With her assumptions proven true, Emersyn walked into the fray, but was stopped by a soldier. She stared at his face that was hidden with a visor.
The soldier flinched, the grip on his spear tightened, and said, "You can't enter."
"I can see that."
"Then stop right there."
"I know the ChangHao firm."
"Do you have something to deal with here? What's your name?"
"I am Emersyn Lachlan, and I came to check the firm."
"Then, scram, woman," when the soldier announced so, Elodiaren's hand settled on his metal visor as he put heavy pressure against the soldier's head.
"You can't just disrespect my Lady like that, human scum."
Elodiaren's fury was understandable.
"Calm down, Aren."
As if a lie, Elodiaren's anger vanished and was immediately replaced by a soft expression. The soldier that was scared stiff when he couldn't even do anything against the strength of that man and the heavy mana he emitted, slumped down as he breathed a sigh of relief.
"I take it that you have something to do with the firm?" Emersyn calmly said.
Mistaking her calm attitude as cooperation, the soldier responded as he stood up with shaky legs, "Yeah. The Duke has said so that the firm is the root of the recent assassination against the King."
"I also take it that you have imprisoned all of the precious employees and customers?"
"What else would be done?"
"Take me too then. I may not be Chang Xiuying, but I am the new owner of the firm."
The soldier's voice became elated when he finally landed on a bigger fish. He moved to bind Emersyn with a chain that was made with a special metal that could render their captives powerless, sucking their mana dry. His eyes went to the man behind her and also bound him with the same chain. The bracelet that the soldier wore acted as a guide to those that had the bindings. They couldn't stray far and they had to follow his paths without as much as a peep. When he walked towards the city gates, countless eyes landed on Emersyn and Elodiaren. People's scorn immediately showed and they set aside the pair's beautiful countenance as they threw insults after insults, and threw fragile things at them for the purpose of wounding them.
Elodiaren trusted that Emersyn had a plan, so he confidently walked through the crowd without putting down his defenses.
They arrived in the castle where a man in fancy clothes awaited them with a sneer. He approached Emersyn and inspected her visage.
"You look exactly like the woman in the portrait. You must be Chang Xiuying."
"I am Emersyn."
"Hiding your true identity, aren't you?"
"As I said, I am Emersyn. I did not meet whoever this Chang Xiuying is. Now, take me to the cell."
"It's such a shame that a beauty like you would be rotting in prison. Why don't you come with me? I can provide whatever you need. Of course, if you ever did what I will tell you."
"Are you the one behind the assassination of the previous king?"
The Duke's face stiffened, but it didn't show. Emersyn smirked at him with her head held high as if she was looking down on a piece of trash. Duke Renove's eye twitched.
"What are you thinking? If you are really Chang Xiuying, you would know that I will never attempt an assassination against the king. You really must be another person. Take her to prison."
When Emersyn passed by, she whispered, "I'll expose you someday."
Renove laughed.
***
Emersyn was thrown into the dirty cell having been separated from Elodiaren. It didn't matter though, since she wouldn't ask for anyone's help this time. She sat down cross legged on the unorganized bed with her hands still binded. It was hard and there wasn't any blanket at all. She closed her eyes and spread her awareness through her Energy and felt every person inside the other cells. Their body temperature was dropping since it was cold. She sighed. Even with their bodies accustomed to a huge amount of mana, their bodies were still capable of illness and ailments. Well, it couldn't be helped. Maybe she should cultivate medicinal herbs in her world as another means of profit. After all, with their products, trade in other worlds wasn't far off.
She didn't sleep for two days until the King showed up before her cell.
King Gaius entered her cell with a small ball of light accompanying him. When he caught a glimpse of the woman's white-silverish hair and the exact same face of the woman he still loved, he couldn't help but hug her. The woman didn't respond and just slowly opened her eyes. When Gaius tore himself off her, he could see the mystical eyes that were marbled with red and silver.
"Ying...."
"I'm sorry? I think you're mistaken. I am Emersyn, sire."
"No…."
"I have heard from the Duke that there is a portrait of a woman identical to me hanging in your palace."
"Renove?"
"I ask you to be careful of him, sire. If I may ask, what are you doing here, Your Majesty?"
"Renove said that a woman who is identical to the portrait was arrested and confined. I came to check it myself."
"I already heard that, so what is the other reason?"
"... no matter where I look, you are the Ying that I knew. I'll immediately release you. You haven't eaten for two days, I heard."
"Your Majesty, be careful."
"Guards, release this woman," he commanded.
When the cell gate closed, Gaius immediately whipped his head back and saw a guard removing his armor and there, a magician's garb replaced itself. He muttered a long incantation as Gaius tried to open up the cell gate.
"It's no use for you, Your Majesty. Duke Renove has conquered the palace."
"What?" Gaius turned to look at Emersyn who slowly stood up from the rocky bed.
"I will protect you. I also know of someone who is willing to help."
As soon as she finished saying that, she condensed spikes and pierced the guards' and the magician's bodies, leaving one alive. The survivor immediately scrambled out with a scream of terror. The incantation of the magician exploded since it was disrupted in the middle. Emersyn covered Gaius with a protective barrier and flicked her fingers. They sank down into the shadows along with the other prisoners she targeted with, leaving felons behind the explosion.
Gaius remained frozen when he entered the shadows, and saw that Emersyn was already going to the other people she took along with him. He reached out and then, he realized that her clothes were dirty with blood and grime. He suddenly felt guilty of not noticing.
"My Lady," a handsome man, who appeared radiant even with worry in his eyes, approached her and took her hands. "You still haven't changed your clothes. Let's hurry home and go take a bath."
"Later, Aren. Your clothes are dirty too, you know? Worry about yourself first."
"You are my very first priority, my Lady. How can I make myself first?"
"You and your mouth," Emersyn grumbled.
This so-called Aren smiled then retreated. Suddenly, their eyes met and the man beside Emersyn raised a brow at Gaius then ignored him.
"What are you doing now, Aren?"
"Nothing at all. Do you want some sweets?"
"... why would you ask that so suddenly?"
"I freshly baked some macaroons back home."
"...." Emersyn looked incredulously at Elodiaren. "Why do you have the time to bake goods when you were locked up in the prison?"
"I figured that you might need it for snacks, but I didn't sense you in Locruna at all…. What have you been doing for two days?"
"Surveillance," she replied shortly. Then, she faced the crowd. "I trust that you all are aware that this country is no longer in control by the King."
They nodded solemnly.
"Duke Renove has taken over the capital and the palace. The heirs that colluded with the Duke are locked in their own rooms. However, they were stabbed in the back. The Queen was replaced-"
"What… Do you mean?" Gaius interjected.
"You didn't notice that your Queen is a fake?"
"I- I didn't know."
"Understood."
"...."
"Anyway, the King is manipulated through acts that he couldn't refuse. The time that the Queen was replaced, everything went according to their plan. They have been working on this coup for years to dethrone the former King and the current King. Also… they are the ones that found a connection through every world that is connected to each of the Gates that appeared in Strevalia. What they didn't expect was the aftermath of changing the density of mana and qi in this world. They slept for a long time, so their progress on their work was momentarily halted. That's when the current king was throned. It also seems like the late Queen of yours, King Gaius, later loved you before she was killed because of treason against the Duke. I will not admonish you since you seem like you realize everything now. The citizens are already persuaded that the King is incompetent, so they are into this coup. Anything after that, I will have to find out. We are going to Alaric Heath's castle in the North, so please expect nausea when we travel through the shadows."