His eyes were diverted to the amount of money left at his hands, but his feet continued to move towards the end of the bazaar without a willingness to stop. "I can fit in a few more things if I wanted... But I guess I can't just be spending so deliberately on useless stuffs and save them like Aefia." He spoke to himself while glancing up.
In front of him was the direct opposite of what he had seen at the marketplace. The buildings were abandoned and broken, more like travelling back in time and burnt. The heavy blizzard obscured whatever was a little far from where he was standing. "I don't even understand how I feel like I have entered a dungeon." He spoke while glancing at the snow below him.
Blood splattered against the white powder, and the harsh winds were blowing a few snowflakes into his eyes. He rubbed them, then diverted his eyes to the nearby scene, which was the proof a blood fight. "I think I am in a dungeon... Oh well... I might as well try and help whoever is in here."
He took a step forward while pocketing the brooch at his jacket and walking forward, although he knew he didn't have a weapon to fight nor did he have adequate training. "But if she can do it, then I guess I can too. Aefia is just... A battle maniac who invents and tests her tactic on the battlefield, despite it being just a question in her mind. I might as well try being at her place for once..."
He slightly pulled up his sleeves, then immediately pulling them back down. "Too cold... I will just use my gloved hands..." He spoke to himself while glancing every side for a sign of a monster. "Oh there is one approaching." He spoke to himself as he watched the silhouette turn clearer the more it moved closer. "Hold on... Is it really a monster?" He asked himself while squinting his eyes.
But as soon as the silver and black hair came into view, fluttering against the harsh winds. His own hands fell to his sides as he watched with disbelieve. At her hands was an unconcious person, and her forehead bleeding with a new wound, and the blood freezing against her skin.
"Aefia...? ... Aefia what the heck?!" He shouted while racing towards her.
Just when, her strength gave up, her dark hoodie too thin to keep the sides of her face from turning frosted by a bit. Her knees shock, but she still walked in front of him. "Get out of this dungeon... She is still there..." She whispered as the back fo her throat started to freeze, as if she was swallowing too cold ice cream.
"Who?" Lewis asked as he watched the way she was struggling to survive.
"The Guardian of Silence... I thought, I killed her... But she happened to be immortal... And she is still trying to find a new target..." Aefia spoke as her breath started to freeze. "Do me a favor... Give me that scarf..." She spoke while bending down and laying Nada on the snow carpet.
He gave her the scarf, but still stayed silent as he watched her bloodied fingers tie it tightly around her neck and then over her head. The make-shift hood worked to shield her face and especially the blood, and keeping her face slightly warm at the same time. "Do you have a question in mind?" She asked when sensing the strange face he was making at her direction.
"Yes... Why has your magic suddenly gone missing?" He asked while clenching his fist tightly, until his knuckles went white. "And who is she?"
***
"Here, your locket back..." Nada spoke while stepping to her place and holding out her hand. "It is pretty beautiful." She added, in the hopes of probably owning it if she wished.
"Thanks, but it's belongs to the duchess." Aefia replied while standing up, despite her knees feeling like lead. "Are you alright? How are you feeling?" She asked while recalling the short amount of time that she had seen the Guardian fly through her cousin, knowing her unconscious in the process.
"I feel like my soul was taken out and placed back." The girl replied while locking her hazel eyes at the bandage that rested on Aefia's forehead. "Did I do that? Or did the Guardian?" She asked with a concern and the feeling of unwanted guilt.
"No, I accidentally nicked myself while trying to catch you from falling down." She answered back while wearing the locket around her neck again. "Don't worry. It isn't painful in anyway and I don't mind it at all. I have endured harsher and I can stand this enough." She lifted her head while offering a smile.
"So... Aefia..." Nada hesitated, as she clasped her hands behind her and started to turn side to side. "You know you are rich and practically the Imperial Princess with a lot of money and you have a lot of time... Well you are in a vacation with your siblings... And you were counting a lot of money this morning so I was wondering..." She trailed off for a bit while watching her cousing get up from the sofa.
Should I say it?
"Let me guess... Do you want to go shopping?" She asked while placing her hands on her shoulders to keep her from rotating again and again. "I was thinking on what I was going to spend it on and I really wanted to ask you for help to pick out something to buy..." Her hands dropped form her shoulders as soon as her cousin's momentem came to a stop.
"Then let's go already!" Nada shouted in excitement while grabbing at Aefia's coat and tossing it at her face. Then, she grabbed at another one of her coats and pulled it over her own body. Just when, the door slammed open and Lewis came in. "Hey Aefia... Do you think–"
"Back off... She is busy." Nada slammed him against the hotel door and zoomed past him while dragging her cousin along with her. "Well you can't just pull her like that! She is my sister! How do I trust you with her?!" He shouted back.
"Well I am her biological cousin!"
"Wait what?!"
"Yeah she is..." Aefia replied by intervening. "Grab a coat and follow along if you like. I am in a mood to get out of here anyways..."
"Five seconds!" Lewis shouted back while running to his own room. As soon as he dissapeared, she looked at her cousin who turned frustrated. "Seriously Aefia? Come along?" Nada spoke while crossing her arms.
"You don't have a choice... He is overprotective and fears I will accidentally kill myself in a fight." She shrugged back while placing her hand into her pocket, trying to reach for her phone. "Oh about that... Can you wait here? I will be right back. I have someone to meet. Don't worry, I will be at the lobby."
With that, she didn't let her speak and rushed away towards the elevator. Her system had already cooled down, and she had also stolen a little bit of Nada's energy to gain strength for a few more things. Luckily she still had reserve to use at least one of her skills. She had a functioning inventory, and she was lucky that it was still usable. She scrolled through the items inside, and finally found the thing she had been looking for. It appeared at her hand as soon as she pulled it out, although it was the first time she had done it.
As soon as she stepped onto the meeting area of the lobby, she was met with a seated person at the table. "Your phone..." He spoke while pushing it forward and stood up. "So where is she?"
"Well... You might want to ask her yourself about that." She answered while taking her phone back.
"I guess it is fine." Helio shrugged while placing his hands inside his pockets. "But the question I wanted to ask... How did you injure your neck? And you seem to have gotten a few more injuries from the dungeon. Are you alright?"
"Yeah I am alright... Although it does hurt sometimes." She answered back politely while pocketing her phone. "Either ways, I had a few things to discuss with you if you don't mind. Maybe I have a few request that needs to be fulfilled."
"Sure what is it?"
"It's about the other piece of land... The one that I happened to have claimed the ownership over. Well I was thinking that I might not be able to take care of it as much since I have a few things that need to be done once I am at the palace. So I wanted to hand down the full ownership to you." She replied while pulling a small stone that she had to keep.
"Wait... Why?" He asked concerned while gazing at the small stone.
"I won't be able to take a 'why' for an answer. It's either yes or no. Because I am almost always away from it and my links to it are not as strong as yours, because practically, you are the one managing it. So it would be a better and safer choice to hand it to you before I have to leave for the palace again."
Helio didn't say a word in response, except of staring at her with a disbelief. "Is the work at the palace that long and occupying? Maybe you could pay a last visit before you are forced to completely push the information to the back of your mind?" He asked while taking the stone.
"I guess... I can try... But I can't promise it. Hopefully though... I should be able to force it into my time." She answered while offering a smile. "But if it also isn't a problem with you, maybe we should exchange contacts because I would like to keep in touch with Nada. At one point she will get a phone while staying at this empire... So maybe after she has a personal stable communication device, I would be able to talk to her through your phone."
"Yeah sure..." Helio answered while pulling out his own phone. Well honestly... I was thinking of it anyway.
He thought to himself while typing in his own contact line onto her phone first, then calling to check if it was correct. "There... That's my contact number. I am painfully only available around the night time, in case you needed to know."
"Yeah sure, I don't mind." Aefia answered back while pulling her phone back on. Just then, the door to the meeting room slammed open and Nada bursted inside while yelling. "Hurry up! I don't want to waste my time on anything else! Who the heck is this important person you needed to meet that was an urgent task that needed to be completed right away?!" She started to pull her wrist, trying to drag her out, when her eyes diverted to the person opposite to the table.
"Wait a minute..." She squinted her eyes at the blonde person. "What the heck are you doing here? And how come you are more important to her then me?" She shouted while slamming her hands onto the table.
"Well, we were just discussing a few things about the competition." He added calmly while pocketing his phone and shrugging.
"Well the competition is definitely not what it looks like... I am thinking... Something else." She asked back while watching her cousin step back from the chaos.
"Where do you think you are going?"
"You mind is toxic... That is why I am stepping back from this." Aefia smiled while placing her hands into her pocket.
"Hold on! Don't you get the thing? He is more important to you then me!" Nada snapped at her face.
"Well because you were practically supposed to be waiting for Lewis. And I needed to discuss a few things about a specific thing to him. And even if I explained it to you, there is no way you would understand it. So I didn't involve you into it."
"And what specific thing is that?"
"A specific fallen empire that in the normal participant's ears, is supposed to be a world." Aefia answered back while pushing past her cousin and walking out of the door, leaving only Nada and Helio in the meeting room. Before long, she finally broke the silence while looking back at him, opposite to where she was.
"You better be explaining it all when we are back at the office."
As the words floated in the air as she turned around and walked out of the room.
Darn... I think I have lost my strict composure in the ten days that she had been gone. I need to get back at it. He walked out of the room with the thought in mind. His eyes only glancing at the stone that is supposed to be a sort of 'inheritance' of a throne in this world. I will have to keep at it until she takes it back.
Meanwhile, Lewis stood asking Aefia multiple questions at once.
"Relax... I already said it... She is my cousin and if you act too infuriated, she will snap your neck with her bare hands." She finished the argument with her words. "And she just wants to go shopping. If I am going to get dragged into palace again, I would rather spend one day with my cousin then return with a regretful mind."
"Alright! Fine! Then don't call me a brother for a day! That girl is trying to keep my sister away from." He crossed his arms while facing towards the door. "Yeah... I don't mind." Aefia replied while falling back on her steps. Watching as her cousin and brother walked away.
Then, turning to check if Helio was coming. But seeing as to how he wasn't even visible, she started to grow infuritated. That was when a tap fell on her shoulder and she turned around.
"Looking for me?" Helio asked while watching her turn around. Aefia flashed an irritated smile and stayed silent for a while.
"Do you know what my cousin means when she say all that?" She finally asked after a moment.
"I am afraid I do."
End of Book 1: Part 1