It was not a night that was spent well. Not in the slightest. As the Emperor woke up, he decided to walk to the balcony of his room in the middle of the night as he looked at the castles outdoors. Big place, filled with life and trading posts, where merchants offered their goods, sometimes the shops stood open late, and the factories and their chimneys pumping out smoke in the outer ring of the city.
He was enjoying the view. Robert knew he is ruling an empire that can achieve better things. Better than what they are now. What he did not know, was the fact that their enemies are plotting against their empire. Or maybe he knew and that's what is not letting him sleep.
As Emilia turned herself around, to see her husband not in the bed, but on the balcony, she got up and covered her body a bit with the quilt. She got up and approached her husband, who was also naked. She cuddled from behind his back as she looked at the city landscape.
"Something bothers you, honey?" Emilia asked as he looked at him which got Robert to turn around.
"No. Aside from this weird feeling in the air." Robert said as he put his hands on her rear, as they cuddled.
"You worry too much. You actually make it great." Emilia tried to comfort him as she kissed him.
"I am thinking that… Maybe the hero did not fully defeat the Demon Lord." Robert says as he looks at her and then at the environment around them again.
"Who do you suspect?" Emilia asks as she looks at the structures under them.
"Komarov," Robert says with a darker tone as he holds her a bit tighter. "Angry with the fact my ancestor had to burn people in the parliament in order to keep the silence of the congregation and make them accept all the reforms… He rebelled. Now he is angry because it was lost." Robert said as he made his wife curious.
"Oh? Komarov? But the brothers seem to be kind people."
"Let this not deceive you, Emilia. I managed to plant in listening rune in his room, so he is wired. The communications between him and certain… Criminals, do include the fact that they are stealing something he needs. These things.. Seem to be connected." Robert said as Emilia kissed his lips.
"Do not get yourself over that much. I am pretty sure the Imperial Police will handle that." Emilia said as she cuddled with her husband.
"You think?" Robert asked as he put his hand on the balcony's wall and looked at the place below him.
"Yea, I do," Emilia said as she cuddled tighter. "Besides, please come inside, it's getting cold here. It may not snow, but you know." Emilia said, as she went to the bed and Robert followed soon after. It was still night time but the weather started to get worse slowly, closing the doors to the balcony so they won't catch a cold.
Ignis at the same time was waiting for his thieves to return to the Komarov Mansion alongside his brother, Cecil.
"Say, Ignis. Think your thieves will retrieve the elements of the sacred door?" Cecil asked as he read one of many futuristic books when Ignis was just thinking.
"Yes. They are generally reliable. If something went wrong, It is probably me, messing up the intel part." Ignis said as he admitted that the thieves themselves are skilled people and he did count on them.
At the same time, the heavily damaged armored car with few holes in its armor was something that scared the hell out of the guards who also noticed a damaged horse. Heavily hurt
"What happened?" One of the armed guards asked as he went to directly help the thieves, who are allowed to enter the mansion.
"Goblins happened." Scar said as he laid on the rooftop of the cart, tired as his bones are damaged.
"Shit, stupid! Bring the maids! We need to transfer them to the medical room!" He said as he went to the cart and he opened the door by force. The driver was exhausted as he fell from the sitting place on the cart, despite being well-protected.
"Noted!" The younger guard said as he went to the mansion, running as he wanted to be there as fast as possible, with the other guards being called in to help move the wounded as he told the mages to prepare for the wounded.
Moments later, they moved the wounded Bane and Mary to the rooms, and the medics instantly prepared beds for the medical procedures, when one of the mages performed a quick healing spell.
As the aura of green color was made around them, it took a shape of a half of the dome, and the mages switched between themselves to rest, ensuring they save up mana.
"How long?" Scar asked as Rebbeca went to the doors. "Where are you going?"
"To the garden," Rebbeca said as she went outside and to the garden.
"As long as it's needed. I do not know." Female mage said as she tended to Bain and looked at Mary. "Considering you are holding yourself.." She said as she looked at the vials on the shelf and pointed at them. "Take one of these. They should heal most of the damage. We will tend to you once we are done with these two."
"I see."
One of the maids entered the room with cold towels and ice cubes as she placed them on their foreheads for a moment.
"Thanks. We could use that. Also, tell Lord Komarov that his thieves arrived." She said as the maid nodded, and ran into their room, and bowed before them. "I must apologize, Lord Komarov. But your guests returned from the expedition. They do not look good."
"What?" Ignis said as he got up and approached the maid. "Take me to them."
"Of course, my lord." She said as Cecil decided to go with him.
"What happened, Seira?" Cecil was wondering as he was not expecting something wrong to happen.
"Well. Goblins happened and what else. The Federation is having problems with these green bastards." Seira said as she lead them to the room where one of the gangsters receive high-level medical aid, that only the nobles could possibly afford.
Bane was laying on the bed as he breathed heavily, with lots of cuts on the body, as the doctor was trying his best to cure the muscular man, when the other doctor was handling one of the thieves, Mary, in the other room.
"What went wrong, Scar?" Ignis asked as he looked at him, as he sat nearby.
"Well, Lord Komarov.. Goblins of course. The armored cart was not enough on that trip." Scar said, as he pulled out a bag from Mary's bed and opened it, giving the noble a plate. "And we found your tablet. It was the easy part. The Federation agreed for this, as a price for saving their president."
"Goblins besieged the capital city of Aramor?" Ignis looked at Scar with fear. Something he never thought he will see in his latest contact.
"Yes. And they barely managed to hold on. Only because they called in air support, they managed to take down Hophoblins." Scar said as he looked at his hands as they were shaking when Ignis looked at the element of the doors.
"This is too high of a price for an artifact, Scar," Ignis admitted for the first time, as he saw them badly damaged. "Where is Rebbeca?"
"Rebbeca is in the gardens." Scar said as Ignis looked at the two thieves and actually let out a small tear. "You cry?"
"No… Something went to my eye." He said as he cleared it out and looked at Mary for a bit longer, and went out of the room, hiding his anger well.
"Emm. Thomas?" Cecil looks at his brother as he follows him. "THOMAS!"
Scar looks confused at the nobles and then at Mary. "Why was he crying?"
At the same time, Ignis and Cecil were walking on the stairs on the rooftop space where they usually host parties. Ignis was watching Rebbeca just moving the stick in one of the small lakes across the garden when he was approached by his brother.
"Ignis.. It's not your fault." Cecil said as he tried to get his brother up to speed. "We know what is coming."
"Yea. But it's not something I can afford to lose. I will not lose my adopted daughter~!" Ignis said as he turned around to his brother and just cuddled to him, making Cecil look at the girl under them and then to his brother.
"So… Why you even agreed on letting Mary go?" Cecil asked as he looked his brother directly in his eyes.
"Bro… I wanted to keep her here, trust me. I really did. But she slipped away during the conference with the gang, and well… She performed during a few heists well. I thought that's going to be another walk in the park but… THE FUCKING GOBLINS! LET VELES GENOCIDE THEM WITH A PLAGUE!"
Ignis's yell was loud to a point when Rebbeca noticed the two nobles and the tone in which the yell was made. The girl decided to ignore that and rested on the grass looking into the stars as she kept an eye on the conversation to see if she can listen to something.
"Do not worry, Ignis. She will be all right. I will bring in specialized mages if you want." Cecil said as he calmed him down a bit.
"You will?" Ignis allowed himself, for rare moments of weakness, which Cecil knew he can always do near him.
"Yea. Bro, we are family. Think. Did I ever let you down?" Cecil asks Ignis as he looks into his eyes. "I will not let Mary down either."
The way Cecil spoke these words, were somewhat calming for Ignis. "Thanks, Brother." He said as the two just embraced themselves in a cuddle, Cecil calming him down.
In the same moment, Rebbeca was watching this from the ground, and to see his contractors show weakness, but in an understandable way, made her think.
'Something must have happened if the noble allows himself for such rare moments of weakness.' She thought to herself as she went back to the mansion and then to the chamber where Bane and Mary are.
It was a long walk but she noticed maids running around the place, helping with medical procedures.
Entering the room, Rebbeca looked at Scar, who was still sitting here, looking at the plate they took from Aramor.
"Something up, Scar?" Rebbeca asked as Scar turned to her and turned his head around.
"I never understood… Until now." Scar said as he looked deep into the runic hexagonal tablet as he turned it around a few times. "It's a part of doors."
"Doors?" Rebbeca asks as she sits in front of him, wanting to know more, which was clear in her eyes.
"Doors to a temple. I thought this story about the Shrine of Ascension is a myth, a legend. A story that just exists around the place." Scar said with a sad tone as he looked into the tablet and put it into the bag. "But it appears that Lord Komarov wants to achieve Ascendancy."
"Is that possible?" Rebbeca asks as she looks into his eyes, for which Scar simply nods.
"I researched the subject back in the Imperial Academy." He said as he brought himself back as he remembered how the subject was examined from a scientific and magical point of view.
"So to ascend to godhood, you must solve the puzzle," Rebbeca asked as he nodded.
"And I think Komarov solved the puzzle." Scar said as he admitted, knowing what is going on now. "But it must be a weird feeling, ascending to a higher plain."
"Maybe. By the way, how are Mary and Bane?" Rebbeca asks as she watches how four mages switch places every few minutes.
"Mages do what they can." He said as he looked at them, as they slowly recover. "They say this might take a day or two. I understand Lord Komarov though… He seems to be a close friend for Mary."
"So… He worries?"
"Yes."
They both looked at Bain and Mary, as they slowly recovered, with Mary being the first one to open her eyes as she looked at Scar and Rebbeca..
"G.. Guys…" Mary said as she opened her eyes, when Rebbeca hold her hand, Mage still performed a healing spell.
"Let her rest. She is not fully recovered." Said a mage in a black-gold robe as he handled Mary's injuries.
"How long?" Rebbeca asks as she looked at the mage.
"We should be done by dawn. She is quite strong so this will be easy." He said as he kept focusing on the job.
"How about Bain?" Scar asks as he looks at his friend, still laying around.
"Bain is not holding much. I do my best but.. This might take long. He is much bigger than Mary, so keep that In mind. But what I can see here, he was through worse. So I bet my ass he will survive." Said the female mage as she tended to the muscular dude, healing him, switching place as she got tired with another mage, who kept the healing bubble around him still active.
"I see. Do what you can." Scar said as he wanted them to survive.
"We will, Mr. Scar. We will."
In the same moment, Ignis and Cecil entered the room and with Ignis, he felt glad, to see Mary open her eyes.
"Dad?" Mary looks at her adoptive figure as he approaches her.
"I'm with you, sweetie." He said as he cuddled to her, also finding himself a bit under the effect of the healing spell.
"Thanks. I was stupid. I should listen." She said as she looked at her father, still weak as the mages use healing dome spell.
"No problem. It's my fault, I should watch you closely." He said as he cuddled with her.
At the same moment, Bain coughed as he woke up.
"Fucking.. Ugh. Goblins." He said as he put his hand on his chest, feeling how it hurts as a maid put him down on the bed again.
"Please do not move, mr. Bain." She said as she changed the towel on his forehead. "You are still not recovered."
"Did we get the tablet," Bain asks as he still rests on the bed
"You did, Bain, you did," Ignis said with a proud voice as he nodded. "What happened?"
"What else could." He chokes a bit on himself as he still is recovering. "Goblins. I decided to act as a human shield to Mary when she kept firing the crossbow.. Until they got her too. You did good babe."
"Thanks. You did too." Mary said as she smiled, choking a bit.
"Good. I want all of you to recover. You are free to do whatever you want now. I am glad you are alive. And Bain."
"Yea, boss?"
"Thanks for protecting my daughter's ass."
"No problem."