Chapter33

The Knight Captain turned first, then the Magic Master, then the ministers, and even the Swordmaster straightened a little as if that had finally managed to wake him up.
"Your Highness?" one of the ministers said, staring at her.
Didi did not look away, "I said I want to go into the Gate."
This time the silence hit harder than before, even the king turned his head and looked at her for a long moment.
"Didi."
"I am serious," she said, meeting his eyes without flinching. "If the problem is that we keep relying on the same names every time something dangerous happens, then send me too."
The Knight Captain looked tired all of a sudden, "no."
"No?" Didi repeated, her brows drawing together. "That is your full answer?"
"That is the important part of my answer," he said. "The rest is that you are the princess, the Gate is unknown, and I am not signing my name to that kind of risk."
"So if I were not the princess, you would consider it?"
He did not answer quickly enough, which told her enough all on its own.
The Swordmaster spoke before the room could drift again.
"You are talented," he said, and unlike the others, he did not sound like he was trying to comfort her. "More talented than most of the fools in the academy who keep talking about becoming legends before they have even been hit properly."
Didi kept her face still, but she knew what was coming next.
"But talent inside a hall means very little once blood is involved," he continued. "Inside a Gate, there is no instructor to stop the match, no healer waiting two steps away, and no second try if your judgment fails you."
The Magic Master gave a small nod.
"You are gifted, no one disputes that," he said, "but you have never fought in a real battle. Training duels, spell assessments and academy rankings are not