The queen's decision only confused him. From what he could glean from Master Ortiz' words, it appears that winning the gauntlet will certainly depend on his mastery of Katra. As of right now, he only reached stage one, and there is no way he could win it.

If this is the case, could it be possible that the Queen no longer wanted him to marry the princess?

As he was lost in thought, Serene spoke out.

"My Queen, for your sake, I would accept any duty even if it costs me everything. But, if you wish for the elf to be my mate, it might be better to give Master Ortiz more time with him. Then, he will have a better chance to win."

Tristan glanced at the princess, her decision to speak up making him wonder about the intention behind her words. Did she want to postpone the marriage even further? Did she finally take a liking on him and wanted him to have a better shot at winning?

Well, She probably just really loathed the idea of Tristan marrying her mother if he lost.

But, if that was really the case, does this mean the queen really wanted him to marry her instead?

Tristan unconsciously grinned, His head filled with the idea that both mother and daughter were fighting over him.

Unfortunately, the queen's next words trampling all over his fantasies.

"Daughter, each day I pray at the shrine, the more vivid my vision of the fast-approaching end." The queen shook her head. "Only couldn't deny what I saw, for our end is nigh, and we do not have much time left."

Apparently, the queen was just too worried about the prophecy. But then if she really was in a hurry, why must they bother with the gauntlet at all?

"Excuse me." Tristan interrupted. "wouldn't it be easier to just… forgo the gauntlet? I mean, if it's just marriage you are looking for... I am ready..."

"..."

Seeing the reaction of the people aroun, Tristan decided to shut up. He just realized halfway how shameless he sound. He knew what he said had a basis in valid logic, but thinking about it and speaking it out loud is very different.

The queen stared at him, and to his surprise she was finally smiling again..

"Haha aren't you the funny one… you see we of the Vanyar are committed to supporting the blood monarch, but it's just your current condition is very worrisome"

"What do you mean?" asked Tristan

This time the queen gave him a serious glare.

"The blood elf is the legendary elven race. It was written in the ancient text that the race could easily reach the top stage 7 Katra and pave the way towards full enlightenment of the body and spirit. Now, you only being able to reach stage 1 is very concerning indeed"

The queen paused, and continued.

"Tristan, this is really serious… if you are unable to master Katra then I believe you will be consumed by the monarch's power… and instead of becoming our savior, you will be the harbinger of our end, and I am not going to risk that. Do you understand what I mean?"

Tristan tried to hold back his shock.

Of course, Tristan is smart enough to understand what she means. To put it simply, if he managed to win the gauntlet he would marry the princess, and losing the gauntlet would probably mean his death by the queen's own hand.

Tristan smiled even wider. This woman really is crazy. She was capable of asking his hand in marriage in one second, then threatening to kill him in another

A moment later the queen's serious glare changed into a smile.

"Tristan, think of it positively, Let's think of this gauntlet as a motivation for you to try harder!"

Her expression changing at the drop of a hat like that was unsettling.

"Do not worry, Tristan, I have faith that you will win this gauntlet. I am sure as a real blood monarch, you will succeed"

Tristan smiled back, trying to contain his bewilderment.

Facing such a threat, Tristan unconsciously stared towards Captain Raika thinking about a possibility of escape with the help of the Kingsblade

But, as if the queen already knew his line of thinking, the queen once more spoke to the kingsblade captain.

"Captain, Unfortunately, to prevent any trouble, I will need to lock you and your team up until this matter is settled."

Captain Raika nodded solemnly, while glancing at Tristan from out of the corner of her eyes.

Everyone started to whisper amongst each other. No one expected the queen to make such a decision. Right in the middle of their heated exchanges, the queen announced the end of the meeting. No one objected.

Tristan couldn't hold in his frustrated sigh…

It was just today that he started to feel comfortable living in this city with the elves. He had thought that perhaps staying in this world won't be so bad, after all.

But now once again his life was threatened. From that shitty King and this crazy queen, he really can't depend on any of them he needed to stand on his own. He needs to get stronger, faster.

The queen left the room, with everyone following suit. Right as Tristan decided to also walk out; Master Ortiz approached and tried to reassure him that he would do everything he could to help Tristan advance his Katra stage before the gauntlet.

Honestly he did not have much confidence that the old master would be able to help him much.

It is time to check out what this gauntlet is all about. The gauntlet will start in five days, and he still doesn't have any information about it.

"Dammit!"

There's really no time left to be frustrated about this.

----------------------------------

Written by Avans, Published exclusively by W.e.b.n.o.v.e.l,

For discussion, please Join Avan's Discord server at https://discord.gg/7ngn7yN9xN