Pavan’s eyes widened as he stared at Hela.

Hela’s suggestion wasn’t something that had been discussed with Pavan, and he didn’t know what to do in this situation, since he had been tasked with protecting Hela.

Meanwhile, Dismas twisted his lips in a sneer.

“What a ridiculous suggestion. A worthy hostage, you say? Why would I give up the young Captain of the Order of Huginn for a handicapped senior like you?”

“The Order of Huginn’s fame is all in the past. Their legendary knights are all dead, with Dilmond being the last one to have died. The only ability that they had left was their Captain’s necromancy, but Anya doesn’t even have that anymore. It’s a waste to call her the Captain of the Order of Huginn,” Hela said.

She thumped her chest.

“On the other hand, I created my own value regardless of my ability to use magic or swords to begin with. I am the ruler of the East by myself, am a Duchess, and now hold the core power of Torra. As you know, the East has no successors. So the capital giving up on me is no different from them giving up on the East.”

Hela’s story was convincing enough to intrigue even Pavan. It was quite a famous story that there was no successor in the East. In fact, the East had suffered from great confusion and chaos due to the absence of a successor when Hela was assumed dead...