Chapter 903: Because I...
The young man didn't let the queen go without answering. He was the Royal Guard, despite being a two-star captain! He was responsible for the safety of the Queen.
The man followed the Woman inside. "Your Majesty, I'm asking you something. It might be dangerous for you to let that man go. He... He..."
"I know what I'm doing. Don't worry about me," the Queen calmly answered. "Moreover, why are you so concerned about it? It's like you're more concerned than I am. Don't worry; nothing will happen."
The lady simply turned back and disappeared, going back to her resting chamber, leaving the General behind.
There was no one with the General as he stood alone in the hallway, seemingly blank.
"Of course, I will care more about you. It's because I... Love... You." He spoke in a barely audible tone, talking to thin air. No one was here to listen to him.
No matter how many times he tried, he never had the courage of telling the truth to the Queen. In the conflict between his duty and his emotions, he selected his duty.
He was worried that if he told the truth, he might upset her. He didn't want her to think less of him. He didn't want to be removed from his position of her guard since he wanted to keep her safe at any cost.
****
Maya drove the car straight through the beautiful Royal City.
"And that's the stadium where we have different local sports tournaments." Maya pointed towards a distant arena. " It's really fun. You should attend it next time if you survive the Trial."
"If I survive?" Lucifer didn't let the word skip past him. This word had some heavy implications. He was already very suspicious about this whole thing, after all.
"Of course. Don't tell me you thought the Trial of Promotion was going to be a child's play? You'll be against the other potential Captains. In the past, there had been many who survived the trials even though they didn't win it, but there were also a few who perished trying. That's why I said if you survive..."
"What Trials are there?" Lucifer inquired.
"I honestly have no idea. As you can already guess, I haven't attended the Trials yet. My name was suggested this year, but it wasn't in the selected fifty... It's the same as the last five years. I don't know why that's the case, but I never seem to make it in the top fifty selected." A disappointed grunt left the slender lips of Maya.
"You didn't ask Joana about it? He must've gone through the Trial. And since he's already a Captain, he must've won it as well. There's no way he won't know what trials are there. Don't tell me you were never curious enough to ask him?"
"You think it's that simple? I'm not an idiot not to ask him. Unfortunately, he never answers. He just says that they were all forced to take an oath before they were allowed to leave the world of Trials."
"What Oath?"
"It was that they are never going to tell what Trials they faced. That's why he can't answer me. And I can already see that you're planning to ask him, trust me, he won't answer you either. The Oath can't be broken like this without alerting the Oathgiver," Maya further explained.
"That's why you'll have to go inside completely blind. You won't know what trials you'll have, but you won't be alone in this. Every other participant who is there won't know either," she further continued.
"Does that mean the ones who failed the Trails last time won't participate?"
"Yeah. A captain can give your name for selection as many times as they want; however, that's only for selection into the top fifty who get the black card. The only exception is that the name can't belong to a person who was given a black card before. You can only get a black card once in your lifetime," Maya answered.
"So if I fail this time, I won't get the position of Captain?" Lucifer nodded as he understood the whole thing. This also brought a smile to his lips. Since he was already a captain in the future, that means he has won.
"Not exactly. I mean, you can still become a Captain even if you lost in the trials. There are two other ways. One is based on merits. You do something so incredible that the High Council promotes you. There are quite a lot who are promoted like that," Maya responded, removing the misconception of Lucifer.
"As for the second way, it's if the Queen personally thinks that you're worth promoting for some reason. If she thinks that, she can promote someone even if that person doesn't win the trial or have any merits."
"Is that so," Lucifer muttered.
'That means it's not confirmed if I'll win the Trial or not. I can lose,' he thought, letting out a deep sigh.
He scratched the back of his head, really curious as to what he was going to face. In his curiosity, he momentarily forgot his main objective in coming here... Finding his origin.
Maya stopped the car at the entrance of the massive ship that was parked near the bridge. She sent a verification signal through the car. The door slowly opened in response.
The car entered the ship and parked in a place that was like a massive parking lot, but there was only one car there.
Lucifer and Maya stepped out of the car to find Joana already waiting for them.
"I got the news. That was fast. Congratulations on getting the clean chit, young man. That too, on the first day itself. I knew you'd come out without a scratch. I told them they were mistaken." Joana stepped closer to Lucifer and hugged him as if he was really pleased that Lucifer was safe.
Lucifer was his investment in the future, after all. Moreover, not only did Lucifer come out safely, but he also came out with a black card.
He was already planning to find a way to get Lucifer promoted, but even according to his best estimates, he could only get Lucifer an opportunity after a few years at best.
The opportunity was going to come so soon; even he couldn't have imagined.
"You and I... We have a lot to talk about." Lucifer wasn't swayed by the concerned act of Joana. It was his life that was in danger after all, not Joana's. Joana wouldn't have lost anything even if he was killed, so this act was useless for Lucifer.
"I know you will have lots of questions. Come with me, let's talk in privacy. I'll answer all your questions that I can…."