"Demonic signatures have been detected in the eastern seas of Skargardia," she said quietly, her eyes locking onto Ulrich.

"Eastern seas?" Ashara repeated, her own gaze shifting at once toward Ulrich.

"More precisely, the Dark Blue Seas," Kaliantha added, making it clear that she meant the eastern waters bordering Ulrich’s side of the Kingdom.

The Dark Blue Seas bore that name because of their peculiar shade, a deep and unnatural blue caused by the Blue Scar and demonic essence. The waters stretching beyond Grayhaven, past the route Ulrich himself had once taken toward the Maelstrom and beyond the reach of the Blue Scar, grew darker still, taking on an almost ominous hue. It was not as though the sea itself were cursed, yet there was something about those waters that had always inspired unease.

"Count Rubenhart, have you heard anything concerning your seas?" Kaliantha asked, watching him closely.

Of course, the Dark Blue Seas did not belong to Ulrich personally. Still, as a provincial lord whose territory bordered the edge of the Kingdom, far more responsibility fell upon him than upon most nobles. The coasts, the harbors, the merchant vessels, the fishing ships, the patrol routes, such matters inevitably concerned him. It was his duty to ensure that no outside threat could easily breach Skargardia through his shores.

And if Demonic signatures had truly appeared there, then the matter was grave.

Should Demons approach Skargardian territory and land through the coasts connected to Rubenhart lands, Ulrich would naturally be the first one blamed.

Under Kaliantha’s piercing stare, Ulrich showed almost no hesitation before answering.

"That is news to me, Your Majesty. May I ask where this information comes from?" He said calmly.

"Reliable and trustworthy informants," Kaliantha replied. "One of our traveling ships was destroyed, and among the twenty-five deceased, the body of a Demon was recovered."

"W—Wait... a Demon?" Ashara exclaimed, unable to hide her concern.

Demons were regarded everywhere as a serious and ancient threat. The memory of the five hundred years of enslavement, during which humanity had suffered most terribly had left scars on the minds of all peoples. Even after a thousand of years, the very mention of Demons was enough to awaken unease.

Kaliantha gave a small nod.

"That close to Skargardia..." Ashara muttered in shock.

Indeed, the lands of the Demons lay far to the southeast of the known world, while Skargardia stood much farther to the northwest. There was a great distance between the two. For a Demon to be found in the Dark Blue Seas, so far from its own domain, could not be dismissed as some random coincidence. If one had truly appeared there, then there had to be intent behind it.

And that made the matter far worse.

This was no minor rumor either. From Kaliantha’s own words, one of Skargardia’s ships had already been destroyed, and more than twenty lives had been lost.

Ulrich narrowed his eyes slightly.

Was that really them?

At the very least, he truly knew nothing about such an incident. He had not lied when he said the news was new to him.

But still...

He slowly raised his gaze to Kaliantha’s heterochromatic eyes.

Her stare was sharp.

Far too sharp.

For a brief moment, Ulrich wondered whether she suspected him.

It was difficult to tell. In the novel, Kaliantha had not appeared for very long. Her role had been significant, but brief.

Demons would eventually assassinate her.

Ulrich’s eyes widened by the slightest fraction.

Had she been killed because she discovered something about him?

It was only a guess. In the novel, her assassination had been mentioned, but the true reasons behind it had remained obscure.

Or perhaps it did.

He did not remember every Chapter of that novel, after all. There were gaps, entire sections lost to time and indifference.

To begin with, he had never even been a reader by nature.

The only reason he had ever picked it up at all was because of Faith.

Ulrich narrowed his eyes again, just slightly, and fixed his gaze back on Kaliantha.

As for why he instinctively recognized her as someone not to be trifled with, that understanding came entirely from personal experience. He had met her only a handful of times throughout his life, yet each encounter had been enough to confirm the same conclusion: her appearance was deceptively delicate. Everything else about her was not.

"I will reinforce the patrols along my seas," Ulrich said.

"As Lord Rubenhart should," she replied, before letting a brief pause to settle over the room. "The construction of the Seven Pillared Bridges will be commencing soon enough."

"The Seven Pillared Bridges?" Ashara repeated, her eyes widening slightly. "Is that the reason we were all summoned here?"

Kaliantha gave a single, composed nod.

"Among other matters, yes. I am seeking the full cooperation of Arcadia," she said. "The talks held ten years ago collapsed, but a great deal has changed since then. The threat of the Demons has become very real. Attempting to block or delay this initiative under the guise of economic and independency concerns would be nothing short of willful stupidity," she said coldly, her mismatched eyes staring at Ashara.

The main reason those earlier talks had broken down was Arcadia’s steadfast refusal to participate. To the great independent nation of Arcadia, joining such an initiative meant entangling themselves in the affairs of Skargardia and other foreign Kingdoms, something Arcadia had always been deeply reluctant to accept, guarding its political independence above all else.

"I do not need to remind Arcadia," Kaliantha continued, her tone sharpening further, "that the Demon lands of Shitanmara lie closest to your borders. When the Demons have recovered enough strength and finally march, it will be Arcadia that falls first."

Ashara’s hands tightened into fists on her lap. She had no rebuttal to offer. Kaliantha’s words were hard but uncomfortably true.

It was precisely this inevitability that had given birth to the Seven Pillared Bridges.

The plan was Kaliantha’s own. What had once begun as a rough draft, a defensive proposal designed to shield Skargardia’s borders, had been meticulously developed over the years into something far grander in scope. In its fully realized form, it was a sweeping, ambitious initiative designed to completely seal off and isolate the Demon lands of Shitanmara from every other Kingdom in the known world, cutting off any viable route of invasion before it could ever begin.

The Seven Pillared Bridges, naturally, were intended to be built directly beneath the borders of Arcadia. This was not because Kaliantha harbored any deep-seated love for the Arcadian nation, far from it. Rather, she was one of the few who truly understood the severity of the Demon threat. She knew with certainty that if Arcadia fell, Skargardia would rapidly follow.

Unfortunately, the strategic stretch of sea directly below Arcadia belonged entirely to them. Kaliantha could not simply sail in and construct a massive fortification right under their noses without sparking a war. Thus, she needed their authorization and their understanding.

This time, however, her proposal was finally going to be accepted. Ulrich knew this for a fact because he remembered the plot of the novel. The Seven Pillared Bridges would be built, though not quite to completion, from what he vaguely recalled and the peace it provided would not last long due to a cascade of inevitable future incidents.

"We understand the threat, Your Majesty. Believe me," Ashara said, placing an earnest hand over her heart.

"It has only taken Arcadia ten years. I suppose I should be relieved," Kaliantha said drily.

Ashara did not offer a defense. It was blatantly obvious that some recent, unmentioned event within Arcadia had finally forced them into this sudden reconsideration of the Queen’s plan.

"Nothing must be allowed to hinder the construction, and the surrounding waters must be strictly surveyed," Kaliantha said, turning her gaze back to Ulrich.

Ulrich nodded silently in acknowledgment.

With that, the core of their discussion seemed to reach its end. Ulrich and Ashara stood up simultaneously, preparing to depart, when Kaliantha’s voice stopped them once more.

"Have you perhaps learnt the true identities of the three witches you have adopted, Count Rubenhart?" She asked suddenly.

Ulrich froze mid-step and slowly turned around.

Ashara whipped around as well, her eyes wide with total shock. She had been out of the loop regarding Ulrich’s recent actions, and hearing the Queen casually mention that he had officially adopted three witches was shocking.

It was too shocking even!

She stared at Ulrich, her mouth completely agape.

"Is there something regarding them that I should be worried about?" Ulrich asked, ignoring Ashara’s gaze.

Kaliantha gave him a long, hard stare.

"I return the question to you, Count Rubenhart," she said.

"They are now members of my House. They fall under my responsibility and my laws. Nothing will happen," he said. Without waiting for a dismissal, he turned on his heel and strode out of the room.

Ashara remained frozen for a second longer before quickly spinning around to chase after him.

Ulrich walked briskly down the grand corridors, his expression carefully blank, but Ashara was struggling to keep up, her mind still reeling from the revelation.

"Ulrich!" She called out, but he refused to stop, or even slow his pace.

"Ulrich!"

Refusing to be ignored, Ashara picked up her skirts, breaking into a light run until she caught up to him, grabbing hold of his sleeve.

When Ulrich finally stopped and turned to look at her, she hesitated for a brief moment before speaking.

"Y—You adopted Witches?" She asked, her voice tinged with disbelief.

"I did," he said, confirming it.

"W—What about what happened to your mother? I mean, Ulrich, do not do anything stupid!" She said.

"Stupid? Care to explain what you mean?" Ulrich asked, his eyes narrowing slightly.

"Um... what exactly are you planning to do with them?" Ashara asked, her voice trembling slightly. Deep down, she was terrified that he had only adopted the girls so he could legally torture them as vengeance for his mother’s death. Knowing Ulrich’s reputation, the thought was not entirely unfounded, and she wanted to prevent him from crossing that line.

Rather why did he even adopt them if it was to torture them! It was confusion for her so she wanted to know what he was planning.

"What I do with them is my own business," he replied sharply, trying to turn away again, but Ashara only tightened her desperate grip on his arm.

Annoyed, Ulrich suddenly pulled his arm forward. The sharp motion caught Ashara entirely off guard, unbalancing her as he crowded her backward, pinning her lightly against the corridor wall.

"W—What...?" Ashara flinched, her breath catching as she suddenly found herself pressed against the stone, with Ulrich leaning in closely, his hand loosely trapping her arm against the wall.

"W—What are you doing—"

"Ashara," Ulrich cut her off.

Ashara gulped, staring up into the depths of his dark red eyes.

"You are being a bother," he said.

Ashara froze entirely, her lips parted in stunned silence.

Releasing her arm, Ulrich stepped back and calmly walked away.

It took a few seconds for Ashara’s brain to restart. When it did, her face instantly flushed burning red.

"Y—You are calling me a bother?!" She shrieked, her voice suddenly echoing loudly down the entire length of the royal corridor. "Who was the one who grabbed my hand when we were ten, crying and telling me he would never leave me, and begging me to never leave his side either? Huh?!"

The royal knights and courtiers lingering nearby all froze, turning simultaneously to stare in deep, awkward silence at the furiously flushed, screaming noblewoman.

Ashara realized what she had just yelled in the middle of the Royal Palace. Her face somehow burned even hotter. She clenched her fists tightly at her sides.

’Who cares!’

Stomping her foot against the marble floor, she spun around and stormed off in the opposite direction.