Heart of sands - II

"Are you trying to bring down the whole Sabbianyth Empire?"

Her blonde hair fluttered as the winds brushed past them roughly. Before she knew it, the woman was already making a bittersweet face.

Had it not been for the present situation, she could've quietly watched from the sidelines. Unfortunately, the storm devouring the blue skies needed someone to stop it.

"Who said that now?"

The orb in the woman's hand glistened faintly. Her lips extended outward lightly, forming a mischievous grin. That look on her face gave the blonde-haired woman goosebumps.

That ancient relic was what allowed people to live peacefully in that dry terrain. If anyone were to steal away the only thing that kept that place habitable, then only destruction awaited them.

Originally, Heart of Sands helped maintain the empire by modifying the weather. Even before the Age of Dragons, it greatly helped people to survive in that sandy land.

Before the current emperor, Kamran, rose to power, the Sabbianyth Empire had been weak. As soon as he became emperor, he changed most laws.

He levied heavy taxes on merchants while making it seem reasonable. Since it was the first time they had seen such laws, even the experienced merchants fell for them.

That's how Kamran became the richest man on the continent. Unlike him, Aliana had a different strategy to gather wealth. And what she was currently attempting was also a part of that.

"Then? What are you planning to do with it?"

Claire groaned fiercely, confusion visible on her face. It was certain that they had become major suspects in the incident. Returning to the palace would only lead to their being arrested.

On the other hand, Aliana had carefree behaviour. Though Claire had no idea about it, Aliana had been acting with a plan in mind since the beginning.

"We will strike a deal with them."

"What?"

"They will get the relic, and we will get the gold."

What Aliana was thinking about was using the ancient relic to obtain a ransom. Claire's face was flushed with awkwardness. Aliana was the richest person she had known within the Dragonaria Kingdom.

She couldn't just understand why Aliana would ask for money. The relic they were holding onto was an invaluable treasure.

Had it been exchanged for something of similar value, it would've been fine. But for gold? That didn't make any sense. Not even a bit.

-[Don't let your guard down. That won't be all to it.]

The voice in her mind was trying to alert Claire. As much as she knew Aliana, that must've been accurate. Aliana must've had some other intentions hidden behind her actions.

With a frown indicating concern on her eyebrows, Claire clicked her tongue. Letting out a sigh, she stared at the black clouds with blank eyes.

Aliana had a light smile on her lips, witnessing the baffled expression on Claire's face. She could tell what Claire was thinking at the moment.

'They won't understand this... After all...'

Aliana's gaze shifted towards the jewel wrapped around her own ring finger. For a split second, the blue gemstone on the ring turned brown.

Hah

The brown colour turned back blue along with Aliana's short sigh. The faint smile vanished with a serious expression surfacing within her eyes before she mumbled to herself.

"Logic is nothing but a mere fantasy for it."

"Did you say something?"

"Your imagination..."

Saying that, Aliana didn't stay at that place for even a second. As if she were trying to hide something from someone, Aliana left the scene.

Claire gave an intense glare to the back of Aliana, who just walked away after shrugging her shoulders. She felt that something odd was going on in the meantime.

-[I have an unpleasant feeling about this...]

Every time the voice in her mind had some opinion about their situation, it was almost always correct. And presently, it was no time for messing around.

What if that were to be the case? What if there really was something else going on all this time? Claire shook her head sideways, trying to get rid of negative thoughts.

Her gaze then slowly fell upon the little girl standing in the same spot as earlier. Unlike Claire, who had been overly worried about everything, Melanie had focused eyes.

Claire's eyes moved in the direction where Melanie had been looking. Then a sudden chill ran down her spine as she tried to reply to the voice in her mind's words while staring at the stormy skies.

'I hope it's just a feeling and nothing more.'

------------------

"Did you find them yet?"

With his right fist supporting his face, the man sat on his throne with hostility clear in his eyes. Even though he sounded calm, every person standing in the large room was aware of how angry he was.

They couldn't help but try to hide the slight shivering in their own bodies. Most times, the man might've seemed to be not skilled in fighting, but he had fought in some wars before he got enthroned as the emperor.

"T-that's-"

BAMMM

The surface he just punched happened to have a dent formed on it. The arm of the throne made up of gold getting smashed like that left everyone with pale faces.

No matter what he did, they couldn't say a word. That throne wasn't even worth a few buildings that the man owned. After all, that man was richer than anyone else within the emperor's court.

For the people standing in that place, breathing was an even more difficult thing to do. The stiffened air got heavier as Kamran spoke in a cold tone.

"What did I tell you earlier?"

That's right. Kamran had ordered them to bring him the emissaries, no matter the cost. It was, in fact, the guards who were spending unnecessary time running around the city.

Seeing Kamran sitting up straight, as if he were to stand and kill someone, the guard's body froze. With the hint of nervousness clear, he spoke while stumbling over words.

"W-e believe that we w-will drag them into your royal court very soon!"

Being aware of what Kamran could do to him, the guard needed to state some facts without losing track of the conversation.

The moment he made any slight slip of words, Kamran wouldn't hesitate a bit to bury this guard alive. Despite that situation, the guard had done well keeping up with everything.

Tap tap tap

Luckily, the silence that followed his word was broken by the sounds of the footsteps of a person walking in. Everyone simply glanced at the person with a confused face.

The one to walk in was no one else but the old man, who was also the advisor to Kamran. He simply stood besides the guard with both hands crossed behind his back.

Kamran showed no mercy or leniency to anyone who stood in his way, yet this old man was an exception. He glanced at the people standing by their seats before speaking up.

"Your majesty. One of the emissaries is requesting an audience."

The whole royal court, which was filled with silence and nervousness, finally broke into murmurs of confusion. The emissaries were prime suspects in that incident, and they walked into the palace?

What was even more unbelievable and vexing was that they dared to request an audience with the emperor. A slight smile appeared on Kamran's lips.

Maybe he was wrong about the emissaries being the culprits? Only a fool would try to pull something as ridiculous as that if they were the culprit.

Kamran had forgotten one important thing. In the old days, there was a saying that was quite popular amongst the people: The culprit always returns to the scene of the crime.

Pfft-

The unintended laughter that escaped his throat made all the attendants flinch with uneasiness. Kamran was certain that it was the emissaries who had stolen the ancient relic, but...

'What if my assumptions were incorrect?'

He never had any conclusive evidence against the emissaries, either. Simple assumptions wouldn't help him at all in that situation. Kamran's laughter came to a halt.

"Tell them..."

Everyone gulped down their nervous saliva in unison. That was the first time in a while that they had seen Kamran become serious.

"We have agreed for the audience."

Was that supposed to be that easy? There was no way that Kamran would accept an audience without causing any trouble. Everyone, including the old man, had the same thoughts on their minds.

Even in the past, Kamran never went easy on anyone he found suspicious. And unfortunately, or should we say fortunately? Their thoughts were accurate.

"But..."

Kamran's serious face had a faint smile, as if he were watching something interesting unfold. The old man understood Kamran's thinking way better than anyone else. He simply returned that smile while speaking.

"But?"

"I have some conditions for them."