It was noon and inside a wide castle fast steps echoed on the whole place, while the castle looks empty thanks to its size, there were some maids and knights in there, some knights were standing near doors while the maids cleaned or chatted in the hallways, on one of them the one who was running past while knights and maids bowed their heads as she does so, she was a young an extremely beautiful woman with a shiny silver hair in a pixy cut, gorgeous sapphire eyes and a body that can just be described as lethal to men, that woman was none other than Scarlett Allencourt, 7th princess, of the Slyorn Empire
She was running at a very high speed through the hallways while she whispers again and again softly with a very serious expression " Did they find him? Did they find him? " She arrived at the end of the hallway and then go down some wide stairs that led to a large room where there were some couches and decorations and that place was connected to big doors made of white wood
Standing at the entrance that seemed to connect to the outside were three knights, two wearing silver armor and the other one wearing gold armor with some decorations made with multicolored feathers in the helmet
Scarlett slows down when she sees the knights and a beautiful smile appears on her gorgeous face, then when she arrived the golden knight removes his helmet revealing a handsome middle-aged man with long blond hair, dark-green eyes, and a short golden beard, the three knights bowed their heads with their right hands in their chests and all of them said at the same time " Greetings, princess Scarlett "
Scarlett smiles and nods to say " Commander William, did you find anything? " Scarlett's eyes were filled with anticipation while her hands were shaking a little of how nervous she was
The middle-aged man referred to as Commander William raises his head just like the other two knights. He nods and with a calm face he says " Yes my lady, we found the place where he came from "
The smile on Scarlett's face grow even wider she made a small jump as she claps her hands then she says " Then take me there, Commander "
Commander William's face showed an incredulous expression then he says with doubt " Right now my lady? Don't we have to ask the Emperor about this and then get things ready for the travel? "
Scarlett smiles a little as she starts to walk towards the exit, passing between the three of them saying " Just let's go, don't make me repeat myself again "
The Commander and the two knights bowed their heads with respect saying " As you wish my lady "
Scarlett leaves the castle with the three knights walking behind her, she seems to be very happy until...
" Ara ara where are you going so happy little sister " Scarlett's smile froze when she heard the voice of the woman and as she turned to see to her left, the smile on her face disappears. On a bench was a very beautiful woman with long silver curly hair, precious light pink eyes with long eyelashes, and a very curvy but thin figure, she was wearing a small golden armor that only protects her chest, forearms, legs, and some parts of her stomach under the armor she wears a sleeves pink shirt, a pink short dress and with boots all with some covers of golden plates
The woman was sitting with her arms and legs crossed as she was seeing Scarlett with a teasing smile
Scarlett's face was calm, but she was seeing the woman coldly suddenly the knights that were with her bowed and all of them said at the same time " Greetings, princess Leah "
The woman named Leah ignores the knights and as she stands she says with a smile " You seem to be in a hurry to not let your big sister know where are you going " the woman puts her left hand on her waist
Scarlett was very hostile to Leah for some reason, so she says " It's not of your business, I don't need to tell you anything "
Leah's smile grows wider she doesn't seem to be offended by Scarlett's attitude, she turns to see Commander William and says " You, tell me what is your destiny "
Scarlett frowns but didn't do anything to stop Commander William to respond Leah, she knows that no matter what she says Commander William will respond to every question that Leah asked
Commander William bows his head and responded " Yes, my lady, we are heading towards Kilstorm city "
Leah makes a surprised face keeping her smile " Kilstorm city? Isn't that the slave city? Why are you going there, little sister? "
Scarlett was frowning, and she responds with anger " Once again is not of your business, let's go, Commander, we are leaving " but before she turns around someone hugged her from behind leaning its head on Scarlett's left shoulder
Scarlett shivered at this and turned to see the person who was leaning on her shoulder and when she saw her face she was shocked " Big sister Vania! " The woman named Vania was exactly as Kara said, she was identical to Maya but her hair and eyes were different while Maya has light brown hair and emerald eyes, Vania has icy blond hair and light pink eyes. Vania is a year older than Leah, and she seems to be a little taller than her. She wears rare white armor that covers her chest, arms, hands, and legs, besides she wears pink clothes under it and a pink skirt with white metal plates on it also she has a white sword on her waist
Vania has a smug expression as she was seeing Scarlett. Scarlett seeing that face begins to pout and ignores her even if she was being hugged then Leah spoke again " Big sister Vania, I thought that you will leave today to see prince Marcus? "
Vania keeps embracing Scarlett from behind and turned to see Leah with the same smug expression to say " Nop, I convinced our father to cancel my engagement with that weakling "
Leah shows her a beautiful smile and says " This is the fourth one, big sister, just when you will satisfy with someone? "
Vania closes her eyes and smiled " Do you know when I will be satisfied? Because I still don't know when " the two of them were smiling at each other, but the tension in the air was as thick as glue and even Scarlett felt suffocated by it, but still she didn't say anything until Commander William says " Princess Vania, Princess Leah, you will accompany princess Scarlett in her journey? "
Then Vania speaks for both of them " Of course, we will go with her, we can let our little sister go alone, despite that she is behaving like a spoiled brat " Then Vania finally stops hugging Scarlett and faces her to say " So... little sister, what are you searching for exactly in that place? "
" .... " Scarlett bows her head and stays silent, she wasn't angry anymore, not even with the Commander that made her two sisters go with her now
Vania puts on a smug expression again and says " You don't want to tell me? Then don't tell me, I will get what I want anyway " Vania left hand begins to release black smoke, and the only one who didn't notice that was Scarlett, who had her head still bowed
' Dark Magic?! ' Though Leah, the Commander, and the Knights as they saw that with surprise then *GRAB* " Mind Invasion " Whispered Vania as she grabbed Scarlett's head, The commander and the knights couldn't say anything or move to stop her because the whole process lasted less than a second, even Scarlett only felt a slight pat on her head, so she raised her head and saw Vania pulling back her hand and making a face full of shock
Leah, Scarlett, the Commander, and the knights saw her, and they were in disbelief it seems that none of them have ever seen her make an expression like that. Vania turns to see Scarlett with a surprised expression, and says " You're searching for a Hero? "
Scarlett turns pale making a shocked expression, the knights and the Commander were surprised as well they didn't even know what their princess was searching for, they only received information to search about the whereabouts of a certain slave nothing more but the one who was more surprised was Leah she had her eyes wide open and even says with a trembling voice " Wh-Wh-What did you just say? "
Leah sees Scarlett who was seeing Vania with a frustrated expression then she yells with anger " What she said is true?! "
Scarlett and Leah were seeing each other with anger and with the full intent to fight, so the Commander interferes saying " My ladies!! Please calm down! You can't lose your mind over something like this! "
Leah turns to see the Commander with a face full of hate, and she says " You don't know anything! So shut up! " The Commander stays silent, but he clenches his fist thinking ' Even if you say so, I can't let you fight each other '
Leah sees Scarlett again and says " By your reaction, it seems that it's true, now tell me, where is he? "
Scarlett frowns and doesn't respond and that made Leah clench her teeth in anger but suddenly *CLAP* a very loud thunderclap makes them stop to then turn to see the one who made it
Vania's sword was emitting very bright white lighting that made Scarlett, Leah, and the knights nervous, but the Commander saw her with amazement thinking ' The legendary white lightning that only young Lady Vania can use, this is the first time I see it, its pressure is overwhelming '
Vania was seeing Leah and Scarlett with an expressionless face then she says in a soft voice " I don't want to see your tantrums, neither I want to hear your complaints we are leaving now, the three of us together, got it? "
Scarlett and Leah saw Vania's expressionless face, they were very nervous, and neither of them say anything they just nodded their heads slightly, which made Vania grin slightly, and the white lightning in her sword began to disappear until her sword reverted to normal and say " Good "
Vania turns to see the Commander and says with a grinning face " Commander William, lead the way, please "
Commander William just as the other knights bowed their heads respectfully and the Commander says " As you wish my lady " and they begin to walk
Leah and Scarlett stayed still until Vania turned to see them and says with a smile " After you sisters " With that Leah and Scarlett begin to walk following the Commander and Knights closely towards the entrance of the castle walls, then Vania followed them closely
Leah and Scarlett avoided walking next to each other, Scarlett walked a couple of steps in front of Leah, she had a very angered expression and was clenching her fists tightly ' NO, NO, NO, NO, NO!!! ' Though Scarlett ' Why they had to be here, from all days??!! I can't let anyone else besides me have Hayato!! He is mine! MINE!!! MINE ALONE!!!! '
Leah behind Scarlett saw her with a cold expression, thinking ' Do you really think that the Hero will be yours, keep dreaming little brat, I'm the one who was born to marry a Hero but... ' She moves her eyes to her right side like trying to see Vania who was walking behind her ' How can I get rid of her? That b*tch is extremely powerful, even father is scared of her, what should I do? '
And finally, Vania behind all of them saw them with a slight smile that suddenly disappeared, replaced by an empty face and empty dead eyes. Suddenly Vania closes her right eye making a slightly pained expression, and a small quantity of blood begins to come out from her nose, she moves her right hand under her armor and takes a handkerchief together with a small bottle that contains a yellow liquid
Vania drinks the liquid first and throws it to the side quickly, then she uses the handkerchief to clean her nose. Vania sees the bloody handkerchief with a calm expression, then she puts the handkerchief inside her armor and keeps walking making an empty expression
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The princesses group, traveled through towns and forests for a few days barely speaking to each other if the Commander and the knights weren't there, the whole travel will be completely silent, but then they arrived at their destiny the slave city of Kilstorm, at midday
" You know from where exactly did he come, Commander? " Asked Leah, seeing him with a frowning expression
The Commander nods and says " Yes my lady, he was sold to a robed person in the best auction house in the city "
" Then let's hurry up! " Said Scarlett with a frowning expression, the Commander nods respectfully and begins to walk towards the center of the city with all of them behind him
As expected their presence attracted a lot of curious gazes, three beautiful women and three very armored knights in a small and poor city will always attract attention, but it just stayed like that none dared to approach them or stay in their way, Leah saw all the people who dare to see her with disgust while Vania and Scarlett ignored them
After a while of walking, they finally arrived at the auction house, there was a small crowd at the entrance all wearing fancy clothes
The Commander and the knights move aside all the people who complained at the start but then stay shut, noticing the imposing armor of the knights, while the three princesses followed them closely
After arriving at the front of the crowd, a voluptuous red-haired woman watches them with wide eyes through her fancy black mask
She wears a shiny red dress and was with two tall masked men. The woman sees the Commander in the front and says with a nervous voice " H-How can I help you? "
The Commander ignores her and moves aside, letting the three princesses move in front, which surprised her then Scarlett was the first to talk to the woman " We came here for information about a slave, we know that he was sold here a few days ago "
The woman saw Scarlett with surprise then she saw Leah and Vania behind her, that moment she knew that each of the women that were here was noble and from a very high position, people that she couldn't afford to offend, so she bows her head towards Scarlett and says with a humble voice " Of course if you can tell me how does he look, I will help you as good as I can "
Then before she could raise her head again Vania walked towards her, attracting the gazes of everyone present, her beautiful appearance and graceful walking made some speechless
Vania arrived in front of the woman and smiled, the woman raises her head and looked at Vania with surprise, it seems that she never noticed when she arrived
" Wh-Wh-Wha... " The woman stuttered taking a step back despite the fact that Vania was smiling at her the woman felt fear seeing her and her instincts screamed at her to escape from Vania as far away from her as possible
Vania saw this with amusement and says " You don't need to tell us anything anyway " Vania raises her right hand who was now covered with a thin layer of Dark Magic and says " Mind Invasion "
Some people who saw her begin to back down and most of them started to leave the place at a fast but discrete pace
Leah observed Vania with frustration while Scarlett saw her with surprise, after all, she didn't notice that Magic when Vania used it on her
The men beside the woman saw the situation with shock, but they never tried to interfere for her because, from the start, the knights that came with them were seeing them with hostility waiting for them to make any movement to kill them
Vania grabbed the woman's head, but this time was different from when she used it on Scarlett, the woman's eyes turned white the moment that Vania touched her head and she stayed still with a blank expression
The Vania smiled and said " So, your name is Karen, heh... and two men named Kyle and Nolan were the ones who brought him here, and it seems that both of them are in the building there... lucky, hehe " Then she turns to see the Commander behind her keeping her smile and said " Commander could you please bring those two here they seem to be in the basement waiting for this woman "
" As you wish, my lady " Then the Commander begins to walk towards the building leaving the knights behind that were seeing the robed men with hostility, meanwhile Leah and Scarlett simply keep seeing Vania with expectant expressions
Vania sees Karen again, and she begins to change her expression multiple times, she shows surprise, seriousness, and even disappointment? But that only lasted a second before she released Karen who fall unconscious to the ground
Vania gives the unconscious Karen a cold glare, then she turns to see her sisters and says " Anyway sisters, once the Commander brings those two we can know from where he came, we will find more clues after that "
Scarlett nods keeping a serious expression but Leah frowns as she says " Vania, since when you can use that kind of so advanced Dark Magic? "
Vania sees Leah with a smile and says " Why are you so interested, big sister? You should mind your own business, no? "
Hearing her " Tch! " Leah clicked her tongue with annoyance and crossed her arms under her breasts, making them look bigger than they already are, so the robed men there couldn't help to gulp seeing her
Leah saw that, and her face went cold, releasing a lot of killing intent toward them, saying " Did you just watch me with lust? "
The men looked scared and begin to walk back, then Leah raised her right hand pointing at them and a huge fireball came from it traveling towards the men very fast, and in the next second *BOOM* " AH! " Both men were engulfed by the fireball that then exploded on the building behind them and with that the last people who were there to watch left the place in panic
Both men were turned to ash the moment they were engulfed by the fireball and the Auction building at the back was severely damaged, fortunately, Karen was still alive but unconscious
Leah grits her teeth with anger as she puts down her slender hand slowly then " Fufu, as hot-headed as ever, big sister, if you keep acting like this you think that the Hero will fall in love with you? " Vania commented with a mocking smile planted on her beautiful face
Leah grits her teeth again but doesn't respond she just crosses her arms again ignoring Vania completely
The three sisters and the knights waited for the Commander to come back and after a few minutes he came back pulling two men from their arms towards them, they were in a state of fear and panic, seeing the Commander with teary eyes
The Commander throws the two men in front of the three sisters, who saw them with disdain and even anger
" Now tell my ladies what you told me " Said the Commander with an imposing voice that made the two men shiver, they saw the Commander with fear and both of them bowed their heads to the ground to the three sisters
" We find the young man in the forest a few kilometers from here, we don't know where he came from, he was in a very bad state! Please, that's all we know! I swear! " Said Kyle, shaking with fear then
" You were the ones who marked his forehead with that strange black mark? " Said Scarlett coldly, she was grabbing her sword ready to cut the men's heads
" No! He already had that mark when we found him! I swear! " Said Nolan with panic, then Scarlett grits her teeth and takes out her sword saying coldly " I don't believe you " but Vania raises her left arm in front of her making Scarlett see her with surprise the two men as well saw her with surprise then she smiles at them and says " Let's confirm that " and just like she did with Karen she grabbed Nolan's head whose eyes turned white
" What?! " Yelled Kyle with surprise at the sight of his partner then Vania releases him and Nolan falls unconscious to the ground she turns to see Kyle and with a smiling face she says " It seems that all of what you two said wasn't a lie, he really was in the forest "
Then Vania turns around and walks away, Nolan checks Kyle and even Karen's condition then says to Vania " Thank you for sparing our lives! " And Vania without turning around and keeping walking says " That's not up to me " and suddenly *BOOM* the three of them were turned into ice statues being only Nolan the one who was frozen with a face of disbelief
Scarlett puts down her arm that was still emitting frost from it, then she turns around, and just like Leah and the knights she followed Vania
Vania guided them outside the city, traveling through the dense forest, they traveled on horses for a couple of hours until sunset, Vania stopped her horse and went down from it to begin to walk
The others followed Vania closely, never questioning her at all. Vania walked through the forest, and suddenly she says " It's here "
Leah and Scarlett begin to look at the place with curiosity, then the Commander says " Over there " pointing to a broken tree
" The tree was destroyed by a clash with something, besides it seems that there are signs on the ground too " Said Leah with a serious face looking at the ground and the trees
Vania walks towards the signs on the ground, and she touched them, noticing a small quantity of sand scattered around the place ' Sand? The only place with sand that is close by is the Loran desert, it's from there where he came from? It must be, Scarlett's memories confirmed something like it '
Scarlett noticed the sand as well and thought ' She knows! She is the only one that could help me find Hayato but she doesn't seem to be as excited as me the only problem is her ' then she turns to see Leah with anger while she was inspecting the trees ' I can't let you have my Hayato even if you are my sister '