The rain outside poured relentlessly and it might st until the next day—Karel surmised.

  “Chaos always follows whenever I’m furious,” he muttered to himself.

  Despite the torrential rain outside, he still took his time to prepare himself for his unannounced visit.

  He snapped his fingers, letting his formal attire rest on the bed while he wiped himself dry. Seeing the familiar white robes accented by red and gold, mencholy swelled in his chest. After all, Karel only used these robes whenever visiting the Imperial Pace and he hadn’t visited in centuries. All his meetings with the other imperials or officials were done outside the pace itself or in Deorya.

  Crimson eyes continued staring at them, reminiscing about the time he spent in the former royal castle while serving the te crown princess.

  In the end, he changed into it accompanied by thigh high boots hugging his long legs. Karel stared at himself in the mirror and decided to slick his unruly hair back. He put on the necessary decorations as per imperial etiquette and pinned the insignia badge on his uniform denoting his status.

  He shook his head. “To think I’d do this now…”

  A portal then emerged nearby him and he immediately teleported himself to Maya City despite the great distance.

  Upon emerging in front of the Rose Pace, the knights saluted in recognition. Karel traipsed the hallways with confidence and authority because in this pce, only the Emperor and the Empress stood above him in rank.

  “Your Highness, Prince Kelzo is here to seek an audience,” Ryhtier Kaho announced, making the other imperial look up from her desk.

  Her Imperial Highness Belle stood up and received Karel personally when he entered her office. “It’s rare for you to seek me out, child. How are you?”

  Karel returned the embrace. “I’m doing fine, aunt. I might need a little help though.”

  “Help about?”

  He parted from the embrace and frowned. “A family from Deorya reached out to the Kingdom of Shirazi in Shimhazril. While we’re open to trading business around the world, the Great Temple of Ena abhorred having a connection to us immortals.”

  Her Imperial Highness hummed, also aware of the said Grantierran policy. “Is there something I can do?”

  “Destroy Shirazi’s economy.”

  Rhytier Kaho frowned when she heard his request spoken in such a stern tone.

  Her Imperial Highness cupped his cheeks and smiled warmly. “Kelzo, don’t be overwhelmed by your emotions.”

  “I’m not.”

  The imperial princess chuckled, eyes turning to crescents. ”Come, sit for a while and take a rest. Tell me what happened in detail, alright?”

  He sighed in defeat.

  It’s no use to argue with her after all.

  They talked for an hour and Karel openly told them about what happened. After they reached an understanding, only then Karel left, reassured by the promise of the imperial princess. Besides, he’s also worried about Kani ending up more disheveled if he learned of his sudden absence.

  Princess Belle waved him goodbye. “I’ll do something about it, Kelzo. Be sure to also rest, alright?”

  “Yes, aunt.”

  As Karel left the office, Her Imperial Highness asked, “What do you think?”

  “He deeply cherishes the Louvika, Master,” Lady Kaho replied. “Even though I had a guess he never truly admitted it aloud.”

  “I actually noticed. Should we indulge him?”

  The Ryhtier frowned. “To destroy Shirazi?”

  Imperial Princess Belle smiled and leaned back. “To be honest, I’m thankful he didn’t destroy Shirazi because it won’t be an exaggeration if I said Kelzo can do it. He’s not one of the royal faction’s powerhouses during the war for nothing.”

  “So, what you’re trying to say is?”

  “Let’s stir up some trouble and incapacitate Shirazi and that family for a few more years.”

  Lady Kaho shook her head in disapproval.

  “Kelzo is one of the three nephews of ours who remained.” She stood up by the rge window pane and looked south. “We siblings agreed to foster and look after Kelzo and Rainel in the absence of their progenitors. I’d rather do the dirty work than let them taint their hands again.”

  “Master…”

  “Being a Ramayan, a high-ranked at that, is borious and strenuous. At least, we want to ease their burdens and let them travel the world freely.”

  Lady Kaho shook her head again. “And chaining yourself down here is not any better.”

  She smiled and held onto the gss window, looking outside at Karel’s figure entering the portal he made. “That’s fine, Kaho. It’s our duty, after all.”

  Ramayans’ fondness of stirring up trouble proved to be an innate nature of theirs—Lady Kaho learned about it during her service under Her Imperial Highness. She disagreed with how her master handled other matters without any care in the world. However, whenever dealing with atrocious Ramayans, the said imperial had to exercise her authority more than usual. Moreso, when it came to external affairs which could affect the empire and its treaties.

  Her Imperial Highness finally put down the pen and scanned the letter she wrote. She folded it neatly, put it inside the enchanted envelope and stamped it with her wax seal.

  “Send this to the Great Temple of Ena.”

  Lady Kaho flinched, clearly surprised by those spoken words. “Master, you mean…”

  “Diplomacy first and foremost,” she replied, holding the envelope between her fingers. “Puny humans will die against our powers so I will resort to some peaceful talks. I don’t want to incur the wrath of the Heavenly Winged again just because of some stupid mistake.”

  She frowned, knowing the story behind it. “I understand.”

  “Letters from our business partners,” Cashile said and handed down the letters to his master. He moved towards the other desk, much to Kani’s confusion, and handed a red envelope with a golden wax seal to Karel.

  The blond stared at the letter for a few seconds, looked at Cashile then received it quietly.

  “Now, that’s… rare,” Kani remarked, also bewildered.

  Karel’s expression remained sour until he finished reading it. “To think they actually…”

  “Karel?”

  “It’s a personal letter,” he replied as he folded back the letter. He turned to Cashile. “Thank you for giving me this.”

  Cashile nodded quietly and discussed some matters with Kani. After they finished finalizing whatever they pnned, Cashile quietly left the study. Only then Karel exasperatedly sighed.

  “The letter doesn’t seem personal to me. It’s so catchy.”

  “It’s from my aunt. She’s dealing with Shirazi as we speak.”

  “Dealing with… what?”

  “Shirazi.”

  He turned towards the blond, horror clearly painted his face. “What did you do this time?”

  “It’s an imperial matter and I’m only a henchman acting on orders, master,” Karel replied, disinterested. “Before being your bodyguard, my duty to the empire comes first.”

  “So, if the empire wanted to harm me, would you do so?”

  Karel stopped writing and broke the pen, ink splotching onto the document id beneath it. He discarded the smashed pen on the table and went towards the door’s direction. He stopped halfway through, still not facing Kani.

  “Don’t make me choose when you know I am a proud Ramayan, Kani Liafor.”

  Karel closed the door and as he stepped away, he held onto his neck and felt the choker.

  Why are you questioning my loyalty? Is it not enough that I protect you more than I should have?

  “We are but specks of dust on this earth and yet because our Lord Ena breathed life into us, we shall abide by his will and glorify him.

  “We can shape our lives according to his teachings and also rely on our Lord’s guidance to help us push through the miseries life puts us through.

  “Remember, my dear brethren, perform your duties as sons and daughters of our Lord and blessings will come upon you as he decred.”

  “Glory upon The Heavenly One.”

  The Pontiff concluded the prayer and exited the hall st as the devotees finally left. He looked beyond the humongous pilrs supporting the temple towards the towering walls protecting the Holy City of Ena.

  “Sandstorms never emerged in these sacred nds for millennia. That’s a blessing, don’t you think?” the Pontiff asked as a Cardinal saluted him.

  “We are blessed by the Lord and we shall continue to look after this sanctuary also in honor of him.”

  “That’s right,” he answered softly. The Pontiff turned to the Cardinal and noticed the letter offered to him. “And this is?”

  “An anonymous letter originating from beyond the deserts.”

  “From Astadvran?”

  The Cardinal shook his head. “I never saw that seal in my entire life.”

  The Pontiff received the letter and flipped it over. “A new seal indeed.”

  “We are clueless as to where it came from.”

  “Accompany me to my office.”

  A golden envelope reached the Pontiff, just as the Ramayan Imperial Princess ordered. Upon reading the contents of the said letter, he nearly crumpled it.

  “Shirazi did something outrageous while under our watch?”

  The Cardinal bowed in shame. “We convinced them not to proceed with it and our concerns turned into deaf ears.”

  “You should have told me.”

  “You were sick at that time, Pontiff. We don’t want to aggravate your condition.”

  “And they managed to push it through?”

  “Yes. It was successful.”

  First, it was Astadvran’s rejection of installing a temple on their nds. Although they managed to convince the royalty through underhanded means, it didn’t mean they held no grudges. The second incident—the auction in Stavros—cost them a lot. With the Streya Dukedom taking the lead, also known for their upright values and dutifulness, it’s difficult to have them under control now.

  The Pontiff stared at the letter again and his anger soared at how impudent the royalty of Shirazi was. Dishonoring an agreement between the kingdom and the temple may cause them a great deal. Seeing how they proceeded without informing him of the situation, might as well let them suffer under the hands of the Ramayans.

  “Pontiff?”

  When he calmed down, he realized one thing.

  It’s the first time the immortals reached out to them. The letter was written in Grantierra’s common nguage and showed their sincerity about the matter. While it’s not the Ramayan Emperor who wrote the letter, the said imperial who did definitely held a high position in the hierarchy.

  “What shall we do, Pontiff? This is a matter not to be taken lightly.”

  Interacting with the immortals was against the rules of the temple and persecution of the magical races remained prevalent in these nds. However, a Ramayan reaching out first was another story.

  He pondered for a few minutes, weighing the consequences and folded the letter back to the envelope after his final decision.

  “This is…”

  He discarded it on his table. “Ignore it. Burn the letter.”

  After they tossed the letter to the nearby hearth, it remained unscathed despite the roaring fmes.

  “This is…” the cardinal worriedly looked at the Pontiff.

  “Don’t mind it,” he said, despite the frown adorning his face.

  “They attempted to burn the letter,” Lady Kaho said once she opened her eyes.

  What followed the said statement was Her Imperial Highness’s ughter echoing inside her office.