[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-journey-to-become-the-zenith":3,"chapter-journey-to-become-the-zenith-journey-to-become-the-zenith-chapter-126":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"english","Journey to Become the Zenith",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},1828463,2432,"Chapter 126: The Weight of a Crown’s Trust","journey-to-become-the-zenith-chapter-126",126,"\u003Cp>The Weight of a Crown’s Trust\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Her gaze steady.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"...I didn’t want to use this.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A quiet admission.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"...But if they push too far...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Her voice lowered, calm but carrying a sharp edge beneath it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"...Then I won’t hold back either.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Her fingers tightened slightly around the ring, the faint glint of royal engraving catching the dim light of the room.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"...Because the Queen gave me this to handle situations like this. That’s why she gave it to me.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The words settled into the room like a final verdict.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Not pride.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Not arrogance.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Just certainty.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For a moment—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>No one spoke.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Niva, Dira, and Kira’s expressions broke all at once.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"...Wait—what?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"...The Queen?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"...You’re serious?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Their eyes widened, almost comically, disbelief written all over their faces.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It wasn’t just surprise.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was shock.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The kind that made your mind go blank for a second.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Because the weight behind those words—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Was too heavy to process immediately.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When they heard Videl say that the person who gave the ring was the Queen herself, the three of them had their eyes bulging out.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If they had known this earlier—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If they had known she carried something like that—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They wouldn’t have been as tense.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As worried.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As desperate to find an escape.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Because now—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The situation looked completely different.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The air itself seemed to shift.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>What had felt like a corner—tight, suffocating, closing in—suddenly opened. Not safe, not yet... but no longer hopeless either.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even the faint sounds outside—the distant clatter of armor, the low murmurs of soldiers moving through the camp—felt different now. Less threatening. More... manageable.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But that only led to another question.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A bigger one.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Dira stepped forward first, her brows furrowed, disbelief still lingering in her voice.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"...Okay, but tell us—how did you even get that?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She wasn’t just asking out of curiosity.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>There was tension in her shoulders. Calculation behind her eyes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Because favors from the Queen weren’t handed out.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Not casually.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Not without a reason.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Niva followed immediately, her curiosity sharper now.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"...Yeah. Why would the Queen give you something like that?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Her tone carried something else beneath it—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A hint of unease.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Because if the Queen had personally acknowledged Videl...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then Videl wasn’t just someone they knew anymore.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She was someone... connected to power.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Kira didn’t interrupt.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But her eyes—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Locked onto Videl.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Watching.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Waiting.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Reading every breath. Every flicker of movement.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Trying to decide if the girl in front of her was still the same person she thought she knew.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Videl exhaled slowly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The kind of breath that carried memory with it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Her gaze dropped to the ring in her hand for a brief moment.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And for the first time—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>There was something softer in her expression.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Not doubt.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Not fear.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But something quieter.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Something older.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She spoke.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Calm.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Unrushed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"...The Queen asked me to take three hits from her sword.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The room went silent again.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Not the earlier silence filled with confusion—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This one was heavier.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Colder.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Because everyone in that room understood exactly what that meant.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Queen didn’t \"test\" people.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She didn’t \"spar.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If she swung her sword—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was to cut.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>To end.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"...If I could take all three hits while standing...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A faint pause.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Not for effect.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But because even remembering it—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Demanded a moment.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"...She said she would reward me.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Her fingers closed around the ring slightly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And for a split second—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Her knuckles turned pale.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"...And as you can see...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She lifted it just enough for the light to catch again.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A faint glimmer.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Cold.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Unforgiving.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"...This was the reward.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>No one spoke.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Not immediately.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Because the meaning behind that—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Took a second to sink in.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Three hits.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>From her.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Not a demonstration.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Not restraint.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Real strikes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The kind that split armor.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The kind that crushed bone.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The kind that decided whether you lived or died.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Dira’s lips parted slightly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"...You’re telling me...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Her voice came out slower now.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Measured.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Like she was trying to make sense of something that refused to fit inside logic.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"...You took three hits...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Niva finished the sentence in a whisper—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"...From the Queen?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The air grew heavier.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Not tense—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But filled with something else.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Respect.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Realization.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Warrior Queen Amara of Skyfall Kingdom.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A name that carried weight across the entire land.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A ruler.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A warrior.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A monster in battle.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Someone even high-ranking knights hesitated to challenge.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Her strength—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Was not a rumor.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was fact.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Unquestionable.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And Videl—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A master-level swordswoman—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Had taken three hits from her blade...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And lived.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Kira’s gaze changed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Subtly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But unmistakably.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"...That’s insane.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Dira let out a slow breath, shaking her head slightly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"...No... that’s not insane...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She looked at Videl again.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"...That’s terrifying.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The room fell quiet again.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But this time—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It wasn’t doubt.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was acknowledgment.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then suddenly—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Dira’s eyes lit up, curiosity sparking again.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"...Wait.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She leaned forward slightly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"...Did she use the Ruby Blade?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Videl blinked.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"...Ruby Blade?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"What?\" Videl tilted her head slightly. \"...What’s that?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Niva immediately jumped in, her voice carrying a hint of excitement.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"...It’s the weapon the Queen of Skyfall uses.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"...A legendary sword.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"...Only she and her bloodline can wield it.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>There was a faint pride in her tone—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Like she was talking about something sacred.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Videl paused for a second, thinking back.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The memory flickered in her mind.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Heavy footsteps.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A suffocating presence.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A blade—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But not something extraordinary.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"...I think I saw that sword...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She murmured.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then shook her head.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"...No.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Her voice steadied.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"...She didn’t use it.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A brief pause.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"...We both used normal heavy swords.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Dira’s shoulders dropped slightly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"...Ah...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A small sigh escaped her.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"...That’s kind of disappointing.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Kira glanced at her sideways.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"...Disappointing?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"...What? It would’ve been cooler,\" Dira muttered, though her tone had already softened.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Kira straightened slightly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Her voice turned serious again.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"...No. That’s not what matters.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Her gaze locked onto Videl.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sharp.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Clear.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"...What matters is that you have that ring.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The atmosphere shifted once more.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Back to reality.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"...As long as you have it...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She continued slowly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"...Not even a Duke can touch you.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A pause.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Her voice lowered just slightly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"...So no matter what happens...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Her eyes narrowed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"...You cannot lose that ring.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Silence followed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Heavy.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Meaningful.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Because they all understood.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That ring—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Was not just protection.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was responsibility.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A line drawn in the sand.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Videl looked down at it again.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The weight felt... different now.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Heavier.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Warmer.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Dangerous.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"...Yeah.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A quiet answer.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Almost to herself.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Just like the Queen had said—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She really did need it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And yet—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For some reason—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A faint unease settled in her chest.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Not loud.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Not overwhelming.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But there.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Persistent.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Like a whisper she couldn’t quite hear.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Her fingers tightened slightly around the ring.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"...Something’s off...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A thought she didn’t voice.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A feeling she couldn’t explain.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Because deep down—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She couldn’t shake it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That something bad—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Was about to happen.\u003C\u002Fp>",1147,"2026-06-09T06:06:36.927Z",1,"novelbin.me","f6164c0af4c9d52393a8701c0d227f4e2d9e98670106d35ec3de95164355124a","journey-to-become-the-zenith-chapter-127","journey-to-become-the-zenith-chapter-125",253,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fjourney-to-become-the-zenith-cover.jpg"]