'This day just keeps getting better and better.'

Paige, a Warrior employed by the human border nation of Alcudia, overheard the conversations in passing as she ran toward the castle gates. After the last war against Trent, the royal family had laid out defensive lines throughout the country as a safeguard against potential invasions, as well as a stockhold for regional supplies. She was lucky in that regard that Castle Molt was designated as the temporary capital by the surviving members of the royal family, as it vastly cut down her own travel time.

She could feel the atmosphere turning worse as soldiers headed for the front lines. the marketplace was filled with families watching their loved ones leave, many who would never be returning back home.

‘What can they possibly gain by fighting us? Did the last war not teach the Demon Lord anything?’ thought Paige. ‘We have coexisted peacefully for over almost two centuries now. They should know that the neighboring countries of Appealte and the Leit Confederation would join together and repel them back to their borders.’

Although there had been rumors going around that Evidia was in a state of upheaval, no merchants or spies that she knew of were able to confirm this fact. By all regards, the Demon Lords of Trent had been unusually active the past few decades, as the growth of their economy and trade steadily grew. The surprise attack on both Evidia and the neighboring human border nation of Alcudia surprised citizens everywhere.

She slowed down as the implications of that order registered in her brain.

‘Damn it! Has the first prince gone insane! What we need now is stability, not social unrest.’

Physically, demons and humans looked the same; so how were the guards supposed to check if they are human or not? That was madness! No, she supposed that would make sense in wartime, but safety and unrest was a check and balance she would not mess with right now, not when tensions were so high.

She sped up her pace and briskly walked up the steps leading toward the castle gates. To her surprise though, the castle sentries had been replaced with the Royal Guards instead of the local militia.

‘Has the royal family finally arrived? Or have the other diplomats arrived?’

After waiting for the sentries to check her status, she strode into the parade grounds confidently, though she paused slightly at the unexpected sight in front of her. Originally, the castle was constructed with the sole purpose of having a defensible location for the local militia and as a resupply point for the army every three hundred miles. But now the open areas had been divided into three distinct sections.

Paige frowned as she took in the sight. Newly constructed houses had been built inside the castle’s parade grounds for both the diplomats and the royal family. Multiple smithies had been erected to service the weapons, the heat from the bellows could be felt all the way from the other side of the keep. Lastly, the remaining clear space was subdivided into drill grounds as multiple army divisions trained together.

‘The sentries would have announced that the diplomats have arrived, but there were already Royal Guards stationed throughout the Castle walls. That means the Royal Family should either be here or are close to arriving. I need to coordinate with one of them and figure out what truly happened in the capital.’

“Aunt Paige! Thank god for a familiar face!”

As she headed off to the castle’s keep, a familiar voice sounded out to her. Paige turned to the voice as a girl rushed over to embrace her.

“Alexandra! Where is your mom? What happened to the Queen?”

Holding her shoulders, Paige looked her up and down and realized it had been a while since she had last seen the girl, no, the young woman in front of her. Crown Princess Alexandra looked almost exactly like her mom did when she had met her, with a mixture of confidence and poise that few could match. Her hazel eyes were misty with tears though, and her brown hair was cut short above her shoulders as was custom in times of war.

“Mother and Mister Jordan were attacked after father sealed the Royal Castle’s keep. He hoped that the keep would command the enemy's full attention and would let them both escape. Captain Riley said that a pair of assassins attacked them as they left the city prior to the invasion. The, they haven’t woken from their injuries,” Alexandra said, her voice laced with melancholy.

Paige frowned at the report. She was under the impression that the Demon Lord had attacked them; not a pair of Assassins. And even then, for them to be seriously injured while surrounded by guards? "...The royal guards are trained to fight in teams of three and are known for their vigilance. Even the trainees should've been able to repel a fair-sized squad, much less a pair of assassins. Hell, Rebecca and I alone can kill assassins by the dozen."

“…they weren’t just any random grunts, Aunt Paige. Coupled with the Demon Lord attack on the city, Captain Riley is sure they were not assassins. He suspects that they have a Class. Nightwalkers. They poisoned the two of them with a single attack and left right after. He thinks they could be part of the Demon Lord’s Party,” Alexandra whispered.

“…don’t tell this to anyone who you wouldn’t trust the Kingdom to.”

"I know who I can trust. Mother trained me well in that regard."

Paige nodded, though she knew what was left unsaid. 'With both the queen and the prime minister injured, little Alex will most likely have trouble handling the diplomats. Her mother wasn't quite ready to let her deal with foreign interests alone.’

“I hope you're ready, Aunt. The foreign diplomats will be arriving soon and I may need some help pressuring them. A lot of the staff are focused on getting Castle Molt ready as the Command Center, so we'll go together.”

“We?” Paige said shocked. She hardly ever helped in political matters. But Alexandra nodded forcefully, though she could tell that Alexandra's eyes were pleading her to agree.

“You and Vanguard Tyler are the only national heroes not currently serving on the battlefield. I have decided that the two of you should be at the meeting to help represent Alcudia national interests.

"With father dead, and mother and Mister Jordan injured, I need to showcase our national power in the negotiations; else I fear that the cost to retake the country will be too high a burden for us to bear alone. Having a High Class such as yourself might be enough for me to sway the upcoming discussions in our favor.”

Her frank admission was a welcome change, though Paige knew that she had a valid point. Alexandra’s choice to include her in the talks made sense the more she thought about it.

To most of the population, having a Class meant having a defining trait; something that made you more than what you are. Since only the Gods were able to give Classes, it means that they have recognized your hard work, or maybe impressed that you survived an impossible situation. Sure, anyone could train to be a warrior. But only a few could gain the class of Warrior.

But for a country, people with true Classes were an asset; the lifeblood and backbone of a country. Therefore, a person with a Class, especially one that could benefit the country, often held more power than lower nobility. The combat-related classes were even given the title of a national hero of Alcudia.

As such, the border nation of Alcudia was held in high esteem due to the number of people and the varied amount of Classes that were affiliated with the royal family. Especially in regards to allowing any race to hold ranks within the government. Most of the other border countries shunned demons and mixed blood, favoring full humans instead, as indeed, they were part of the Human Empire.

But due to a surge in the population of demons and halves that had moved into Alcudia, no one race or class dominated another, allowing the country to have an overall balance in the types of Classes that was protecting the country, instead of just favoring one Class over another.

Paige sighed to herself. There was no way she would be able to get out of participating. Though she had to try at least try one more time.

“Alexandra, are you sure this is a good idea? You know me and Tyler have a thing going on, and he is more than able to handle political situations such as this. I mean, that was his job before he retired! He'll be able to handle something like this by himself,” Paige exclaimed tensely.

Although Paige was friends with the queen, she did not dare to dabble in national politics and she'd rather not stand out more than she already had in the past. Negotiations that could affect the entire country was deftly out of her hands.

Alexandra thought hard for a few seconds, her brows creased as she stared blankly ahead.

“I need a strongman, er woman, to back up my position. I have fallbacks for most of the situations I can think of, aunt, but mother said sometimes you need a hard fist rather than soft words.” As Alexandra said this, she turned around and started walking toward the newly built houses, her shoulders tight with tension.

Paige took a hard look at Alexandra as she walked behind her. The young woman hadn't changed her outfit; the wrinkles noticeable on the dress she was wearing. A faux pax in most situations, but she supposed the times called for it. Alexandra was shouldering a lot of responsibility in too little a time. This was not the job for a Crown Princess to handle alone. Usually, her parents or the prime minister would be able to guide her along, or at least use their own experience to probe the other country's bottom line; but that was no longer an option for Alexandra.

Paige hesitated, trying to strike a good balance between what she would be willing to commit to. “At most I can give sound advice from an adventurer's point of view. You know I never really helped your mother in politics. But Tyler should be of some help since he was the former royal guard captain and all. And make sure to call me Warrior Paige or Miss Paige when in front of the diplomats.”

“Hm?”

"You need to be in charge. Tyler and I can pressure our enemies, but you have to be the one to lead the nation now. At least until your mother or the prime minister get better."

"Aunt, they aren't our enemies. The nation needs allies."

“Bah. Who says diplomats aren’t enemies? They are one of the craftier enemies to face as well. I just hope that Tyler's political sense hasn’t totally deserted him.” Paige stopped as a random thought came to mind. "Is Captain Riley’s political acumen up to par? I don't recognize the name.”

“He's new. He was appointed by the king before mother left. His political maneuvering is not to the level of Mister Jordan, but he can manage a conversation pretty well.” Alexandra replied confidently.

“Oh, and how do you know that little Alex? Perhaps I should have a little talk with him about personal boundaries,” Paige teasingly said as she patted her friend's daughter on the shoulders.

Alexandra slightly blushed. She finally said after suitably composing herself, “Nothing has happened, aunt. We’ve just talked a bit in passing since he is my guard captain right now.”

“Nothing has happened yet, you mean.”

“Mhmm. I'll have to check him out later. And you'll have to thicken your skin for this meeting, Alexandra. Now, onto more pressing matters, tell me what your brother is thinking. Why did he issue that decree to the entire country? Killing demons at night? That's not the smartest move, especially with a good portion of our scouts are demon themselves..”

“…First Prince Daniel has been talking with the foreign dignitaries already. Brother wants their backing so that he can lead the suppression army. Or at least, he wants to lead a major portion of it himself .”

Alexandra stopped mid-stride, choosing her words carefully for her aunt.

“Although I am the Crown Princess, with father and mother incapacitated, the successor to the throne is not set in stone. Alcudia is a monarchy, so that tradition is the one card I can count on. But Daniel knows that major achievements can earn him supporters for the throne. If he can get over half the royal court to support him, they could potentially name him regent until the war is done, and from there he has a good chance of securing the throne himself.”

Alexandra started to walk faster, her tone becoming grim.

“My older brother is good with military matters, but he is ill-suited for civilian matters and worse still his advisors are all retired generals. They've been out of their office for so long they probably don't remember that the scout division is mostly demons now. I’ve already had sister Beatrice go out and reassure the masses that this order is not meant to persecute our law-abiding citizens. Hopefully, I can fix the fallout before it gets too far out of hand.”

Paige kept her face neutral, though her mood worsened as she thought of all the problems that had cropped up while she was gone.

‘Great. So now the issue is not only invading armies and diplomats but there is also a fight for succession within the royal family,' she thought to herself. She sighed as she ran her fingers through her hair. 'The things I do for my friends.’