“I am Duchess Grishen of House Ladel. The woman who founded my line has a hundred times the grit and determination that I did. She was a [Paladin]. A farmer’s daughter, if that makes you feel better. No royal blood for me. And every [King] was a commoner, once.”

Ladel. Cara’s head rose slowly. Grishen went on, oblivious.

“Arteis was her name. By valor she won her noble title. She fought against the Goblin King of her age—

slew a damned Goblin Lord. There are stories about her battling Dragons, even travelling to Rhir to stem the blighted land’s corruption herself. She was the first of House Ladel. May I be nothing less. And may you find a bit of courage to follow her.”

She turned and left before Cara could make her mouth work. Cara felt her heart beating. The too-warm covers. But she also remembered the tomb.

The words on the grave. Cara put her head in her hands. What—what was she doing? Why was she giving up now? She felt the heat in her body fading. Her headache subsiding.

As if by magic.

Arteis Ladel. Her legacy had lived on. Grishen couldn’t have known how much that meant to Cara. Her ancestor had lost everything and walked through it.

“I…”

Cara coughed. Then she pushed the blankets off her. Her—fever had broken? How? She felt at her face.

No longer flushed. Her headache was gone. She wasn’t ill. What had happened? What had—

“Oh.”

[One True Falsehood]. Cara blinked and felt at herself. It had to be that. Had she—? Yes.

She was ashamed. And thirsty. Cara stood up. She had to get a drink of water. And sing. Sing—Grishen was right about that. Just—Cara would never be heroic. But she could pretend to be, even if it was just a thousandth of the courage Idelt and Violetta had.

——

It was dark. The keep was silent. Outside, the sounds of combat went on. But at least inside…Cara found the interior well, drew a bucket, and drank greedily. Her thirst quenched, she sighed.

“Level 18. Didn’t Dalius say each ten levels was special?”

Maybe she’d reach Level 20 by the time the siege ended. Cara couldn’t imagine what Skill would be better than the [Song of Rejuvenation]. But she’d try. She’d try and believe in miracles. Rescue—that wasn’t hard to believe. An army for a [Princess]…

Cara felt something run through the ground.

Thump.

It was like a jolt throughout her body. Her heart leapt with the tremor. Cara froze. What on earth was that?

Thump.

A…sound. No, an impact. But—Cara felt the hairs on her body rising. She felt it, instinctively.

Something was coming. The sound was familiar. Cara ran up the steps. She heard the horns began to blow, the drums sounding a full alarm from the walls. From every direction.

“Cara?”