Three weeks after their letter informing the near end of their military campaign, Ingrissia was still at the center of shocking news that shook the entire continent.

  The kingdom of Darshelm, one of the pillars of the middle kingdoms, had just fallen.

  Despite a warning a week earlier, the kingdom of Ingrissia took only two weeks to bring down Darshelm.

  The news spread like wildfire, unsettling several neighboring kingdoms.

  By deploying only 20% of his troops and four of his six Swords, Ingrissia had demonstrated unparalleled power, annihiating all of Darshelm's strategic points.

  The assault was so brutal that the entire royal lineage of Darshelm was destroyed. But some doubts remained around the seventh prince, whose body was never found. But quickly, everyone came to the same conclusion: his body, reduced to ashes, had vanished into the crows' feast during the fall of the capital.

  But that wasn't all. An even more surprising rumor spread.

  Rumor had it that King Raphael himself had set foot on the battlefield, and a single night, he had overturned the capital of Darshelm with his own hands, leaving behind smoking ruins and corpses drowned in the rain.

  Faced with such a rumor, several kingdoms of the continent reacted in panic. Some kingdoms strengthened their borders, waiting for the date promised by Ingrissia to end their war. Others, more cautious, immediately sent emissaries loaded with gifts and gold, hoping to flatter Ingrissia's court and forge ties with its royal family.

  Several whispers crossed the continent, saying: Ingrissia is certainly the most powerful kingdom among the four great powers of the continent.

  Ingriss Territory - The Family Estate :

  The midday sun bathed the south garden with a bright light. The perfectly trimmed hedges drew green corridors between the flower beds. The birdsong mixed with the crystalline whisper of a carved fountain, while the light breeze made the petals dance.

  Between the stone-paved paths, gardeners moved silently, trimming hedges and arranging new plants, while maids passed discreetly, carrying trays and linens. Not far away, knights patrolled with discipline, their regular steps blending with the song of the birds perched in the trees.

  In the center of the garden, under a clear pavilion, Anna, the great matriarch of the Ingriss family, sat there. She wore a simple dress, a slightly pearly white that fell gracefully up to her ankles. A black cape rested on her shoulder, carefully draped to conceal her missing right arm, and a white eye patch covered his right eye.

  In her left hand, she held a delicately hand-maded porcelain cup. She sipped her tea in small, measured sips, while the light caressed her white hair. Her gaze was sometimes lost on the flight of the birds, sometimes on the fountain that flowed gently in front of her. At sixty-six, despite her features, she still radiated an imposing dignity, an aura of natural command that permeated everything that surrounded her.

  Soon, a group of five knights advanced into the garden. They were not dressed in armor, but in the military uniform of the Ingriss. Four of them wore fitted black uniforms. The black of their uniforms was edged with silver trim, highlighting every seam. From their shoulders flowed long, elegant white capes, embroidered in gray with the emblem of House Ingriss. In their hands, all wore silver gloves, a visible sign of their unwavering oath to the Ingriss. Their steps were heavy, but perfectly synchronized, each movement reflecting the discipline of their rank.

  At the head of this group was a woman wearing a white uniform perfectly adjusted to her waist. On his shoulders fell an elegant black cape, with the symbol of the Ingriss engraved in gold. She walked with a quiet authority. His black hair, streaked with silver locks, framed a face slightly marked by the years, but whose eyes had lost none of their radiance. His straight and firm approach imposed silence and respect. Unlike the others, his hands were covered with black gloves, a distinctive symbol of his superior rank.

  Arriving a few steps from Anna, the knights stopped with the same movement. Their capes floated slightly under the effect of the wind, revealing the emblem that linked them to the Ingriss. Then, in perfect synchronization, they bowed. The woman who was at the head of the group put one knee on the ground, her steady voice broke the silence of the garden.

  "We salute the Great Matriarch," she said in a calm and firm tone.

  "We are here to report to you. "

  Anna gently rested her cup on the marble table in front of her. His calm gaze, rested on the woman on her knees in front of her. The garden seemed to freeze, and the noises became distant.

  "Speak," she simply said, in a calm tone.

  The woman raised her head slightly, without daring to meet her gaze.

  "As you ordered, we sent knights to support the royal knights. Thanks to your command, we swiftly eradicated the noble houses of Darshelm. "

  "On top of that, the research team seems to be back with concrete results this time. They discovered two women in a secluded tavern in the kingdom of Malgasia. According to what I heard, one of them had a strange reaction to the sight of the sword you had entrusted to us... but our knights stopped her when she tried to take the younger one and flee."

  Hearing this, Anna's heart began to beat harder, but her expression remained unchanged.

  She nodded, and ordered all the knights to leave, except for the commander whom she ordered to sit across from her.

  As everyone carried out her orders, she looked up at the clear sky, where the clouds passed slowly.

  And in a calm and peaceful voice she says:

  "You know Jariah... since I took you under my wing, I've grown a special affection for you, to the point I see you almost as my own daughter. "

  The woman in front of Anna left a slight smile on her lips following the latter's sentence.

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  "It is an honor for me to be considered as such in your eyes, Great Matriarch... or maybe I should call you master." she said in a calm and tender voice.

  { The woman sitting in front of Anna was called Jariah Lanslot.

  As a child, she had been taken in by the great matriarch herself, who had always felt a deep affection for beings with extraordinary talent. From a simple orphan, she then became her third disciple. And thanks to that rare spark in her blood, she climbed the ranks at a lightning speed, until she reached the rank of black knight in the Ingriss house.

  Becoming a Black Knight meant more than swearing an oath. It meant erasing one's own existence, abandoning his name and history to live only for the Ingriss lineage. It was such a great honor that, even after their death, the names of the black knights were engraved in one of the stones of the family mausoleum, in recognition of their actions.

  In the history of the Ingriss, the black knights are the most powerful knights.

  Where entire armies failed, they marked the history of the continent with their blood and sweat.

  Among the new generation of black knights were those who, alongside Anna Ingriss, eliminated a dozen monsters of calamity rank that had left the black forest to devastate the continent.

  They rank among the most powerful on the continent, living nightmares to all who face them.

  And among them were Jariah Lanslot.}

  Anna let a short silence hover, her left eye staring at the sky for a moment longer, before landing on Jariah.

  His soft voice, but loaded with this authority that was his own, resounded:

  "Well Jariah, can you tell me how are your children? "

  A tender burst passed through Jariah's eyes. His lips stretched slightly into a discreet smile.

  "They are doing well, Mistress. My eldest daughter has just joined the Order of the Death Wolves. She trains rigorously and hopes to learn more by joining this order constantly exposed to danger... but I don't worry about her because I know what she's worth."

  "As for my son... he has an immense talent, but makes no effort to exploit it. He just uses his talent without making more effort. I forcibly sent him to the academy, hoping that with all the talents of the academy, he will finally wake up. "

  Anna sketched a weak, almost imperceptible smile.

  "Your children are remarkable. If I remember correctly, your daughter is only twenty-one years old and your son is twelve. You can be proud of your children Jariah, they are strong. And above all don't worry about your son, I'm sure that at the academy he will awaken his potential. "

  Jariah smiled slightly, then answered calmly:

  "Thank you for your compliments Mistress. I also hope that thanks to the academy, my son will finally have a click in is head."

  Anna gently took her cup of tea and took a sip, before resting it calmly on the marble table.

  And in a calm tone, she says:

  "By the way, Jariah, you see, I need to tell you something important..."

  "... I feel my time is running short."

  Jariah tightened, her eyes looking at her master's face.

  And a silence heavier than any order she had given fell.

  After some seconds, Anna continued, in a calm voice, but tinged with a slight fatigue:

  "The power of the Ingriss and the draconian power... these two powers within me are locked in constant conflict. I knew that much later that I would have had to awaken the power of my lineage before accepting the draconian power. The draconian power is slowly eating away at me, while my power constantly regenerates me, but unfortunately the draconian power is beginning to take over my power."

  She looked down for a moment, her white hair sliding on her face slightly marked by the years.

  Then she looked up, then calmly resumed:

  "I am already seventy-one years old, and all the suffering I put on my body in my youth is finally catching up with me."

  " I believe I may have twenty years left, but I am content with my life… I managed to restore the Ingriss' reputation as much as I could, and I also have extraordinary children." she added in a tender tone, while looking at the scars on her left hand.

  A heavy silence settled between them, only troubled by the breath of the wind that agitated their hair.

  Jariah clenched her fists lightly on her knees, her black gloves creaking.

  "Master... your words hurt me. I cannot understand your feelings, but I assure you that you are the greatest of the Ingriss, and that your name will survive well beyond the centuries. "

  Anna looked up, a slight smile appearing on her lips.

  "It's nice Jariah, but history remembers Ingriss women far more powerful than me. Today, what matters to me is that the glory of the Ingriss crosses the ages again. And my role in all this will soon come to an end. "

  She took a break, and calmly got up from her chair. Despite his age, his figure always imposed an authority that no one would dare to contest.

  "Lead me to the women the research team captured," she ordered in a firm voice.

  His gaze became more intense, charged with an expectation that decades of patience had not erased.

  "Perhaps at last… I will find the one I have sought for so long."

  Jariah immediately got up, put his fist on his chest and tilted his head with respect.

  "As you order, Mistress. "

  With a wave of her hand, Anna recalled the four knights who had remained on the back.

  She entered the alley lined with flowers, her black cape floating behind her like a faithful shadow.

  At his side, Jariah walked with a sure step, while the knights closed the march.

  Thus, the great matriarch descended into the depths of the estate.

  There, in the shadows below, awaited an existence whose revelation could shatter the balance of the Ingriss.