"I'm happy that you all could join me today"
A women sat at the head of the table speaking to a group of 4 people. Each of them wore fancy accessories as well as proper noble attire, each of them had their left hand in a fist pressed against their chest as they bow to the person at the head of the table.
"I wouldn't miss a call from you even if I was being tortured in hell my lady"
"Of course your highness, it would be disrespectful to ignore your call"
"The day I accepted the title of Baron I swore to be at your beck and call my lady. Please ask of me anything and it shall be done"
"Excuse my abruptness but what is this about my lady?"
The first one to spoke was a green haired skinny man, he had a respectful look on his face but it felt very fake to the rest in the room. Many of them already knew some of the shady things this man has done, one such person in the room was actually his partner.
The next one was a man who looked like he spent more time eating then training. His body was not what a martial artists should look like. Instead he had a body that many would call a dad bod, he had brown hair and brown eyes besides his figure nothing really stood out.
The third one to speak was a beautiful women, she wore a red chinese style dress that hugged her body leaving little to the imagination. Her hair was black with red strips in it, her eyes a glowing purple. The look she gave the people in the room was filled with confidence as she bowed to the head of the table.
The last one was also a man however he looked like a beggar in nobles clothes! He had shaggy brown hair with stubble covering his face, when he thought no one was looking he would even sneak sips out of his flask before getting glared at by the head, the beautiful women in a red dress and the dad bod noble.
The green haired noble didn't care what he did as long as their relationship hadn't dragged him down.
"I have gathered the 4 baron families for a task, I want you to send silver-gold rank martial artist on the trip to the Star Light Mountains, of course the students from Apex Academy must not know that the individuals are associated with us until the test is over. I don't care who you send but just remember, my daughter is going on this trip as well"
The moment she began to talk about her daughter a wave of energy filled the room. It had weighed down on every single noble in the room. This was clearly a threat, if they were to overstep their bounds they knew a punishment worse then death would befall them.
The other women in the room quickly spoke up.
"W-wait your majesty… why let such shady characters as those two in on this! If you had come to me personally I would have immediately gave you full control of my people… forgive me but I don't see a reason to allow Peter and Richard to join this test…"
The fat noble spoke up soon after.
"I agree! Allow me to gather my people your majesty… I'm sure that they will get the job done without anything going wrong!"
Both of the trouble makers kept their mouth shut, they really didn't want to send out some of their people just for some test.
"No, all of you will send 1 person each. They must be within silver-gold rank, there is a certain boy my father picked up 3 years ago. I want to test him, currently he has a complicated relationship with my daughter Kaylee and I would like to test him to see if he is worthy of her."
The women sitting calmly in front of all four figures had a royal attire on. She wore a crown but she looked more like a warrior then a queen at the moment. She wore plate armor inscribed with highly complex runes with a sword at her side.
The dress under the armor was similar to Kaylee's, it was a purple dress with the same hair. She looked like a much more mature and serious Kaylee with long hair.
""Yes My Lady""
Everyone said at the same time, some of them didn't like this situation however they didn't have a choice.
"Jasmine, Brian, please stay for a moment if you don't mind"
Seeing this as the other two's que to leave they got up and started to talk amongst themselves as they leave the building.
"Do you have more orders my lady?"
"Yes, I'll be sending a 4 star black gold rank expert to watch over the test. They will step in if anything goes to far, I want you to inform your trusted people to watch out for those from the sloth and greed factions. If they use this test to attack Kaylee then we will gather our forces and eradicate them. Take this time to prepare for a potential civil war between our dynasty and the seven deadly sins factions!"
This was not only a test but a trap! If the factions make a move to kill the princess instead of testing Ryder then they will have fallen for her trap and would give her a reason to move to attack them head on!
"I will prepare everything I can! If they want to go against her majesty then I'll be the first one on the battlefield ready to cut off their heads!"
The women was very passionate and very dedicated to the Dynasty. She had an intense loyalty to the crown that she would even give her life for the Queen if she asked for it.
"Good, now go. I still have work that needs to be done"
The last 2 left the room leaving the Queen alone as she pulls out a crystal from her armor.
"Yeah? What is it mom, I'm kinda in the middle of som-"
The person on the other end was cut off before they could get another word out.
"Return to Thousand Star City by tonight. Your sister Kaylee needs your help, if I don't see you by tonight I will send you off to The Azure Sky Spirit Sect to get married to their young master"
Before the person on the other side of the call could speak the Queen disconnected from their call forcing the other to sit there in frustration.
———
"Alright everyone! Did you pack what you needed for our trip? I hope everyone prepared accordingly because we will be there for 1 week"
Each of them had been lining up to get on carriages prepared for them, of course some had their own carriages like Kaylee or Jacob. However Jacob had joined Ryder and Kaylee not wanting to be bored out of his mind alone in a carriage for a couple hours.
"Hello! Sorry if I'm interrupting, but would you be ok with me joining you on your ride? It seems like the rest of the carts are already taken"
Kaylee had examined the person silently as Ryder and Jacob look back at her wondering what she would do.
The person standing at the door was a tall thin women with red hair and purple eyes. She seemed very prim and proper as she stood there waiting for their answer.
"Sure you can! It would be a little weird if all I did was hang out with boys right?"
This was obviously a joke but Kaylee wasn't actually laughing to it. Instead she faked it while examining the women carefully before she noticed something protruding out of her pocket in the shape of a badge which eased her a little.
"Thank you Lady Kaylee, it's a pleasure to make your acquaintance Jacob Fireseed, Ryder Night. My name is Elena Day, I hope to learn more about you all during this trip!"
"Happy to have you Elena, it seems like you already know our names so tell us about yourself? You a student at Apex? Or are you a teachers aid like Crystal?"
"No I have long since graduated sadly, I am not a teachers aid either. I am just someone who was hired by the school to protect the students if they need it during the test"
They had begun to talk as Ryder watched the women with a weary look in his eyes. He didn't know if he could trust her after little golds words.
"Hey brat, that girl. She's a gold rank martial artist, she has already lied to all of you a couple times in the last few minutes. Watch out I don't need you dying right after we just signed our contract!"
'This boy hadn't stopped looking at me for even a second after I introduced myself… looks like he's more cautious then I thought. Good, that is a good quality to have in a knight who's duty is to protect the Royal assigned to them'
Soon they had left Apex Academy forming a line of carriages on the main road as they head out.