Galaxy's First Ruler

One woman, two shocks.

After already experiencing a shock today, Aldrich never thought there would come a time soon for him to feel so surprised.

But it seemed the existence of Boudicca was nothing but a pile of surprise for Aldrich. A single touch of her fingers had made him experience a world full of blood, and hear things even he couldn't make sense out of. And now, she called him the white-haired assassin.

Aldrich could tell by just hearing that Boudicca wasn't firing arrows blindingly. She was dead sure of his identity as the rumored assassin who was wanted throughout the Galaxy for the unspeakable crime. And though the Lt. General of UGF had broken ties with the force, Aldrich knew Boudicca could apprehend him in the name of justice if she wanted to do so.

Aldrich's breathing was normal, and his posture was straight. There was no breaking of rhythm in his blood pressure, nor was there any disturbance in his heartbeat. His thoughts, though shocked, couldn't affect the Mana within him for it to be perceived by the Sealed Duchess.

But Aldrich's face wasn't emotionless. The expression on his masked face was of plain and utter bewilderment.

"White-Haired Assassin?!! Your Highness, don't tell me you came here because of this absurd theory."

Boudicca narrowed her eyes, seeing no changes in Aldrich. The Dreamers of the Kingdom of Life-Authority had always been sensitive about Mana. Much less needed to be said about the members of Royal families. Aldrich could tell from Boudicca's frown that the most dangerous thing about him was the control of Mana. If it was his self of the Barren Earth, he wouldn't be able to do it.

But after getting to understand a little about Black Veil, Aldrich could control his thoughts precisely. And thus, he could prevent any fluctuations in Mana, too.

"There is something off about you. I can feel it in my bones."

Aldrich heard Boudicca's words and couldn't help but give out a wry smile. Anyway, he had to find out why she even came to a guess that precise, to begin with. Only his white hairs couldn't be the reason to accuse him of such a heinous crime.

"Ahem! May I know why would you compare me to a being who could even leave alive after failing an assassination attempt on a KING?!"

Hahaha!

The laugh that came out of Boudicca's mouth was an answer to his question, per se. She lift her hand and showed Aldrich her palm as if asking him to wait for her laugh to go away by itself.

"Wait a minute… Cough!"

Boudicca tried to catch her breath as she coughed and spoke simultaneously. Aldrich couldn't believe that the person in front of him was truly none other than a fucking Duchess.

"Cough!… Tyra told me… that you are a smart one. Huh! And here you are standing and suggesting to me that someone in this Galaxy can leave alive after having an attempt on the King's life?!!!"

"But…"

Aldrich added a "but" to Boudicca's exclamatory question, trying to force her to speak more. And as expected, Boudicca didn't let him complete his statement and cut him off.

"Humph! Fool, do you even know the true capabilities of the Rank King? Can you even imagine what kind of Beings they are? The only other being who stands a chance in front of a King is another King."

'So this is how it is. Hmm! There isn't much time before Amalia's another round of scanning this room. I need to wrap things up with Boudicca soon.'

Aldrich thought to himself, and presenting a sad expression, he asked.

"But that still won't explain your guess of me being the same criminal whose face is getting circulated throughout the galaxy."

Boudicca shook her head in disappointment and stood up. As she walked towards the window and gazed at the drizzle, she slowly spoke out.

"Oh yes, he is a criminal. But not because of the crime of assassination. His crime was even graver…"

Boudicca turned to look at Aldrich and continued in the same tone.

"… His crime was to get noticed by The Last Saint."

Boudicca lightly stepped and came closer and closer to Aldrich until she towered in front of him. Even on Earth, Aldrich had an average height of 5 feet and 10 inches. And after getting resurrected, his height had already increased to more than a couple of inches. Aldrich noticed that her height was a full head taller than him.

Boudicca almost looked down at Aldrich as she answered his question.

"There are many reasons for me to come up with that guess. First is your sudden appearance in the House of having a Duke history. The second is you have an Ancient Relic. The third is you being favored by Darkness. And the fourth is my presence in front of you. When taken separately, these four things mean little. But when you take them together, only one word can explain these many coincidences…"

Aldrich didn't need to prod Boudicca for her to say the word out loud by herself.

"… Destiny!!! When one is influenced by Destiny, even the smallest thing can reveal the biggest absurd secrets. Like the common thing between you and the white-haired assassin, white hairs."

Aldrich took a deep breath. Yes, the most irrelevant thing he considered in the world was Destiny. And here was one person, standing in front of him, who had guessed his identity based on mere speculations. Speculations guided by this one word.

Aldrich's hand reached towards his mask.

"Daddy… NO!"

Aldrich ignored Sha's shout. If every little thing about him was a secret, then he had to make sure that Boudicca would never consider his mask as his ultimate secret.

For the first time, Aldrich took off his mask in front of someone else. His white pupils were like death's gaze staring into Boudicca's soul. The blackness around those pupils was like the incarnation of Darkness.

A smile came upon Aldrich's face as he again bowed.

"Congratulations, your highness! You caught me."