It's been a year since Sena became the Kingdom's assassin. She gained the Generals' trust and they acknowledge her in terms of skill.

In a year, not only did she became the Kingdom's assassin but she served as a spy. It wasn't announced publicly and is only known to important people who serves the King. But Sena was known to Pars from a different title.

According to Lord Vahriz, Sena was considered an asset to the Kingdom and she doesn't need to be ashamed or be intimidated around Marzbans, Generals, Counts, and Nobles.

The thought to be an asset for Pars made her feel warm.

Lord Vahriz was like an uncle to Sena and Daryun didn't mind if it seemed that way. With Vahriz being Sena's mentor, he would also scold her strictly whenever she does something wrong. Once, he even slapped her because Sena talked back to the Queen. Still, Sena and Vahriz' relationship remains steady.

Sena discards her facade whenever she's with the court or the people she considered close with. The people who serves the Royal Family got to know who she really is. It was uncomfortable for both Sena and the people because her real self was the opposite of what she showed the first time around.

The true Sena makes fun of people, who does a mischievous smile a lot to annoy everyone. She's still blunt when talking about death and killing. From being a Freelancer, she has the habit of not caring for almost everything and sees the benefits of something good and bad.

During the one year of serving the Royal Family, she moved out of the castle for it was inappropriate but mainly because Sena didn't really like staying there. The castle is supposed to be the Royal Family's residence along with their servants, she thought. The King was delighted that she finally left the castle.

As a Freelancer, she is always busy and she would be in and out of Ecbatana. And it was hard when the King needs Sena to gather intel from the enemy Kingdom or to assassinate someone whenever she was in the middle of doing a job. Whenever she was late to respond to Andragoras, punishment or scolding was inevitable.

She tells herself to fix her priorities but never does anything about it.

The neighboring Kingdoms won't dare to invade Pars for some quite time because of the Kingdom's strength. Because of this, Sena won't be able to join major battles and wars but she did join one of the King's campaign and other raids to expand Pars.

Sena arrived at the castle after finishing a job as a Freelancer. The soldiers greeted her and bowed, acknowledging her presence. The brunette nods in return.

It became a habit to see Prince Arslan every time she came back from a job, so she wanted to see him right away. Guessing that His Highness was practicing with Lord Vahriz, she went to the practice grounds. She was right, the both of them were sparring and Lord Vahriz was strict as ever. He doesn't let Prince Arslan win even for a single time.

"Lord Vahriz, give His Highness a chance." Sena called out, smiling.

Vahriz and Arslan looked towards her direction and the brunette greeted them with a smile.

"Sen-"

"Focus!" Lord Vahriz throws off Prince Arslan's sword and it landed far away from them. "On the battlefield, never lose focus or it'll be the death of you, Your Highness." He lectured

"I know." Prince Arslan sighs, feeling tired and uninterested in learning.

With a smile towards Sena, Lord Vahriz leaves for Arslan and Sena to talk. "We'll talk later, Sena." He called out when he was already almost out of sight.

Prince Arslan sat by the edge of a bathe and let the female servants wash his sweat with a piece of cloth. Sena smiles as she thought he was still the same.

"Made any progress with Lord Vahriz while I was gone?" Sena asked, chuckling to see His Highness' tired face.

"No..." He sighs and sounded discouraged.

"I believe in you, Your Highness. I'm sure, you'll be able to master sword fighting. Along with being a great King." The Freelancer encouraged him so he won't feel sad.

After getting washed, he stood and changed the subject. "What happened in your job to find a wife for Count Doruwa?" The Prince was lively again and was interested in Sena's quest.

"I'm not a matchmaker but I tried to search the ideal woman he was looking for. He wanted someone mature, someone of noble blood and lady-like. He even specified what appearance the woman must have. In the end, there were two possible candidates and both rejected being the Count's spouse. Because I failed to give him a wife, I wasn't payed at all. Next time he needs me, I'll make sure to make him pay me in double."

Sena talked with no formality towards Arslan, and it was normal for the both of them. Though whenever they're in a room with important people, Sena is back to speaking with formality towards Arslan.

"This is my first time hearing that you failed to complete a request."

"I don't feel bad about it. Though that man has to learn not to be picky and specific."

It was time for Prince Arslan to study, so we they said goodbyes. It was a short chat but they'll meet again later and have a longer chat this time.

As promised, Sena looked for Lord Vahriz to have a talk with him. She finds him by a gazebo in the garden, waiting patiently.

"I'm back from work, Lord Vahriz." Sena halted beside him.

Vahriz faced her and grinned, having a clear image of what had happened during her work. "How did your job go?" He still asked even if he knew the gist of what happened.

"Failed. But I don't care, what only frustrates me is that I wasted two weeks for nothing." The Freelancer sighed. She regretted accepting the job but she only took it because it came from a loyal client of hers.

"So the Blood Seeker has experienced her first failure." Vahriz chuckled, stroking his white beard.

Blood Seeker, the nickname that people gave to the person behind famous killings, Sena. Because she mostly does assassinations now, people have noticed a bloody S near corpses. Sena was called Blood Seeker because she always draw an S with blood. People also thought that "Blood Seeker" fits well, with the letter "S" for seeker and it was drawn on blood. She is know a well-known Freelancer to everyone.

Sena was delighted to have her own nickname when she found out about it.

Seeing the Queen walk by not too far away, both Lord Vazhir and Sena bend on one knee. Queen Tahamine only gives a nod and leaves, along with her servants or lady-in-waiting.

During the one year serving the Royal Family, Sena finds them odd. King Andragoras III is madly in love with Queen Tahamine but the Queen doesn't show any affection to him at all. She always stood quietly, having a stern face who always looks like she was looking at a far distance. And never did Sena see them show affection towards Prince Arslan. King Andragoras III would be strict and cold while Queen Tahamine would never change her emotionless face and voice even towards her son.

"I don't see Queen Tahamine or King Andragoras III in Prince Arlsan." Sena said bluntly and she didn't care if it sounded insulting. She expected a slap from Vahriz, but it didn't came.

"You shouldn't say that, even if no one will hear you." Lord Vahriz pointed out. He didn't sound angry and the brunette sighed in relief that he wasn't mad but she wondered why the change of heart.

"Where's Daryun?" Sena asked, she also wanted to see him.

They oddly get along well and Daryun would ask her assistance whenever he's off to Peshawar or any Parsian stronghold during the past year. Sparring with him is also something Sena would do but if it's about pure strength and skill, he definitely wins. The Black Knight doesn't mind that she uses dirty tricks during their spar as long as it isn't poison.

"Daryun's with Kharlan. The both of them are having a spar." Vahriz said. The brunette nods in response.

"Here at the castle?"

"They're at the back."

"Lord Varhiz, did you want anything from me?" Sena asked, because he looked like he wanted to tell something.

He hesitated for a while and it caught Sena's attention.

What does he want to say? Is it something important?

"You're already eighteen, I'm sure that Count Dorohan and General Kro would be happy to see how you turned out." Vahriz laughs heartily.

"I think my father, Count Dorohan, wouldn't even think that I would become someone who would kill. He might be even disappointed in me." Sena chuckled, wondering what will be the reaction of both her biological and adoptive father.

"I'll be seeing Kharlan and Daryun now. See you around Lord Vahriz!" The Freelancer dismissed herslef and ran to the back of the castle.

Lord Vahriz can't fool me.

She knew that's not what he wanted to say. Sena played along and pretended like everything was normal. Vahriz on the other hand knew he couldn't fool Sena and was glad she just went along with it, not insisting anything. It was a mistake on his part to talk about it, he should have known better. Vahriz planned on telling Sena on a later date, where she is older and closer to the Royal Capital.

Whatever it is that he's not saying, I hope he'll tell me sooner or later. Sena ignored the thought and focused on the Marzbans.

Seeing Daryun and Kharlan's battle is exciting unlike Sena and Daryun's, Sena thought. A Marzban figting another Marzban is a sight to see and she has seen a few fights of it herself. The only thing she wanted to see the most is to see the King on a real battlefield.

It would be an honor to fight with him.

Arriving at the back of the castle, Daryun and Kharlan were talking, looking tired. Both were breathing heavily. It must have been a great battle. And the both of them had no armor, adding intensity to the fight.

"I missed the entire thing?" Sena called out, approaching the two Marzbans. "I wanted to see it badly."

"You're back. Luckily, the King doesn't have any orders for you this time around." Kharlan said, wiping his sweat on his forehead with his arm.

"That's good. I wanted to rest for a bit. Traveling from one place to another is starting to tire me. It used to be fun." The brunette complained.

"Have you met His Highness?" Daryun asks, picking up his spear from the ground.

"Yes, and we talked for a short while. His Highness is busy with his lessons."

Right after saying that, Sena pulled out her dagger and aimed for Daryun's chest. Quick to response, he flashed his spear in front of her, clashing with her dagger.

"Tsk. I couldn't get you this time." Sena crossed her arms, disappointed. She thought Daryun was too tired that his quick reflexes would delay for a bit but she was wrong. His reflexes are still sharp as ever.

"Every time you meet me after coming back from a job, you'll attack me. It's easy to expect an attack from you." He lectured, telling her mistakes.

"I'm a Freelancer. I do what I want." She countered, paying no mind to his scolding.

"I don't want to be in the middle of your little argument, so I'm going to leave." Kharlan mocked, grinning.

Having nothing clever to say, Sena wasn't able to counter him. "I'm flawless, you don't have anything to say to me." He laughed while walking away.

"Did you win against him?" The brunette asked Daryun.

"It was a draw."

"Again? Are you sure you're using your full strength when fighting him?"

"It's just a mock battle, and it would be awful if we accidentally killed each other."

Daryun departed to wash himself and Sena decided to see Arslan in his lessons. Sena knows that he's trying his best and she felt that she should at least show some support.

Arslan just finished his study lesson and Sena met him at the hallway that leads to the west wing where Queen Tahamine stays. The Freelancer smiled, "So, let's continue our chat-".

Seeing King Andragoras III on the other end of the hall approaching them, Sena immediately fell on one knee.

He's most likely here to see Queen Tahamine, based from my past experiences.

He halted in front of Sena. "Lord Father, what brings you-" he only gave a glance towards Prince Arslan.

"I don't have any orders for you at the moment." He then continues heading towards the west wing. What he said was directed towards to Sena, not to Prince Arslan.

Standing up, she looked at Prince Arslan and he laughed nervously. "Let's go to town?" Sena offered so he won't think about what happened just now.

He agreed, smiling.

King Androgoras is an odd king. And Queen Tahamine is an odd queen. Is that why Prince Arslan is an odd prince?

Must a King really act so cold towards their child, the prince? He didn't even greet His Highness. What a King that I'm serving.

♔♕♖♗♘ Arslan Senki ♞♝♜♛♚

When it was almost nightfall, Sena brought the prince back to the castle. The sky was a mix of orange, red, yellow, and purple. It was a year ago when she saw the same mixture of colors. Back then, it made her feel uncomfortable but it's different now. Sena would like to see this sky almost everyday.

Prince Arslan smiles, thanking Sena for bringing him to town. He says his goodbyes and leaves her.

As Sena was about to leave the palace grounds a soldier chased after her, catching her attention. Halting to wait for the soldier to catch up, he stands straights and holds his spear straightly.

"Lady Sena, Lord Vahriz is summoning you to the court." The soldier reported.

She went directly to the court, wondering what Lord Vahriz wanted with her. Is it the thing he wanted to tell me a while ago?

Upon arriving, the doors closed. At the front is the throne, where the King is seated, and on the floor kneeling by the sides are the Marzbans and generals that are currently within Ecbatana.

In the middle is a female, kneeling to the King. Sena walks on the side while taking note of her features. Long blonde hair and grey eyes that almost looked like silver. Finding her spot beside Daryun, she kneels along with the other men. The King has started the summon without Sena and she arrived when it was already in the middle of the occasion.

"Ellia Cramen, I appoint you Royal Family's assassin." The King announced.

Sena didn't have a certain expression on her face. There was no shock, surprise, nor disappointment. These three reactions are what the men in the room were expecting from her. She gave none of that.

To Sena, it meant nothing. She didn't care if she isn't the only Royal Family's assassin anymore. It was more of a relief actually. With the new girl around, the assassinations given to Sena will lessen and it means she'll have more time to do jobs as a Freelancer.

After the announcement with the people in the court, they were free to leave. Daryun and Sena left the room side by side.

"Are you not surprised at the slightest?" Daryun asked as they walk out of the room.

"No. I was expecting something like this would happen more or less." Sena replied.

"I heard she's very strong."

"She must be, or she won't make it out alive when doing the King's tasks."

♔♕♖♗♘ Arslan Senki ♞♝♜♛♚

Ellia was known to the palace for fully infiltrating an enemy fortress and killing each and every resident in it. The lord of the fortress, his family, his soldiers, and his servants that totalled a number of no less than five-hundred. It was the King's task.

The generals and Marzbans acknowledged Ellia for her skills and how she handles a spear. She and Daryun would train and spar because they wield the same weapon.

The blonde is described to be cheerful around friends and can be clingy and overfriendly sometimes. She would do anything for fame and seduce men because of it. Unfortunately for her, the Marzbans are not interested in any women right now and some already are married. Ellia also tends to be very competitive, wanting to the best in everything. This is what causes her problems.

Wanting to be on the spotlight on everything, she'll show off or steal a kill. This causes a distortion in cooperation.

One time when the King assigned her to be under Shapur's army for a patrol on the southern border, Shapur reported that her want for fame and title almost caused the army to be defeated. They spotted Turks on the border, and because Ellia wanted the victory in her honor, she charged at them at first sight. Ellia believed that Shapur would come up with a plan to secure victory in the midst of the battle.

And the King didn't give too many tasks to Ellia, disliking her ways and techniques. Ellia is indeed strong, but she does the King's tasks only for the kill and fame of it. She didn't care if she killed someone who wasn't supposed to die. She didn't care if there was any witnesses. Witnesses meant fame after all, they're the ones who spread the stories.

Ellia even requested to be publicly announced.

Ellia and the court notices that the King doesn't send out Ellia too much, and chooses Sena instead. As months go by, Sena was the center of attention within the castle.

This caused Ellia to hate and think badly of Sena. And so, the one-sided rivalry became obvious. No one wanted to do something about it, because it was so one-sided and it's just a hassle to clear someone else's problem.

♔♕♖♗♘ Arslan Senki ♞♝♜♛♚

Three years passed since Sena became affiliated with the Royal Palace. It's year three-hundred-and-twenty, autumn.

She has served Pars as a Freelancer, spy, and assassin.

At the age of seventeen, she became the Royal Family's spy and assassin. Age eighteen, Sena became an asset to the Kingdom of Pars and a well-known Freelancer. At nineteen years old, she became known to the whole of Pars as the "Empress of a Hundred Weapons". With her current age of twenty, she has yet to have an accomplishment.

She swore loyalty to the Royal Family and to the Kingdom of Pars.

King Andragoras III, was the one who granted me with positions and titles. Lord Vahriz served me as a mentor, and he was like an uncle to me. Daryun was a friend who would take me to his battles when the opportunity comes. I look up to Prince Arslan so highly, whom I shall protect like a little brother.

Sitting on a rail along the open hallway, Sena observes Arslan as he practices with Lord Vahriz. After all this years, Prince Arslan is still the kind and timid boy she knew.

Fourteen years of age, he was still young. He has yet to live life and to ascend the throne. And Sena cannot wait for the day he becomes King and she'll make sure, he becomes King of Pars.