THIRD TIME'S A CHARM

"THE LOCATION itself is the problem, oppa."

Diether didn't show it, but deep inside, he was worried by what Francine said.

[Francine is very influential as the Saintess of the Avari Temple. There are only a few places on the entire continent that she doesn't have access to. But if she's this worried, does it mean it's a place where even the Saintess couldn't reach?]

"It's Mount Ashira, oppa," Francine said worriedly. "The mountain is located in the Casnia Islands, but…"

"But it's owned by the king," Diether said, nodding as he finally understood why Francine looked worried. "Although Mount Ashira is located in our territory, the mountain itself is owned by His Majesty."

Hence, he couldn't simply trespass even though he was the king's nephew.

But that wasn't the reason why the mountain was a restricted area.

"Why would Celeste even go to a dangerous place like that?" Diether wondered out loud. "Mount Ashira is the place where Rui, the evil dragon, was slain by Goddess Avari a few centuries ago. Apparently, the evil dragon's remains are still buried deep in the mountain. Hence, it's plagued with dark energy."

And he was certain that Celeste knew that.

Even though Mount Ashira was the king's property, there were no royal knights guarding the mountain range. After all, it was a place that not even hardcore criminals would think about using as a hide-out.

[Not unless they want to die, of course.]

Diether gulped, his thoughts getting worse…

"Oppa, I'm certain that Celeste unnie is still alive," Francine assured him as if she could read his mind. "Unnie and I made an oath before, and that oath binds our souls together. I would know if unnie has already left the world for good."

He was relieved to hear that.

"Oppa, we both know that Celeste unnie is a special existence," Francine said gently. "I'm sure there's a reason why she headed to Mount Ashira."

The Saintess was correct.

[I've never confronted Celeste about it before because it didn't bother me, but I have a feeling that she could see the future based on her actions.]

That was why they had always trusted Celeste and her decisions in the past.

"In three years since Celeste disappeared, this is the first time we got a clue as to where she might have gone to."

"And it's all thanks to you, oppa," Francine said, smiling gratefully at him. "You've been bringing high-quality Artifacts to me for the past three years. Hence, my divine power increased a lot."

Diether smiled and patted Francine's head like how Celeste would pat Francine's head in the past. Of course, he only did that because only the two of them were in the prayer room. He would address and treat Francine properly as the Saintess in front of other people. "Keep up the good work, Francine," he said. "I have a feeling we will find Celeste soon."

***

SONATA smiled while watching the nine children that she saved from Mr. Simon's gang earlier.

She left the kids to Madam Margo because she needed to talk to Diether first.

And when she returned to the Marigold Pavilion, the children had already taken a bath. Right now, the kids were enjoying their warm and hearty meal in the dining hall of Madam Margo's mansion.

None of the children were talking– everyone was busy eating.

"Are you not going to say 'hi' to the kids you saved, Nata?"

"Let them have dinner in peace first," Sonata said, turning to Madam Margo with a smile. "Thank you for taking care of them for me, Madam."

"How could I say 'no' to my savior?"

She just laughed softly and shook her head. "Madam, the kid's bath…"

Madam Margo turned serious. "You have to see it for yourself, Nata. Since your mysterious boss is already there, I can't accompany you."

The madam was talking about Captain Redwood.

[As the captain of the king's Secret Order, Captain Redwood can't show his face to people that the king didn't approve of.]

"I'll be back, Madam."

Sonata went to the bathroom after saying goodbye to Madam Margo.

She said 'bathroom,' but it was actually more of an indoor pool because of how big the tub was.

Sonata suddenly remembered something interesting when she saw the indoor pool.

[If I remember correctly, it was Lord Diether's wife who introduced the concept of 'indoor pool' to the public. Celeste Hexford also made Casnia Islands a famous tourist attraction when she turned part of it into a 'waterpark.']

It was quite funny because she also had the same idea when she was in her teens.

In fact, Sonata had almost bought an island that she could turn into something fun when Celeste Hexford opened a waterpark in the Casnia Islands. She didn't want to be accused of copying Celeste Hexford, so she abandoned the idea and decided to open a different business.

Since she had already set her eyes on a certain island, she decided to invest in pearls.

But Celeste Hexford had suddenly launched a pearl jewelry line.

It was actually fine with her.

[But the thing that got me really heartbroken was when Celeste Hexford made a successful business out of coconut trees.]

Sonata had traveled to a tropical country where she fell in love with coconuts. She tried to bring it to the Western Continent, but the climate was too cold for coconuts to grow there. While she was in the middle of looking for a place on the continent with a subtropical climate, Celeste Hexford suddenly introduced coconuts to the kingdom.

The Hexfords had more money and influence than her, so she couldn't compete with them.

[I still love coconuts, so I supported Celeste Hexford's coconut business.]

She had to give up on becoming a businesswoman, though.

[It's okay since I got busy with the Red-light District, anyway.]

"Lady Sonata, you're here."

Sonata smiled and nodded at Captain Redwood.

But her smile disappeared as soon as she saw how black the water in the huge tub was.

And the water turned into that horrible state because of what people would call 'Corruption.' It was the kind of dark energy that would feed on a human's life force.

Sonata clenched her hands. "All this Corruption came from the children?"

The water in the tub wasn't actually water.

It was her blood that filled that tub.

[My blood has the power to purify that disgusting thing, after all.]

But the children would be scared if they saw blood in the tub, so she used a magic device to turn the 'water' blue.

"That's right, Lady Sonata," Captain Redwood said. "They're even using children now."

'They' would be the Rui Cult that the Zerua Kingdom had been trying to eliminate since time immemorial.

[And the king asked me to aid the Secret Order in eliminating the cult.]

"I should head back to the palace and report to His Majesty."

"I'll do it," she said. "I need to talk to the king, anyway."

"You're going to the palace, my lady?"

"It's my parents' fourth death year anniversary soon," she said, sighing. "The king wants to hold a memorial service for them and the other war heroes who died during the last war."

Captain Redwood nodded. "Then see you at the palace later, Lady Sonata," he said, then he let out a soft 'ah' as if he just remembered something important. "About the corpses of Mr. Simon and the patrons that you and Commander Hexford killed earlier… as expected, they turned out to be demons. Do you think the commander noticed that the 'humans' you killed were actually demons in disguise, my lady?"

"No, I don't think so," she said, shaking her head. "The commander looked pretty out of it."

"They say the commander loses his mind every time he's in 'kill mode.'"

[That's just him being suicidal.]

"I'll dispose of the corpses after I purify this ugly thing."

Captain Redwood looked concerned. "Lady Sonata, we can dispose of the corpses and just give you the ashes later. You're working too hard these days."

"Thank you for the concern, but I'm really fine, Captain," Sonata said, smiling. "I have to do this much so the Grand Duke and the king would stop pestering me about marrying Lord Diether."

***

[TSK.]

Diether wanted to click his tongue when he saw his father as soon as he entered the king's private tearoom, but he refrained from doing so.

After all, he was in the presence of the king.

[I asked a private audience with His Majesty, so why did His Majesty invite my father?]

Diether bowed his head to King Seymour Lomello– the king of the Zerua Kingdom– then he scowled. "Greetings, Your Majesty."

"Don't be too formal with me, Diether," King Seymour said in his usual playful tone. "You're only bowing his head that low to hide your scowl, aren't you? My dear nephew must be upset that I invited his father without telling him~"

"Your Majesty, if I agree with you, would I be charged with treason?"

The king just laughed, as usual. "Of course not. Raise your head, Diether."

He did as the king ordered him to.

God, Diether really wanted to scowl again.

His father and the king, despite having a five-year age gap, could pass off as twins. The two had different auras, of course.

The king was the sunshine type, while his father was the gloomy type.

"My nephew is really handsome," the king said approvingly while nodding as if he was proud. "Sit down."

Diether thanked the king before taking a seat.

"So, let's hear, my dear nephew," the king said, smiling. "Why did you request to have an audience with me?"

Diether hated his father's presence there, but he went straight to the point because he didn't want to waste time. "Your Majesty, I'd like to have your permission to enter Mount Ashira."

The king, and even his father, both looked shocked by what he said.

"Mount Ashira?" the king asked carefully. "Did the Saintess receive a Vision from Goddess Avari, Commander?"

Ah, the king addressed him formally.

[He must think it's related to the evil dragon.]

"No, Your Majesty," he said while shaking his head. "It's for a personal reason."

He would lie if he could.

[But His Majesty is good at telling if a person is lying or not.]

The king looked relieved by what he said, then His Majesty smiled apologetically at him. "If that's the case, then I'm sorry, my dear nephew. But only the Grand Duke of House Hexford has access to Mount Ashira. After all, aside from the direct members of the Royal Family, only the Grand Duke has the blessing to withstand the dark energy scattered in the mountain."

Diether scowled while clenching his hands tight.

[Should I just trespass then?]

"I'll pass the title as the Grand Duke to you if you marry Sonata Florin, son," his father said firmly. "If you really need to enter Mount Ashira, then you need to become the Grand Duke first."

[By marrying Sonata Florin…?]

***

"DON'T people say that if you meet the same person three times in a row, then it must be fate?" Sonata teased Diether when they bumped into each other at the entrance of the king's palace. "Lord Diether, is this fate?"

Of course, the stiff Diether Hexford just looked at her with a blank look on his face.

She was about to excuse herself when, suddenly, the commander spoke.

"Lady Florin," Diether said in a tired voice, the dark circles under his eyes as gloomy-looking as his entire personality. "Let's get married."

Sonata smiled, tilting her head to one side. "I'm sorry, but no."