n

n

n

"Are you interested in the occult or the saint?

" Eon asked, looking at me with undisguised intrigue in his green eyes.

nHe's probably insinuating something absurd in his head again.

n

"Both. I have never seen a cult nor heard about them before so I am curious,

" I replied.

nBea puts her cup down.

n

"So the saint must be real.

"

n

"It must be. There would be no fires if there was no spark, right?

" I hummed.

nWhy would even a rumor like that appear anyway? Carelessly throwing around the title of the saint would be a serious offense. It would be much worse if someone poses as a fake one too so who on God's green land would risk that?

nWell, if that person is insane enough, they could do it. If their goal is to spread confusion and misinform the masses, then they are doing a great job. Then again, putting the Holy Church at the forefront, they have yet to deny these claims.

nThen…

n

"I honestly don't know all the details. If you want the truth, maybe you could ask your brother about it,

" Eon suggested.

n

"About what?

" A cold voice piped in.

nThe three of us turned towards the owner of it and lo and behold, my dear good brother is standing there just a few steps behind Eon, menacingly. His icy ruby eyes looked down on Eon, as cold as the winter weather that is yet to come. But due to his frosty demeanor, it felt like it had begun.

n

"Brother,

" I called out in surprise.

nEon, on the other hand, almost slipped off his chair, panicking upon seeing him.

n

"C-captain! Yo~

" He then played it off coolly with a crooked smile.

n

"What are you doing?

" Nathan enunciated.

nI glanced at Bea at that moment and met her eyes. The two of us then tactfully drank our tea and silently watched the scene unfold. Inside my head though, I was already lighting candles for Eon.

n

"I'm— I'm guarding these ladies, of course. There are a lot of bad people out there so you know…

" Eon reasoned out and ended it with a forced laugh.

nNathan narrowed his eyes.

n

"That is not your job.

"

n

"I know but I just think I'm more suitable because I am the vice-captain—

" He began to ramble. Seeing that Nathan's face is still as frosty as ever, Eon immediately changed his tune.

"Ahahaha I'm just kidding, captain. Are you tired? Do you want a massage?

"

n

"Return to your post,

" Nathan ordered in a firm voice, not taking his antics.

n

"Ah, but why? I can still do my duty while on guarding duty!

" Eon continued to persist.

nI admired his tenacity sometimes. But alas…

nNathan regarded him for a second before adding,

"You seem to be energetic today. Then come with me to the training ground.

"

nThere it is. Nathaniel dropped the bomb.

nI almost spat out my drink after hearing that. After all, I am aware of what's coming to the training ground means. And Eon most definitely does as well because he was already on his feet as soon as he heard him.

n

"That's right! I remembered I have something very important to do. It requires my whole attention and all my energy so… I'll go first! Bye!

" And then he just sprinted right out of here, the fastest I saw him run if I may add.

nTraining grounds mean both Nathan and him will spar. And spar means Nathan beating the snot out of Eon.

nSo I guess him running away is understandable. I mean, I would too if I were in his shoes. Every single knight under my brother's command does, to be honest. I often hear them joking about that…

n

"...

"

n

"Then I'm leaving as well,

" he said, nodding at us before turning to leave.

n

"Bye, brother~

" I called after him.

nAfter the scene was cleared, the slightly awkward atmosphere lightened.

nBea suddenly snorted.

n

"That guy has not changed even a bit,

" she remarked.

nThe corner of my lips quivered as I tried to stifle my smile.

nIndeed…

n—----**

nHushed voices immediately ceased as the emperor entered the room. All of the people present stood up to greet him and until he took the topmost seat, they remained firm in their feet.

nMikhail gestured for them to sit down, and they did, with solemn faces. Two sides of the table separated two factions. Normally, the tension should be high between them but at this moment, these vassals do not have the usual attitude against one another. The tension is there, but for other reasons.

nThe prime minister, Marquis Leon, sat on His Majesty's left side while Prince Ezekiel took the right. After everyone settled down, Leon cleared his throat and started the meeting.

nHis eyes landed on every face on the table,

"All of you must have read the report about the many disappearances that had occurred these past few weeks. And to the empire, this is alarming.

"

nHis clear voice was particularly loud due to the silence, hitting all the strings on each of everyone's hearts.

nNobody wanted to speak as they worriedly contemplated.

n

"Numerous people from villages and even the cities, mostly ladies from small families, had gone missing. And while everyone did their duty and informed the palace, some of you are not completely honest.

" Leon sharply glanced at four people in particular who flinched and paled under his pressure.

nDuke Reichen rubbed his forehead, the lines in his face were obvious that day.

n

"The numbers from last week are already distressing. With no explanation and culprits in our hands, these missing people's cases would be unresolvable,

" Emperor Mikhail stated.

nThere was a hushed murmur to the table again.

n

"What are we going to do about this, your majesty?

" Duke Reichen echoed everyone else's unspoken question.

n

"No doubt, these are a case of human trafficking,

" Duke Vinea hinted.

n

"There are still such things in this day and age?

" One of the counts cried out.

nAnother duke snorted in derision,

"Why not? Slavery still exists somewhere. It would not be impossible that under the eyes of the empire, certain things are still being practiced,

" he insinuated.

n

"Preposterous!

" A few voices loudly protested.

n

"Slavery and human trafficking had been abolished for decades now, who would do such illegal things and sully the honor of our great empire?

"

nThere was another round of discordant voices that were getting louder as the argument continued. Half of the lords on the table took turns throwing their opinions until Leon cleared his throat.

n

"Watch your tones in front of His Majesty.

"

nThey all immediately shut their mouths.

n

"Your majesty, we have scoured our lands to look for clues and even their corpses cannot be found. What does this mean?

"

nCount Riviere rubbed his mustache in thought.

n

"It would be also impossible for them to escape from the borders because of the permits. So how is it that they are still nowhere to be found?

"

nLeon's face turned grim.

n

"That is not the worst of it…

"

n

"There is still more?

" Gasped the few.

nLeon glanced at Ezekiel who was silently observing each and everyone from the get-go. His usual smile was gone, making him look somber.

n

"According to my investigation, these cases of disappearance are not recent. There are already reports of missing people for years now,

" he said.

n

"What?

"

n

"How can that be?

"

nThere are a few more concerning cries from the others that were drowned out. With Ezekiel's gesture, two attendants from the side stepped forward and dropped two stacks of documents on the table.

n

"These people right here have been gone for five years, while these are ten,

" he pointed to each of them respectively under the surprised gazes of everyone.

nThe emperor, who had been silent all this time, finally opened his mouth.

n

"I believe that this is not just a normal case of human trafficking.

"

n