Sören opened his eyes. He was in a very familiar location: his own bedroom. As his eyes adjusted to the light, he saw Alexamenos standing by the door, his hand resting on the handle of a sword that hung from his waist.

— Are you feeling well, master Sören? — Said a female voice.

Sören turned around to look at his female servant. She was another nameless non-Eldian to him. He nodded to her and breathed deeply. Alexamenos, hearing the servant speaking, approached Sören's bed, sporting a wide smile.

— How does it feel? Did you see one of Klaus' memories yet?

— So eager… Keep in mind that I'm still recovering. — He looked to a window, its curtain flowing with the wind. — How long did I stay unconscious?

— The sun is about halfway through its course. — The servant answered.

"Too long." — He thought. Sören sprung up from the bed and grabbed a loaf of bread the servants had prepared while he was unconscious. As he took a bite, Alexamenos laughed and exclaimed:

— Seems like you're the eager one here, boy!

— Master Sören, I urge you to consider resting a bit more, at least until dusk falls. — The servant said.

He turned his gaze towards her. She wore a grey Marleyan toga and her wavy black hair, reaching past her shoulders, flowed gently with the breeze from the window. Her body was also very shapely. "She's in fact quite charming. How come I've never noticed this?"

— Thank you for your concern, uhhh… — He gestured as if signalling for her to complete his sentence.

— Adrastia, my lord.

— Yes, Adrastia, thank you, but I'm already feeling quite well. You're dismissed.

She bowed and left the room. At first, Alexamenos looked puzzled at Sören, then his lips curled into a mischievous smile.

— Say, Sören, isn't it strange for an Eldian to wish to know the name of a slave? — He asked.

— What's wrong with that? I just paid attention to her and thought it would fit the situation to know how she's called.

— Fancying a non-Eldian, eh? — He said while poking a blushing Sören with his elbow. — I guess there's nothing wrong with that since your child will be Eldian nonetheless. Just be sure to have an official Eldian wife and leave this one as a "spare" when your lady is away.

— Didn't your people use to have slaves as well? — He asked furiously as he pointed to Alexamenos. — Until you betrayed your kingdom, weren't you doing the same as us Eldians?

— We were. Every great power does this, in this continent and everywhere else.

Sören was red with anger. He stuttered while trying to say more, but Alexamenos interrupted him.

— I only joined your people because you are powerful. I am standing in front of a god. Eldians have divine power, so they are fated to conquer.

— You're wrong… — Sören replied, clenching his fists. — You're able to kill me any time you want with that sword. I'm just like you.

— Well, I can't turn into an armoured giant, can I? — Alexamenos asked sarcastically. — My wife and children are Eldian, but I am still a Theban, despite being granted full rights by Queen Hildegard's grandfather, King Hermann.

— Enough. Leave my sight now.

— Slow down, boy. I'm a high-ranking officer. We will work together in the future and you'll need my experience.

— Is that so? Then I look forward to it. — Sören said while pointing towards the door. — Now leave.

— By Ymir, I never imagined you'd be so short tempered! You were always calm during your visits to the battlefield. Now take your time to soothe yourself! Drink some tea, look at the birds, then come talk to me.

Back at the royal castle, Hildegard was seated in front of a mirror while Octavia brushed her hair. Hildegard had asked Octavia about her daily routine and listened as she talked about it. Suddenly, she found herself in the strange land again. She looked around but saw nothing besides sand and an enormous tree of light with its many branches stretching towards the sky.

— What is this place? — She whispered to herself. — I hope there's an answer in my father's memories.

She went back to the real world. Octavia was frantically shaking her but stopped when seeing her master had regained her senses.

— What happened, my queen? You suddenly froze up and your eyes wouldn't even blink! — She said, worried.

— I don't know… Perhaps it was a side effect from inheriting a titan.

— Phew, I'm glad. — She said with a relieved voice. — By the way, my queen, I heard some talking around the castle.

— About what? — Hildegard asked curiously.

— It seems that… King Anders had a secret project, and a polymath was helping him with it. I remember hearing something about a "perfect soldier" as well.

— That is certainly strange. Well, I'll just wait to see the results.

Someone knocked at the door. Octavia opened it to see who was there. It was another servant. A bushy red moustache covered his upper lip. There was something off about his looks.

— I have come to make a delivery, my queen. — Said the man in a thick accent.

His hands were empty. Another two servants entered the room. Hildegard felt anxious, but Octavia was strangely calm. It seemed she didn't notice the strange atmosphere.

— Three empty-handed men come into my chambers to make a delivery. Isn't it unusual?

The men searched for something under Hildegard's bed. They took some swords, ropes, and crossbows, which they promptly pointed at the queen and her servant. "They hid these weapons while I was away. This was all planned."

— Calm down, my queen. The delivery is not for you.

— I can reduce you to a bloody pulp right now if I want.

The man chuckled as he prepared a rope while the other two were ready to shoot the queen with bolts.

— You would not want to. If you transform, your friend here will die in the rubble. Oh, and another thing, your mother is on the lower floor calmly drinking tea.

— You're lying.

— Do you want to risk it? Go on, turn into a monster now.

Hildegard's eyes widened. She was being kidnapped and there was nothing she could do in that moment. Octavia trembled in fear. The men shoved her close to Hildegard and tied them up together, back-to-back.

— Who would imagine we would hold a god hostage? — His companions laughed. — I know you can die with a simple slit on the throat. In the end, you are just like us.

He muffled both with pieces of cloth and said something in a foreign language to the other men. Moments later, they came back with a crate and put Hildegard and Octavia inside.

— We made sure to muffle you so that you cannot use your power to turn an Eldian into a titan. Do not make a noise inside there, or else we will kill you both. — He looked back at the other two men. — Perhaps we can even kill some more people… Your mother, some other relative of yours…

Hildegard cried tears of anger as they closed the crate. She never imagined someone could have infiltrated the royal castle so easily.