Back at the observatory a group of elders and the head of the Estrella family stood looking up towards the sky where two of the families stars met.
Soon followed was the clash of the guards stars and the unknown familial star and then many of their stars disappeared.
After the odds turned in the head of the families and the guards favour the unknown familial star suddenly extinguished all on its own suddenly as if it had committed suicide.
One of the elders spoke up suddenly. "So this is what your daughter had requested help for… but why go to all this trouble just to meet a dying star?"
The head of the family thought for a moment. "Check the family records for any with enough talents that had been discarded over the past 100 years and then we will have some idea on who it is she went to find and the reason why. This time she cannot get away with what she has done even with my protection. Five of the families peak/master class and two transcendent realm martial artists were lost during this unexpected clash. He was already destined to die no matter what so there was no need for the loss of our men in the end so she must face punishment and we can use this as leverage to push the marriage plans forward. It is estimated that the exiled family members martial prowess had reached a very high realm before their death, if my guess is correct they are either a high ranked transcendent or a low grade unrestrained expert."
Another elder agreed with the family head. "Indeed, we can use this to make the young miss to comply with the families goals for once. Just because she became known as one of the three phoenix stars in recent years she is becoming more wilful. We need to step up and remind her that the family cannot act without restraint or else chaos will break out. While the branch families have been restrained they must stay that way, if they continue to see the main branch not acting as a positive example they may get ideas in their heads about rising up to take over."
Another elder frowned but then added. "So what do you think is the reason behind the young misses sudden actions?"
The head of the family began to think for a while and responded. "An exile is sacrificed and takes on the heavens punishment. After banishment they are destined to die early because of the bad karma inflicted upon them as punishment for breaking the heavens rules. If my guess is correct this person was banished but somehow found a way to survive through the bad karma. If there was a method to survive then surely that person would know and knowing my daughter she must have saw this as an opportunity to either make a contribution to the family with their knowledge and experiences. Either that or she intended to take and use the information for her own use and purposes but it seems she was too hasty in pursuing her goal and ended up in failure because she acted alone. If she requested the families help and let us know of the importance of the journey when she requested the guards then I would of sent a higher quality and quantity of guards with her but in the end she kept it all to herself."
Another elder stroked his long beard in contemplation. "It seems we need to properly question and punish her when she gets back. We cannot let the main lines honour be tarnished by her actions so who do you have in mind for her partner?"
The head of the family smiled mysteriously. "It would be best to cover this up. Compensate the families of the dead and remind them that talking about this would not be good for them. Do the same for those guards that survived who are witnesses. I have a few candidates but I am unsure of which to choose from, there is the prince who has very strong dragon qi potential but in the end the families pact will get in the way of my daughter becoming an empress. She will be destined to be forever a concubine and her children will not be able to inherit the throne so it may be best to use this to make a stronger connection with one of the sects or other great families. A dragon star might be a good choice but there is only two who are unmarried and have a similar age to Celeste."
The elder with the beard bowed and spoke again. "Indeed, there is never any real profit from tying our family with the royals as the young miss will just be caught up in the battle for the throne and the schemes within the palace between the concubines. We need someone with a solid reputation that can benefit the family both politically and to help strengthen our bonds with other forces."
Another elder spoke up. "What about suggesting a marriage with someone older and with enough power and influence? So long as we request for her to be the main wife most would accept then our gains may be higher."
The head of the family shook his head. "My daughter would rather die than marry an old man so trust me and keep silent about such things in the future. We need someone with an appropriate age and also has a good reputation towards the opposite sex so I know that the families marriage and alliance made is a stable one and not one which would crumble after my daughter has been mistreated by her partner and began to fight back or killing herself in an act of revenge against the family for setting up the marriage in the first place."
The bearded elder gulped upon hearing the head say those words. "She wouldn't would she? This would greatly tarnish not only her own reputation but the families in the end."
The family head just stood there looking at the stars with a serious look on his face. "You do not understand my daughter… she is wilful and if she has been offended then she is very vengeful. If she is put in a difficult position then she would rather retaliate against those who placed her there and if she is desperate enough then she may even threaten us with her death to get her own way or even kill herself as her final act on revenge. So do not push her too far in the future, it's enough that we can use this failure as a means to arrange her future marriage."
The bearded elder had a serious look on his face and bowed. "I will arrange a list of suitable candidates immediately and send out some men to meet and escort the young miss back immediately."
The family head smiled gratefully. "Go ahead and get everything ready for her return, I will be going back to my room for the night."
The elders bowed to him upon seeing him leave. "Have a good rest master."
The bearded elder stood among the other elders and asked. "So what do you think about the current events now that the master has gone?"
A long nosed elder who did not speak previously replied immediately. "I don't like it. The master pampers his daughter too much that it is becoming a problem. So much so that it will result in damaging our dignity and public image further if this continues. How many times can we cover up her actions before it becomes a real issue?"
The bearded elder nodded with a frown on his face. "We have no choice but to accept the masters orders for now but if this continues then we must all voice our concerns and be more strict upon the young miss."
The other elders nodded upon hearing his words and readily agreed with his decision.
They all left the observatory leaving behind the bearded elder who looked up at the location of the star that was once located in the sky and spoke. "There aren't many who had the potential to survive the bad karma after the punishment… if the person in my memory matches the information given then it may make a lot of sense. If it was Bernard then he may have actually survived… but I can't say I am happy to hear such news because I know that he holds deep resentment against the family. No.. it would be more accurate to say he resented the main line and most of all there is me."