No one dared to utter a single word as they looked at the dead mage near Iris. Iris had no idea what just happened as she was still feeling groggy from the effects of her clash between her magic and the mage's spell. The silence around her was deafening and she looked around in confusion, wondering why no one was saying a thing.
"What's wrong? What happened?" She asked Amelia, whose face was as white as a paper.
Iris followed her friend's gaze and saw the dead mage lying on the floor. Terror rushed through her. Did she do this to the mage?
"I…" She stuttered. She wanted to explain, but she didn't know how to as Iris had no idea how this test ended up killing the mage instead.
She hadn't done anything or tried to use her magic due to Yuri's warning. It hadn't been a day since she arrived in Asnar and she already took the spotlight by killing another mage.
The demon lord, Asheera, the High Queen of Shayla Kingdom, waved her hand and lowered the glamor that was keeping the rest of the demon lords from the human maidens.
"What happened?" Someone from the thirteen, asked.
"Kieran, mind telling us why you marked this human with your geas?" An elderly man gave the Undead Lord a pointed look. "Your geas has killed Aleera's high mage."
This man was King Eldas, one of the three strongest demon lords in the Court of Shadows. It was rumored that he was stronger than Xanaros and Kieran Fleurnoir, but he willingly stepped back and allowed the Red King to lead the thirteen of them.
"I blessed her." Lord Kieran corrected the elder demon lord. "She did a great favor for me, so it's only natural that I give her a fair reward."
Iris looked at the Undead Lord in disbelief. So she wasn't the reason why the mage had died. It was because of this 'geas' that Lord Kieran had bestowed on her. She wasn't even aware of what this geas entailed.
"You better give me a better answer than that. In case you are forgetting, we aren't allowed to seek or touch any of these tributes before arriving here." Queen Aleera wasn't pleased with Lord Kieran's answer. Just like King Eldas mentioned, the one who was facilitating the test of the tribute maidens was a high mage from her court.
"I didn't break any rules." Lord Kieran insisted. "Our paths crossed even before the selection happened. Just like what Lady Iris said, the one who should be here was her younger sister. She only stepped forward and volunteered to replace her. It has nothing to do with my encounter with her."
"Milord, this won't go without punishment, right?" Queen Aleera turned to her husband, Xanaros. "I would never let this impertinence go overboard. Lord Kieran has no doubt broken one of our rules when it comes to the tributes."
She then turned her gaze to Iris, giving her a cold look as if she was blaming the mortal for bringing such disaster to their land.
The Red King said nothing and only cupped his chin as he gave Kieran an amused look. The Undead Lord looked at Xanaros straight in the eyes, seeing that the other demon lord had known that he had blessed Iris from the very start.
"Then what do you suggest, my Queen?" Xanaros asked Aleera, without breaking his eye contact with Lord Kieran.
"Kill this mage and bring the younger sister here." The Red Queen replied. "This mortal isn't supposed to be here anyway."
Iris trembled as soon as she heard those words. It seemed that her sacrifice was futile after all and Junifer was still destined to come to Asnar, regardless of what she'd done.
"Remus, what else has changed?" The Red King asked the golden haired demon lord.
Remus's eyes flashed blue as he tried to peek into the future of the three mortal maidens below them.
"I cannot see the future of these three maidens. Lady Iris's presence here has disrupted and changed the course of the fate of those two maidens with her. I'm not sure whether this is good news or not. She also possesses an exceptional amount of mana that could easily allow her to use a fourth tier magic spell."
"We should let Lady Iris stay then. If we are facing the unknown by having her here in Asnar, then we might find something that could lead to what we are looking for." The Red King hummed.
"Wouldn't that mean that we are allowing danger to loom over us?" Caelea questioned.
"We've seen magi amongst the tributes that were sent to us before, but I have to agree that their mana is subpar compared to Lady Iris's raw mana. Which house is she born into?" A female elf with silvery white long hair asked. Her amber colored eyes look at Iris with interest. She was wearing a slightly revealing blue and gold armor that barely covered her chest and midsection.
"There's no magical crest on her that could tell us the affinity of her magic." Remus replied. "There's no telling if her ancestors are one of those who fled to the mortal kingdoms centuries ago."
"There's no need to kill Lady Iris. It's not her fault that Aleera's mage ended up dead. Since she and her friends would be staying in Shayla Kingdom, it would also give us enough time to decide whether her existence could create a ripple in our fates or not." Riasa commented, then turning on her left to regard the demon lord seated next to her.
"What do you think, Asheera? Do you think your sister is right this time?"
"With such an exceptional amount of mana, it would be a pity to waste Lady Iris's potential by killing her." The High Queen of the faeries replied, receiving a scathing look from her elder sister, Aleera.