Chapter 116: The cicada, the mantis, and the oriole. (3)

Gabriel’s eyes wanted to narrow sharply while his tapping finger wanted to pierce a hole straight through the table. But he knew better than that, he wasn’t an amateur so he made sure to maintain his calm expression, shifting the curve of his mouth and general demeanor to match the situation.

“Your exalted majesty, Blessed Moon of our grand Empire, would you allow me to say a few words?”

The Empress had stopped talking after ‘requesting’ Gabriel’s cooperation so he took this chance to speak up, a smile that was a mix between being honored and being mournful pasted onto his face. The empress faced him with a regal and joyful smile, gesturing with her hand that he was allowed to express his thoughts.

“This little one is extremely humbled that you would request me for something as grand as a delegation to the Yverial Empire, it would undoubtedly be the greatest honor in my life. But my fiancee… How can I leave when the whereabouts of my Alice have yet to be ascertained? With her having been seen in the Kasarias Kingdom, I would instead request that I be granted permission to go and look for her, I’m afraid I won’t be able to sleep soundly until I see her again.”

Gabriel’s mind moved as he made his excuse. He listed his various enemies so that he could narrow down who had incited this, and why they had done so. If he truly had to leave for the delegation then there was a chance that Alice would have to stay hidden for quite some time, or eventually make up an excuse as to how she managed to escape. Whatever option was picked, she could not go with him to the Yverial Empire, she could not be seen there or it would raise too many suspicions.

“I understand your fears, Viscount Indra. And may I say that it warms my heart to see you care so much for your fiancee? Truly, such passion is rare in these days, far too many marry for the sake of convenience or gains. So to act so purely on emotions, so ardently for what your heart says… It simply lights a fire in me.”

Gabriel wanted to click his tongue, anyone who spoke such flowery words before responding to anything was sure to give an answer that would displease the other party. And sure enough, the empress was no different.

“And because I understand your fears, I will ensure that you can journey to the Yverial Empire for the sake of generations of peace with a light heart.”

The empress’ smiling face slowly moved slightly as she spoke, eventually resting on Duke Vritara, who was frowning slightly at the sudden events. Duke Vritara was different from Gabriel, he was one of the few dukes of this empire, he could afford to show his emotions like this in front of the imperial family.

“Do not forget, Viscount Indra, but Alice De Vritara is not simply your fiancee, she is also a daughter of the Vritara family. I have no doubt that Duke Vritara will do everything in the power of his ducal house to find and reclaim his precious daughter, even if she should be held by the Kasarias Kingdom. So fear not, young Viscount Indra, I am sure you will receive the good news before you even reach the Yverial Empire.”

Ha, so that’s what her plan was. Sharing a quick glance it was clear that both Gabriel and Duke Vritara reached the conclusion at the same time. Gabriel would be shipped far away from the empire and the Vritara family would bear the brunt of the damage that came from dealing with the Kasarias empire. So she, and whoever else was working with her, weren’t just targeting Gabriel this time around.

“The Vritara duchy will naturally bring Alice De Vritara home, she is someone who holds the right to compete for the seat of future Duchess.”

Duke Vritara could only give a simple and exceedingly normal answer to the empress’ statement. He could feel the gazes of some of the nobles lingering on him as the empress spoke, exerting a silent pressure. And somewhat strangely, he could also feel the gaze of his friend, the emperor. Or perhaps that was obvious, if the empress was taking action this openly then it was clear that the emperor was condoning it, if not participating in it.

But again, it begged the question of why? Why was the emperor taking part in it as well, what exactly were they hoping to gain? For Arthas to take action against a friend… The rewards could not be small.

“I…”

Gabriel opened his mouth to speak again, but was quickly cut off by someone other than the empress.

“Oh yes. That reminds me.”

Arthas De Earhart. The emperor moved his gaze slightly, gesturing over an attendant as he spoke. The servant brought over an ornate wooden box, opening it to reveal a thick layer of red silk upon which five scrolls that looked as if they were cast from gold rested. Arthas picked up one of the scrolls, his gaze resting on Marquess Elaine.

“Marquess Tishana Elaine, please rise to receive the Imperial Decree regarding your participation in the upcoming delegation.”

For a brief moment, an instant so short that none could see it, Gabriel’s nail scraped against the table as his rhythmic tapping faltered. His eyes really wanted to narrow so he had to fight to keep them normal, and he had to hold himself back quite strongly, otherwise he might have given Nergal permission to take a bite at the emperor.

Arthas had only called up Marquess Elaine, it was only proper since she had the highest rank out of those who had been picked out for the delegation. So he was just following proper procedure, but the underlying message was clear.

The empress had requested that they joined the delegation, but they never had a choice from the start. This was an Imperial Decree, an order given directly by the emperor and empress. Disobedience meant revocation of nobility.

And when looked at from the outside, that was only proper. Who would disobey an order like this? Who would work against the future peace between the two empires? Who would try to sabotage the era where mankind chased out the demons and took over the entire world? All who dared even think such a thing should deserve far worse than just losing their titles.

“It is a great honor, your Imperial Majesties. I will assist the First Prince with every part of my being.”

Marquess Elaine walked up and knelt down, accepting the Imperial Decree with raised hands as she lowered her head, gleaming golden hair cascading down her back. The imperial family hadn’t said anything, but since it was the First Prince that brokered the peace it was naturally implied that he would be taking the lead in the delegation, a fact the emperor casually confirmed.

“I am beyond thankful, Marquess Elaine. I can rest easy knowing that I am leaving my son in your capable hands. Please keep him safe for me.”

The emperor smiled kindly, like a concerned father speaking to the general before he sent his son off to war. It was an excellent face to show the public and the nobles, so how could he not receive the reply he wanted?

“It will be as you desire, Your Majesty, I will protect him with my life should anything arise.”

Marquess Elaine raised her head, a strong and determined expression on her face. Of course, Gabriel didn’t believe either of their expressions. One was an emperor and the other a marquess, you did not reach or maintain a position like that if you weren’t capable. And generally, this capability showed itself in the form of manipulation and deceit, only a rare few people were able to both be and remain sincere in a position like this.

Once Marquess Elaine returned to her seat, the emperor did not hand out the rest of the Imperial Decrees. He simply left them there in the box, the servant leaving it on a table close to the emperor without closing it. A quiet reminder, a subtle threat to those that had been called out.

Naturally, the banquet carried on afterward, the nobles sharing topics both large and small. The matter of the delegation naturally occupied most conversations, with the Kasarias Kingdom’s matter pushed further to the back. Not entirely forgotten, a few groups were still discussing how to handle it, even the emperor brought it up a few times. But it was much dimmer and far more subdued than Gabriel had intended for it to be.

He wanted to have a quick talk with Abigail, but the emperor and empress kept her close at their side at all times so the best they could do was exchange a few confused glances. Evidently, Abigail herself hadn’t heard about this in advance.

Of course, they could still glean a little from how the emperor and empress were handling this. They were clearly trying to keep Abigail and Gabriel away from each other, meaning that they knew about the times Gabriel and Abigail had met. The meetings were supposed to be fairly secret, so for them to know about them it was clear that one, if not both of them, had informants in the Crown Princess’ palace.

Well, that in itself wasn’t strange, what was strange was that they had managed to hide them from Abigail, who had a lot more information than normal people. Was it a sign of lack of trust, or a safeguard in case something went wrong? Time was probably the only thing that could answer that question.

And just like that, time continued to pass as the banquet dragged on, the emperor eventually raising his glass.

“I would like to offer one last toast. To the future prosperity of our great empire!”

“Hear Hear!”“To the empire”“To his Majesty!”“To prosperity!”

The nobles raised their glasses, all of them newly filled, and toasted along with the emperor to ring in the end of this banquet. Gabriel naturally also had to raise his glass and join in on the toast, he would have to talk with Duke Vritara once they got some privacy later. But it really seemed like the imperial family was intent on throwing nothing but wrenches into his plans.

“I know that many of you cannot way to go home to your families, but I’m afraid that I must ask our present ducal families to remain behind. We must discuss in great detail about the upcoming delegation and what we can reap from it, so the ducal families and the imperial family must discuss at length so that we can see it from every angle. So please, if you have any work that must be done, have your butlers send it over. I am aware that this is highly unorthodox, but I am sure that you can understand the gravity of the situation and what it could mean for the empire.”

The empress was the one who spoke up, but the expression and body language of the emperor showed that he was in agreement with her. Normally, something like this would be told to the dukes in private so the imperial family had probably done it publicly like this to force them to agree.

It was a risky move. The ducal families were not something that the imperial family wanted to mess with for no reason, a single ducal family revolting or trying to pull out of the empire would cause immense damage. Which meant that Gabriel could only further wonder exactly what they were gaining from this, it had to be immensely valuable.

Thus, the banquet ended with Gabriel separated from both Abigail and the ducal families he had made deals with. Alice was his fiancee but he wasn’t technically part of the Vritara family yet so he couldn’t join them for the meeting with the Imperial Family. They had arrived together ready to stir up things according to Gabriel’s plan, but in the end they had to leave separately without accomplishing anything.

But still, he maintained his calm expression as he moved away from the palace. The Emperor had already announced that the Imperial Decree would be sent out properly in the coming days, meaning that he would make it extremely public to further lock down the ones they had picked out for the delegation. It didn’t give Gabriel much time.

“Eat them? Late night snack?”

A small voice rang in Gabriel’s ears, he could practically feel Nergal’s gaze from within the darkness.

“No. Leave them be for now.”

He responded with a subdued voice, not even a whisper that could be picked up by the wind. There were currently seven people tailing him. Four of them were doing a rather ‘terrible’ job so they were probably bait meant to distract him, the three doing a good job of hiding themselves were probably the actual spies sent to track him.

For a moment he had considered killing them, but it would raise a lot of questions if the spies just suddenly vanished like that. They were probably sent by the empress, and he wanted to gather some more information before he decided on how to act. Being careless now would not be good for Alice.

So he went back to the mansion he and Alice currently resided in without raising a fuss, greeting Teresa and the two children Bellona and Edith before getting changed and entering the bath. The bathroom naturally didn’t have any windows, so he cast his magic once he was sure that the spies that still clung to him couldn’t see or detect him.

“Karas, Aset.” (Darkness, Switch.”

An inky darkness welled up from beneath his feet and swallowed him, switching his position with one of the marks he usually kept active. As for the mark he switched with this time, it was the one in the hidden underground room where Alice was currently hiding while preparing her next moves.

“You returned without Duke Vritara, and seven new tails. I take it things haven’t gone to plan?”

Alice wasn’t even surprised by his sudden appearance, stark crimson eyes meeting his while she sat on her bed. Her purple hair was slightly wet and he could detect the faint fragrance of the soap she usually used, a mix of lavender and alpine wood, she had probably come out of the bath not long ago.

“Wait. Before you answer, take this please.”

She raised her hand suddenly as he was about to answer, picking up a towel from next to her and holding it out towards him. He could tell what she wanted without her needing to say anything so he accepted the towel and sat down behind her, slowly drying her hair.

“How was the banquet? More marriage proposals?”

Alice was the one who broke the short silence that descended when Gabriel started to dry her hair, moving on to an entirely different topic from what they started with. Of course, the question she asked elicited a small smile from Gabriel.

“After that public proposal I believe that not even the brain-dead would propose to either of us.”

Gabriel of course still remembered the public proposal during their investiture. More than just remember it, he could still taste it on his lips. After seeing a proposal like that, what noble family would try to hitch him with their daughter?

“You never know, most nobles aren’t against taking a lover or two in secret, Earl Winston has even married three of his other lovers. You never know how nobles will act when they see a good bounty in front of them.”

Alice leaned back slightly as she spoke, almost leaning her head against Gabriel’s chest. Looking down from above he could see that her cheeks were slightly puffed out as she leaned heavily into her ‘indignation’. The scent of her soap hit him again, tickling his nose.

“No proposals, no attempted deals. A very tedious affair.”

His nose came to rest on top of her head as he spoke, it was an act he had no control over, his body simply moved. On the outside they were very different, it would not be wrong to call Gabriel a cruel monster. But here, in this dim room where it was just them, they were simply Alice and Gabriel.

“Then that’s good.”

Alice’s puffed up cheeks deflated as a smile graced her lips, her eyes closing as she leaned her head against Gabriel’s chest.

“I missed you, Gabriel.”

“I missed you too, Alice.”

For a moment, the two indulged in the silence, the soft scents of the other. He could hear her heartbeat, and she could hear his. Both of them could feel the blood rushing through the veins of the other, the rising heat, the thumping that slowly grew faster. But before the heat became a flame, they cut it off in favor of focusing on the current situation.

“So, who decided to mess with us?”

Alice’s eyes opened, her head tilting back so that she could look up at Gabriel, crimson melting into purple as their eyes locked.

“The Imperial Family. The First Prince has apparently negotiated an alliance with the Yverial Empire so we’re going to exchange delegations in the not too far future. The emperor and empress were very insistent that I be part of the delegation that heads to the Yverial Empire, going as far as to drafting several Imperial Decrees. They plan on leaving the search for you and dealing with the Kasarias Kingdom to the Vritara Duchy while I'm gone.”

The emperor hadn’t given an accurate time for when the delegation would leave. But based on the fact that the empress said he would probably get news of Alice before he even reached the Yverial Empire, he could guess that they planned on sending them out quite quickly.

“Hah, someone must have jingled a particularly pretty set of keys in front of their eyes to make them drool like that.”

Alice scoffed and stopped just short of cursing the Imperial Family, she couldn’t even guess what sort of reward they envisioned that they would get from this. But it would surely raise quite a bit of displeasure among some of the nobles, especially the Vritara ducal family.

“Any plans on how to get out of it?”

Alice’s eyes were clear, the border between red and purple growing blurrier by the second as the two seemingly refused to break eye contact.

“Other than giving up my noble title?”

At the moment, that was the only plan Gabriel had. If the emperor hadn’t brought out an Imperial Decree then he would have several other things he could try. But once an official order was brought out, they would have to dig a lot deeper if they wanted to find a proper solution.

“Yeah, that’s what I thought.”

Alice still didn’t close her eyes, nor did Gabriel. The scent of soap still hung in the air, red and purple no longer distinguishable from each other as Alice chewed on her next words, pondering the situation rather calmly.

“To go along with it or to refuse it… Hmm, should we just go ahead and build a vacation home in the Yverial Empire… Could just expand our home through it all… Do you think our kids would like having an empire for their back garden? Hmmm, what to do…”