblestone road echoed, alerting everyone in the mansion.

”Halt!” Bai Seol-hwa gave the order to stop, when they were only about twenty meters from the mansion entrance. She dismounted and walked toward the carriage to open its door.

The members of the Crimson Phoenix Knights Order quickly dismounted and moved into two lines, their faces cold and emotionless.

In the next moment, the empress stepped out of the carriage, dressed in red and gold battle dress.

Alaric smiled faintly upon seeing her. He moved forward and greeted her. ”I am honored by Your Majesty’s visit.”

Yskaela took his outstretched hand and responded. ”Enough with the greetings. Take me inside. We have a lot to discuss.”

”Certainly.” Alaric nodded. As he led the empress to the mansion, he gestured to Caecus and the others to disperse.

The warriors immediately understood the order and quietly dispersed.

Other than Bai Seol-hwa who followed the empress, the Crimson Phoenix Knights moved to various parts of the estate, to secure the place. Although it was already irrelevant given the tight security, they felt more at ease in assessing the location’s safety.

...

Alaric brought the empress to his study.

”Please sit comfortably.” He gestured to the two women to take their seats.

As soon as she sat down, Yskaela looked at him with her eyebrows scrunched up. ”About the letter... what did you mean when you said that...”

She didn’t finish her words, but her meaning was evident.

It was related to the information about the realm beyond the Venerables which Alaric mentioned in his letter.

Alaric leaned on his seat and took a deep breath. He gathered his thoughts before he responded. ”Like what I mentioned in the letter, I have information about what lies beyond the Venerable realm. You will understand it more if you see this.”

He took out a copy of the book he had written.

Bai Seol-hwa stood up and took the book from the table. She took a brief look at Alaric before she quietly handed the book to the empress.

”Mana Heart Transformation...” Yskaela furrowed her eyebrows as she mumbled the book’s title.

She flipped through the first page and began to silently read the contents.

At first, she was still calmly reading the words, but soon, her expression rapidly changed.

”This is...”

She scanned the rest of the pages, her breathing hurried.

Ten minutes later, she closed the book and stared at Alaric in shock. ”This book... where did you get it?”

Alaric shrugged. ”I wrote it.”

Hearing this, the empress was stunned. ”You wrote it?”

Written in the book was knowledge beyond the Venerable realm. It was safe to say that whoever read the book would have a higher chance of surpassing the Venerable realm.

Alaric chuckled while shaking his head. ”Don’t give me that kind of look. I only learned all that recently.”

Hearing him casually speak to the empress made Bai Seol-hwa slightly uncomfortable, but she stayed quiet. Although this man was a lot younger than her, he would soon become the empress’s husband.

On the other hand, Yskaela didn’t seem to mind Alaric’s manner of speaking. In fact, she preferred this kind of communication without caring about their social status.

”Did you learn all these from the warrior named Bellator?” She asked with an inquisitive tone.

Bellator was a new face. She hadn’t even seen him during the battle against the heretic cult. His sudden appearance was quite suspicious and Alaric didn’t seem to have the intention to explain this matter.

Alaric nodded and suddenly asked with a stern look. ”Did you know that this world is divided into three major continents?”

Yskaela frowned, confused by the unexpected question he posed.

Seeing that she was silent, Alaric continued. ”We are currently in the desolate region of the Cangnan continent, the smallest of the three great continents...”

”... The reason we couldn’t explore the outside world is because of the Enchanted Woodlands. It served as a wall that stopped all the most powerful warriors from heading to the main region of the Cangnan continent.”

Alaric was about to explain further when the empress raised her hand. ”Wait! Why are you telling me this?”

She looked flustered at the influx of information. This was knowledge beyond her grasp and it made her feel insignificant.

Alaric stared deeply at her. ”It’s because Lord Bellator is not a native of the Cangnan continent. He is someone from the largest of the three great continents, the Remona continent!”

Yskaela and Bai Seol-hwa were stunned. To them, the Cangnan continent was already a mystery. Knowing that there was a much vaster land made them feel utterly small.