"By the way, Patricia, do you know anything called the secret name?"

On the carriage heading to the castle, Ronald suddenly recalled what he heard from Luna last night as he watched the street scene pass by.

Although Patricia didn't carry the airs of nobility, her identity was clear.

She, with such a status, might know something.

Unfortunately, Ronald's guess was somewhat mistaken; Patricia reacted similarly to him when she first heard the term, showing a look of confusion:

"Secret name?"

"What is that? A code used by some organization?"

"I'm not sure either." Ronald shrugged helplessly, "I heard it here in [Nikos]. It's because I don't know the specifics that I wanted to ask you."

Patricia: "Sorry, I'm completely unaware of this too."

"..."

At this point in the conversation, Ronald had essentially given up on delving into the concept of 'secret name.' Since it wouldn't have any impact, he saw no need to dwell on it.

But just a few seconds later, the driver in front driving the carriage turned back to talk to them.

"Sir, the secret name is a custom here."

"If you don't mind my lowly status, I can tell you its meaning."

Most of the rental carriages on Nikolan's streets had open cabins.

Coupled with the slow speed on the streets, the driver easily overheard Ronald and Patricia's conversation from the front.

Ordinarily, the driver might have already struck up a conversation with the passengers.

However, he knew these passengers planned to head to the King's castle, which made him speak so cautiously.

Ronald naturally didn't care about status, so he promptly asked the driver for advice.

Thus, the storytelling began on the carriage heading toward the castle.

"Sir, the secret name is a tradition around [Nikos]. We usually have at least two names: one is the name used externally; the other is known only to immediate family and oneself, shared only with people one is very close to, and that is the so-called secret name."

People very close...

Numerous things flashed through Ronald's mind in an instant, but he quickly dismissed these chaotic thoughts and continued probing into the matters involving the secret name:

"You said earlier that people here usually have at least two names?"

"Indeed." The driver nodded and then explained, "Besides the given name and secret name, there's also the church name bestowed by the church, the secret name from the godfather, or an alias given by a superior."

"Here in [Nikos], those with some experience generally have quite a few names. Just like me, I usually use the name Xike when working as a driver."

"..."

The driver's narrative clearly carried a tone of pride throughout.

Locals seemed very satisfied with this tradition of having multiple names, not concerning much about the potential trouble.

Besides all that.

Ronald did affirm one thing.

The Countess he once befriended in Springs only used her [Letitia] name externally, revealing quite a lot from this.

Another period passed, and the carriage brought Ronald and Patricia before the King's castle.

After paying the driver a generous reward as a token of gratitude.

Ronald looked up to examine the building before him, quickly noticing some differences.

Firstly, the initial purpose for constructing this castle was definitely not for the royal family's residence, as it included docks, an underground prison, and ordinary residential areas.

If one had to make a judgment.

This seemed more akin to a fortress capable of handling wars, unlike palace-type buildings Ronald had seen before.

Moreover, gazing around.

If one paid closer attention, one would notice significant disparities in the degree of wear and tear between the castle's edge and the city's buildings—the castle was obviously established much earlier, possibly over a hundred years ago.

With these two pieces of information, the past about this 'royal city' unfolded before Ronald's eyes.

Long before Nikolan, or the Nikos Empire emerged.

The ruler's earliest ancestor likely occupied the castle first, then gradually developed it into a national-scale city and outer district.

"Ronald, what are you looking at?"

"We ought to go inside."

Just as Ronald was lost in thought about these matters, Patricia called him back.

As he smiled at the swordsman girl, Ronald immediately followed her.

Entering the castle went smoothly.

Due to the interior of the building being so well-furnished, this side of Nikos royalty actually invited various esteemed guests from Gridde to stay here, plus Patricia had come here yesterday and today.

After a few simple questions, she and Ronald successfully entered the castle.

Passing through the main gate, the first thing in sight was a square transformed from a market. At this moment, knights belonging to the royal family were training here, and servants were moving supplies around.

Looking at the square's surroundings, the former residential buildings were simply modified, becoming living quarters for castle servants and guards.

And although many people worked for the guests.

The day-to-day activities inside the castle remained unchanged despite the arrival of guests from Gridde.

Moving beyond the square, the buildings there were more luxurious than those at the entrance.

Some of the visibly different decorative styles could be seen.

And here, Patricia stopped, then smiled and explained to Ronald:

"Ronald, this is the accommodation area where Nikos hosts foreign guests."

"As for me, I am staying in the red house on the left with His Highness; we've reserved a spot for you as well, alongside Costate…"

"Sir, you've finally arrived!"

Suddenly, Patricia's introduction was interrupted.

From the direction the swordsman girl pointed, Ronald's maid burst out of the house, then immediately approached Ronald to bow in greeting.

Ronald looked toward a distant direction.

He noticed that the knights from Nikos seemed very tense.

They knew this was a guest from Gridde, aware of the powerful strength these guests possessed, so they couldn't carelessly handle any situation they faced.

"..."

"Costate, I'm here."

Ronald apologizedly nodded to the knight, then smiled as he greeted the maid.

However, he never anticipated.

After a mere greeting upon meeting, Costate hit him with some serious news.

After greeting, the maid knelt on one knee on the ground, then tensely reported:

"Costate... Costate presumptuously made some decisions for you yesterday."

"I hope you can listen to my report now!"