Secret of Love

Emp was still a bit dazed from what happened in front of Mable's door. He had been taken completely by surprise by that kiss, it had come from right out of the blue.

When she did that, something in him moved in a way he had never felt before. He tried to understand what it was for a long time afterwards.

His heart was beating fast, but it wasn't fear or exhaustion he felt, he was pretty sure.

He didn't notice the reaction of Harriett to the event or when he stepped back in his room either. When food was served on a plate in front of him, he still had not managed to figure out what the sensation was. It was a… good feeling, at least he thought so. It was close to the excitement he felt before what he expected to be a good battle but at the same time, wildly different.

It wasn't the first time he received a kiss, how come this one felt so strange. When Marcy decided to kiss his forehead and ruffle his hair for example, he felt happiness but nothing like this.

It was indeed not far from the warmth he felt whenever he was close to those he would call his important friends but stronger in a way.

On the side, Harriett and Celtine were in the middle of a heated argument Emp was too lost in introspection to notice. They were frustrated at how bold the noble girl was.

Harriett felt restless and wondered if she should pull the rug under Mable's feet and steal her precious master lips before she could.

Celtine just felt depressed at the amount of girls around him. Wasn't he with that village girl already? Humans had some very strange customs. If he was from her tribe, he'd make it clear to both of them who he'd develop his relationship with. Humans could have many spouse at once though, she still couldn't get used to it.

Aside from their respective personal worries, they also debated on whether they should help him get out of his trance-like state or not. They weren't sure what he was thinking about or what sort of conclusion he would reach but he had been like that for a while already.

Harriett was saying they should get his attention somehow and help him with whatever he was struggling with while Celtine felt it was best to let him reach his own enlightenment.

"But what if he misunderstand something and decides to do something strange?"

< Just leave him be. Maybe he will finally be able to understand his feelings afterwards. >

They weren't able to come up with an understanding for either that or if they should or not try to distance him from the troublesome Mable.

Meanwhile, Emp organized everything in his head neatly. He examined how he felt about every single person he knew and placed them in boxes according to the type and intensity of feelings he had for them. Then, he labeled each boxes with what he felt were appropriate words of increasing precision.

Doing this, he noticed many things. He had a great amount of friends but they did not all share the same importance to him. Some, he understood, he cared more about than others. He carefully classified them all in his head, from those he barely considered friends all the way up to those that came close to what he felt for Marcy.

The smith was in a category of her own. She was one of those he felt most strongly about and he identified it as familial affection. In a subsection of this, he had a box of those he respected a lot in a similar way, his four creators and Chinui were the five residents of that box. Under them, there were all those Emp respected as elders or knowledgeable people, like the teachers, the duke, Connie and the likes.

Then, adding this to what he felt for his friends, this meant that he felt so strongly for some of his friends that he almost saw them as brothers and sisters. Still, there were a few he couldn't place there with the others even though he felt just as strongly about them, the feeling was just different. Mable, Calla, Celtine, Harriett and to a lesser degree, Galana and Brenia. It was Mable that had shaken all his classifications with her action, forcing him to reexamine everything.

Neither friend or family seemed to be the right descriptor to apply to them. They only partially fit in the laboriously erected monument of what he felt those two things were about. The warmth didn't match, he didn't feel warmer when he interacted with either previous trees. He did feel something similar while interacting with Marcy but without being able to tell the difference between the two, he could tell this wasn't the same.

There was still a piece he was missing though, he wasn't able to put a label to the boxes containing those girls.

There was a little something whispering in the back of his mind that he knew exactly what it was but he was scarred to admit it. It would be truly embarrassing if this was wrong. Maybe...

There was a way to know for sure, or at least, almost for sure.

He pushed the now cold food out of his way and placed the book of answers on the table in front of him. He gulped nervously and asked it the question that was floating in his mind.

"Aside from confusion, what is it I'm feeling right now towards them."

The cursedly untrustworthy book answered him with a blank page. This meant he knew the answer. He stared at it.

It really was love wasn't it. That was why it was so close to the affection he had for Marcy or his friends but different like a lake and an ocean.

Had he really found it? Was love just this? It seemed simpler yet enormously bigger than what he had anticipated. It was like someone told him he would bring a knife and showed up with a great sword with the width of an open hand.

The feeling wasn't foreign to him, it had been part of him ever since he had split his soul. He had just never managed to put it into words. When was the first time he felt this? He remembered the times when those feelings rose in his chest.

When Calla cried with her face buried in his shirt, when he gave Harriett her gift, in his first bout against Brenia, when Celtine gave him the solution for his problem with archery, whenever he received a letter from Galana, Calla feeding him her stew, the two servants comforting him, when Mable got overexcited for his success and of course, the one that just triggered his understanding, the kiss on his cheek. There where so many smaller things too, dueling Brenia, seeing Calla hide from the passerby across the street, the smile of Mable, all the attentions of Harriett and the mere close proximity of Celtine. Not all had the same weight in his heart but all were great, that was why he sought them. He liked giving gifts because of Harriett's reaction, he wouldn't have liked sparring so much if he had not fought Brenia after the other group.

Those events had a vast weight on his soul and changed him each time. Not because of the acts themselves but the people he associated with those memories instead and the strong feelings the memories carried.

Finding all this out gave him an intense sensation of calm, he felt relief. Finally, he understood what this was about. All the list of criteria he had made previously was pointless. The pieces fell in together in his head, he now understood what Celtine meant, the feelings were there or they weren't. He could spend all the time in the world trying to dissect them, he would never be able to figure out what it was that made them what they were. Each were unique and each existed out of his control. All those feelings belonged to him alone but none moved at his will.

The monument of carefully labeled boxes he had just made with a great amount of effort blurred and crumbled in front of his new understanding of both himself and the world around him.

He felt fine, he felt great even. He was under the impression that he had just been reborn into a new, better him. No that was wrong, it was the same exact him only everything was clearer around him now. Other feelings he did not understand before now seemed way more natural to him too. His understanding was pointless as long as he acknowledged them and saw how they affected him.

As for the kiss that caused all this, he had no clue on how to react to it.

He did not hate it, he wouldn't mind her doing it again, rather, he had the small hope she would do it again. On the other hand, he feared he might upset a very careful balance if he acknowledged it in any way.

Marcy too gave him some kisses sometimes but she wasn't in love with him, maybe Mable was just as bubbly as always and did this without thinking. Maybe it meant nothing at all to her, after all, she just left right away afterward. It was best if he just ignored the thing until she exposed her intentions more clearly.

Now that he had cleared all this up, it took him only a big breath to bring the calm back to himself and return his attention to what was around him.

He found that the two girls were starring at him with some very serious faces.

"I get it now. I understand feelings."

"Is master certain of that?"

Harriett was skeptical. After all, He had been even worse than clueless for two years straight. Of course she would not believe him if he just said that. How to prove it though?

Maybe he should use this opportunity to confirm everything once and for all. He moved his hand to call them closer to him and asked Harriett something unusual while pointing his own cheek.

"Harriett, would you please kiss me on the cheek?"

"Of course master. Master knows I would follow any orders from him, right?"

Her words seemed confident and she emphasized the word "any" but she still blushed as she leaned forward to kiss her sitting master on the cheek. She did it extremely slowly, left her lips there only an instant and backed off just as slowly.

"Was this good?"

She seemed nervous. He answered with a smile. It was just like he expected.

"Yes thank you, it was really helpful."

"Was it?"

"Yes. I never really saw you as a servant, did I?"

"Master?"

His sentence was rather unexpected and confusing for her. If she had not known him better than that, she could have thought he meant to say she was so bad at her job that he intended to get rid of her. That sort of fear had long left her though.

Celtine was observing the unfolding events from the side with great interest. She did not make a move to intervene and didn't write anything for them at all. She was just curious to see what sort of conclusion he had reached.

"I do not really know how to say it in a way that would make sense. You are an important part of my daily life. I am conscious that without you, nothing would ever get done but… I don't know. If I felt it made you unhappy to do all that work to help me, I would not let you do it. I like to see you smile more than I like the floor to be swept or my clothes to be cleaned. Does that make sense?"

The girl just seemed even more confused than before. It was rare for her master to talk without actually saying anything. The only thing she got from all that was that he was happy she liked her work.

"I'm not sure I understand what master mean but I do like to be useful. I would go crazy with nothing to do."

"I thought so but that's not what I meant."

Emp was a bit disappointed she didn't get it because he didn't know how else to put it. He decided to see if he could come up with some better words after asking the same of Celtine. He left the curious Harriett hanging like that and turned to her colleague.

"Celtine, would you please give me a small kiss as well?"

Her cheeks reddened a bit more than they already were but after a few instants of pondering, she decided to deny him and turned her face away.

Since he really needed to confirm those things now, he decided to not wait for her to change her mind or even try to convince her. Instead, he leaned forward himself and kissed her colored cheek himself.

He was surprised to discover that the feeling was just as strong while giving a kiss than receiving one. It also solidified the belief in his heart that he liked her a lot.

He saw her whole face burn bright red because of his sudden act and after a gasp form both Harriett and Celtine, the girl scowled and bit down on his shoulder that was now really close to her.

Either his skin or his clothes were pointless in front of her two long and sharp fang-like canines. They were made to pierce through hard shelled fruits so soft human skin was nothing in comparison. She bit down really hard too, it felt painful. He understood it was just some sort of retaliation for what he just did but wasn't it too exaggerated?

He let her do as she pleased though because he didn't know how to remove her from there without hurting either his shoulder her the girl herself.

"Celtine!" Harriett cried out in alarm.

Emp swiftly lifted a hand in front of her to stop her from doing anything.

"It's fine, as long as you both listen it's fine. You can stay there if you want."

He would have moved moved one of his hands to each of them but he didn't think moving his right arm like that was the smartest thing to do since she had his shoulder muscles in Celtine's mouth.

"When Mable gave me that kiss, it… somehow, it enabled me to understand more than I ever did about love and my own feelings."

He felt Celtine bite even harder on his shoulder as if to stop him from talking. He hissed in pain but he really wanted to share his new discoveries with them so he didn't stop his words.

"I think I love you two."

The teeth around his shoulder twitched and Harriett just stared slack-jawed at his words.

"My feelings for you both are way stronger than what I have for my friends. My heart jumped when Harriett kissed me and it did the same when I gave one to Celtine. You asked if I really understood but I know it to be true, I'm done trying to understand it. I don't know what to do about those feelings and I don't know what you both think of me but I feel like I needed to say it now."

There was a long silence after that, no one moved or said anything. It took such a long time before anyone reacted that one of the five rushlight Harriett had lit when he was thinking burned out, casting a corner of the room in darkness.

Harriett finally closed back her mouth and asked in a weak voice.

"Really?"

Emp nodded.

"I need you, I already said so, but not for your hard work. Even though I like how efficient and talented you are, I could live without it. You as a person on the other hand, I believe I would never be able to let go."

Harriett swayed as if she was about to collapse, clutched her heart and made the broadest smile he ever saw her do. She let herself plump unto her chair and mumbled "Master" in an absentminded voice. Emp thought her smile was probably a good sign and that she was fine so he turned his words to Celtine next.

She was still biting his shoulder and her two hands were clutching his upper half like the claws of a hunting bird.

"You too Celtine. I feel great joy whenever you achieve something, I really want you to succeed with all your goals. I think you feel the same for me, you want me to succeed not because you are my slave and not because I promised to help you either, I think you care for me."

Her fingers and mouth tensed some more but he continued to speak.

"I'm ashamed to admit, even though I really want you to get better and finally see you as you should always have been… I'm starting to feel reluctant to help you regain what you lost. I fear that once you get it all back, you will leave us. I do not want to watch you go even though I know that if you were to ask me, I would still let you leave because I couldn't bear to make you sad."

Celtine finally released his shoulder and backed a step away, lessening the pain in his shoulder. At this moment, he discovered she was crying, not of happiness.

Emp was taken aback, he didn't know what he expected but this wasn't it. He felt like someone had just clubbed him in the back of the head when he saw her face like that. Droplets of blood flowed down from the corner of her mouth to her chin but neither of them paid any attention to it.

"What's wrong? Am I somehow completely mistaken?"

She shook her head left and right. He didn't know what to do. He just said an instant ago he didn't want to make her sad and she was already crying. Great job Emp, he scolded himself on the inside.

She grasped at her writing tablet and magic pen and wrote about two words with shaking hands before stopping. The letters didn't seem like anything and both blood and tears fell on the paper around her hand. She gritted her teeth and scratched what she was writing in frustration. This didn't seem to appease her enough because she scratched it a dozen times more before ripping off the paper from the table and reducing it to shreds.

Emp looked at her in worry and unable to endure his gaze, she ran off to her shared bedroom. By running, Emp really meant throwing herself at the door since actually running there would have made her fall over. In any case, Emp didn't understand what just happened at all. He looked towards Harriett for an answer but she looked just as lost as he was.

"I'll go after her. Maybe she will tell me something once she has calmed down."

Harriett proposition seemed to be as good as any so he agreed with a nod. She rose up from her chair and slowly walked up to the door of her room before stopping and turning around to call out to him again.

"Master."

"Hmm?"

"I was really glad to hear master say that to me, to us. Thank you, I really value both master's words and the feelings behind them."

Emp nodded again with a half smile. He was comforted to know that at least one of the two seemed to have appreciated his discovery.

"I will not doubt master on those things anymore but, what about miss Mable?"

"I believe I like her too." Emp answered honestly.

"I see…"

She made a curtsy and left the main room to join Celtine.

Once he was alone in the main room, Emp ate half of his cold meal and decided he wasn't hungry anymore. He didn't feel all that well.

The feeling of love was a happy one wasn't it? How come that when exposed, it could produce such an opposed result? He didn't get it at all. She was usually so happy when he made some progress, how come this time she fell into tears?

He rubbed his painful shoulder and walked to his own bedroom.

Sitting down on his bed, he contemplated what to do with the rest of his feelings.

He had already settled on what to do for Mable, nothing, and told the two slaves what he felt about them. What was he to do about the remaining three?

Calla was delicate, he wasn't sure if she was just really kind and liked to cook or if she thought something special of him. If he was wrong and told her something off the mark, she might just hide in her room and never come out again. He'd rather see her happy with someone else than never see her again because he embarrassed her too much. Maybe his mother would have something to say on this but in the meantime, he'd rather not do anything.

As for Brenia and Galana, he didn't know what to do either.

The feelings he had for those other two were more blurry, way less clear than what he felt for Celtine or Mable.

He suspected that his attachment to Galana was only due to her being the first real girl he spoke to. She was imprinted in his memory as the first girl he really met. On top of that, she was very knowledgeable and he liked to tease her. Even back then before his two souls bloated so much that his emotions got throttled, he had a lot of fun annoying her and watching all her reactions. He didn't know if this was true love or just strong attachment he felt for her. It wasn't quite love but noting else either, a sort of attraction. Maybe he liked her reactions and knowledge more than the girl herself?

Brenia was more of the same. Whenever he fought her, his heart surged and he always looked forward to those moments. However, just meeting her in the corridors or talking to her in class, the feeling was much duller. Was it the excitement of a good fight he liked or her? It didn't do the same when he fought hard with Nessa or one of the boys, why did his heart act like this only for Brenia? More down to earth, there was no way he was going to ask Brenia to kiss his cheek in order to make sure of his own feeling. He was pretty sure he would end up in a fight that wouldn't end up until he was full of bruises.

He let out a long sigh. He was so happy to have finally found what love was about but now, he was already in front of another wall. He had no clue about what to do with all these feelings he had for everyone. He wanted to give them more than ever but at the same time, he feared they would turn them against him like Celtine.

He should go talk to Love should he not? His other mother. She would know what to do with this mess, this was her domain after all.

In the meantime, it was best to sleep. He'd take care of this in the next few days. Before the new year at the latest, he would go back to the temple.

Like he did everyday, he checked on the ring before really getting into bed. Once he was done, he'd check the bag for the message from his other self and get to sleep.

Looking in the clouds floating peacefully inside the ring, he read the information available to him.

First, Celtine. The ring said she was torn, felt guilty and was crying in her bedroom. Emp hoped she'd be better tomorrow, he didn't understand what being torn was about and didn't see a reason for her to feel guilty either.

Next was Harriett, she was excited but somehow, felt guilty as well? The ring said she was pondering in her bedroom. What was happening with those two? He was starting to regret saying anything.

The ring said Calla currently felt determined and was working hard in her house. He wondered what she was working hard for, she couldn't possibly be making food at this hour right?

Willow didn't put the ring back on, he didn't think she ever would. This meant that Marcy was currently the only one wearing a ring that he had no romantic love for.

His mother's ring had turned into something thick and solid, it was silver with a tint of steel and bordered by fine gold. She wore it on her index finger but kept removing it because it didn't feel right into her thick forge gloves.

According to the ring, Marcy was currently wearing it and was sleeping. To be exact, the ring said she was not conscious but after the first few times he got scared for nothing at all, he got used to its weird way to put it.

Finally, he moved the clouds so that they would show him Mable's information. Terrified was the first word he read.

His heart skipped a beat, what was happening with her? He rushed through the rest of the information given. "Petrified, in her bedroom." As he was reading it, "terrified" changed for "in mortal danger"

The words the ring offered him stroke fear in his heart as strong as the one Mable had been feeling. Mortal danger! He felt his scalp go numb and almost immediately after, his blood rushed through him at an untold speed.

Before he had even realized he was up from his bed, he had already slammed open the door to his bedroom. Before the two girls were done gasping in surprise in their own room, he had already done the same to his main door and scrambled in the corridor.

He rushed through the pitch black corridor without care. There were no light sources here but he didn't mind, it wasn't the first time he ran here in the dark. His mind was empty, everything was moving on its own.

He reached for the doorknob of Mable's room with his left because his hammer was now in his right. Locked, he did not think further about it and kicked it open.

The wooden door was thick and solid, it did not break but the lock was ripped out of the stone wall instead with a single hit of his foot. He heard the two servants scream of fright from their room but he paid them no attention. Mable was in her own room, he did not spare a glance to the main room and stepped up to her own door instantly.

This time, he did not even try it and broke it down immediately.

There was a loud crash as the door burst open and bumped against the wall at the end of its arc.

In the time of a blink, he had taken the whole scene in, a man sat on top of Mable who way laying on the floor near the door. He had some sort of small weapon in his hand and was roaming his other hand over her body. The rest of the room was utterly irrelevant to him, he raised his hammer.

By the time the guy raised his surprised head to see who had opened the door, Emp's hammer was already ramming into his chest. Emp had put his whole strength into that swing, he heard all his ribs crack and the aggressor was sent flying backwards.

With his breath instantly taken form him, he made no sound aside from the whistling of the air as he flew back. He crashed through the panels serving as the balcony doors, hit his head on the stone wall over the door on his way out and spun over the railing and into the empty air of the night sky.

He never had even a second to react, Emp didn't even catch a real glimpse of his face before he ejected him from the room. If only he had not raised his head to look at the door, Emp would have been able to remove it from his shoulders with that swing. He surprised himself thinking he really wished it had happened this way.

Instead, there were only a splash of blood over her balcony doors and a pair of scissors that flew across the room to prove he had really hit the man.

Scissors? where did those come from?

As for the man himself, Emp guessed he would end up crashing somewhere on the training ground bellow and he felt the urge to jump after him to make sure he would not come back up.

He swiftly decided to not do so when he saw the panic stricken Mable. She was the one needing help, the other guy didn't matter at all. Whether he was dead or alive, Emp didn't care for now, he needed to make sure Mable was was alright first.

He had felt so worried for her, the sensation had been even worse than that time with the wolves. So much so that the world around him had ceased to exist. Back then, he was already there so he knew what was happening, he had been away for just a second, this time, he had no clue what was happening before he stepped in her room. With the immediate danger removed, the world around him started to move again. The lights came back up in his mind and his blood slowed down, almost feeling as if it flowed in reverse for an instant.

The bedroom was dark but thanks to the broken doors leading outside, the moonlight was let in and permitted him to scan the surroundings thoroughly. Her bed was huge and had a big colorful canopy made of silken drapery and thin cloth waving in the wind. Her covers were half thrown off the bed and her hair was spread through the whole room and over her bed.

There were flower petals spread everywhere, a disarrayed bouquet in a corner and a surprising amount of what he felt was cake splashed by chunks in her hair, on the floor and even in her bed. Had she been eating cake before this happened?

The scissors had ended their course close to the balcony after bumping in the wall. Speaking of he wall, there were large drawings painted on them. Emp could only assume they were some sort of magic related things since it seemed out of place and oddly geometrical. He had no idea what they were supposed to do.

Before thinking about them though, he needed to remove the scissors from here, she was still fixated on them. If he had not known about Mabel's secret fear, he would have had to spend a lot of time trying to figure out why she was still in this state after he removed the man. He picked up the metal tool, it was still clean meaning it had not been used to hurt her. Satisfied with his finding, he threw it out from the balcony, maybe he'd get lucky and they would plant themselves into the guy he threw out.

Just after he threw them out, he froze, a question showed up in his head. How did the man know about the scissors? Wasn't it a well kept secret? Who was he to know this and why did he attack her in her room?

Once the scissors had disappeared, he heard her cry out his name, sob once and then start to wail loudly.

He turned back towards the room and discovered she was still laying on the floor. She wasn't as rigid as before though, she now looked like a puppet with all its strings cut, it was as if she had no more strength to do anything else than lay there and cry.

He also saw the two shocked face of her slaves in the destroyed doorway. He really must have looked like a madmen to them, suddenly bursting into the room of their master armed and breaking all the doors. Their mistress was collapsed on the floor and there wasn't even a real trace of the true assailant left. The obvious conclusion would be that he was the attacker, he hoped they would trust him enough to listen to his words. He pointed their way with his hammer and they shivered intensely.

"You two, I need the guards called over, the ancient too. I want people searching the training ground bellow us for the guy that attacked her."

The two of them twitched but neither gave any indication that they would follow his commands. He could only sigh in disappointment. What was he supposed to do then? Mable was still completely out of it, he couldn't leave her here by herself. Would he have to wait for her to regain her reason before he could call for help?

His salvation came in the form of Harriett who pushed the other two servants aside and stepped into the room.

"Master, I followed the trail of things master broke, what is happening? Do you need me for anything?"

So reliable! He was so happy she was there. She seemed a bit different than earlier but it currently did not matter.

"Harriett, I need you to fetch me the ancient and the guards, Mable was attacked in her room."

"Understood master!"

She lowered her head in acknowledgment and left with her own light source. he had forgotten to ask her to have the yard searched but the most important had been said. Anyway, the guy wasn't going anywhere after the strike he received and the fall he endured.

It was surprising how often she was asked to go get the ancient. He'd be so mad again but for once, Emp wouldn't be the cause of it.

"How dare they!" He'd yell. Emp could already see it.

Now that this was taken care off, he stepped to Mable's side and examined her closely. He needed to make sure she wasn't hurt anywhere. Her nightgown was in disarray but there were no obvious rip in it and he couldn't see any wounds on the rest of her bare skin. Her eyes were closed and her face full of flowing tears. He wanted to ask her about what just happened and if she was hurt somewhere but he found painful to look at her like this.

Emp sat down at her side, as closely as possible to her and spoke in the softest voice he could achieve.

"Mable, I'm here now. I beat the bad guy and I got rid of the scissors. Everything is fine now."

As her only answer, she continued to cry and sob and just raised her two arms in his vague direction, like a small child wanting a hug. He felt a twinge in his heart and did as she requested.

He left his hammer to his other side and bent further down to slide his arms under her. Gently, he reached all the way around her and dragged her up to him, letting her rest in his arms. That scene reminded him of when Calla jumped into his arms except this time, he was more comfortably sat and he wasn't as unsure on what to do.

Mable didn't reach around him like Calla had done and instead only let herself get embraced. She nestled herself there and while he held her against him with one arm, he tried to stroke her hair to calm her with the other.

***

Hidden from the mortal world, Love and Luck were eating delicacies and junk food as they watched the situation of their personal creation. They were both lounging on divinely comfortable couches so luxurious even the highest royalty would not dare place their buttocks on them. The room around them was vast, impressively resplendent and empty aside from the low table and the two couches. Since she could just phase things in and out of the room to her will, anything else would be superfluous, a smudge in her perfect residence.

Love had a big smile plastered across her face, she was ecstatic at the new development she saw today. Her dark purple eyes where shining with excitement.

"Finally, the real good stuff is about to start. I was so annoyed when I found out his emotions got locked."

She smiled Luck's way and threw a heart shaped chocolate into her mouth. Her long hair was dancing in happiness, floating under the influence of a nonexistent wind.

The other god was back to his masculine shape and wore the most dreadful clothes she had ever seen. She felt that her sister Beauty would just die instantly seeing this abomination, that was why she was hanging out with him so much. That way, her sister was kept at bay. Luck answered her with a wry smile.

"With all your temples, I'm surprised you still have the time to laze here all day with me to watch him."

He reached out his long fingers over the chocolate and picked up a maple donut instead. She brushed off his accusation with her delicate hand.

"No biggie, I can still hear it all from here so it's fine. I like you better as a woman, you feel less naggy."

Luck snorted and stuffed the whole donut in his mouth at once. He just chose at random, like everyday, his personality didn't change at all because of what sex he happened to be. Instead of biting onto her petty nitpicks, he returned the talk back to Emp. His mouth was still full but if it could annoy her, it was perfect.

"Do you think he really likes those two servants?"

She showed him disgust for his improper action but still answered honestly. In the end, he was still better than Sage or Strength. Why didn't she hang out more with Life instead? Maybe she should put her jealousy aside and mend their relationship, she felt as if all her friends where idiots. The only reason she couldn't stand Life was because she couldn't make a new life of her own.

"He does, it's really easy for him to love. I made him that way after all."

"Just how much influence did you have in his creation?"

Luck looked at her with accusing eyes as if she had cheated. She threw his reproaches right back at him. And complained on top of it.

"Don't look at me like that, I know you did the same, we all did. We all told each other that we wouldn't do anything excessive but we all cheated in secret. We all tweaked the bits we care about. The only reason he isn't much stronger is because we all found each other's tweaking to be distasteful. If I had not intervened, he would be a freaking giant because of strength and sage would have made him an emotionless machine. I'm still convinced it's his fault if my Emp struggled so long with basic emotions."

"That's true in a way but you were more zealous than any of us. It's just a stupid bet with a mortal. We could just topple a mountain over his head and end it here yet you insisted that we do it that way."

"Don't pretend like you don't know. He's the only son I'll ever gonna get. It's obvious I'll dote on him a lot."

"A son you say? It was Sage that made him and he was based on those guys DNA so that the temporary soul would fit. How is he your son?"

Love just looked away in an attempt to dodge his question. Being the goddess of love, she had been witness to the strongest love of them all so many times since the very first human being appeared on this world. Even before it could be seen everywhere in nature. The love of any mortal creature for their progeny. She craved to feel that love as well since millenniums ago. She was unable to produce any children however, she had never been able to, a great torture to her. All she could do was favor the wishes of mothers and fathers over the world. That was, until now.

Unable to read an answer on the face of Love, Luck looked back down through the pure white floor and locked his eyes onto Emp who was currently consoling the girl.

"Don't tell me… His eyes are hazel but in the depth of his iris and even his pupil itself, isn't there some purple? How come I never noticed before? What did you do?"

"Don't ask questions you already know the answer of." She told him with a dark look.

"You're not supposed to mess around too much with things down there, do you intend to just carry him to the top?"

"I don't want to hold his hand too much because I want him to be proud of himself but nothing is stopping me from moving things around him right?"

"Aside from our bet?"

"Do you really think I care?"

For her, the bet had been a simple opportunity to get what she wanted. Luck released a disheartened sigh. He wasn't in the mood for any more sugar filled food. He turned over himself so that he sat upside down and answered her question in a way she would understand.

"No, but since you somehow managed to convince Sage to help you create that kid for the bet, you know he'll want to respect the rules. He has always been like that."

"It's going to be fine as long as I don't do anything obvious. A bit of tweaking here and there is fine if I don't intervene in my son's problems directly."

"A bit of tweaking? You slowly overloaded that man's brain with desire over the past year." Luck complained, pointing out the courtyard with his thin finger.

Love only answered with a shrug, not caring at all.

"He's fine. Anyway, my Emperor needs to learn. Sacrificing that one random bug for it is well worth it. Plus, it gets him closer to that girl. Look, I prepared a sweet message for her for when she decides to come ask me counsels."

She got a piece of paper from thin air and made it float all the way to Luck's hand that was resting on the floor.

He grabbed it from the air and after unfurling and turning it around, read the message it contained.

<Traitors beyond the wall, suitors inside the wall. The wall is where they meet. Either you find love on it or you burn it all down with the threat.>

"What does that even mean?" Luck complained.

When he wanted something known, he was more of the mind to say it directly. He wasn't a big fan of metaphors and enigmas.

"You don't get it because you never pay attention to anything. You just keep wasting your time stealing money from random mortals in bars and taverns."

"It's not stealing, it's gambling."

"For you it's the exact same!"

The two continued to bicker while the scene below moved on