Aria walked through the complicated streets of Dremos. After arriving at the capital via teleportation, she had parted ways with the carriage at the city gates as it would only hinder her from quickly completing her task. She considered the task as an unnecessary chore that she would much rather avoid if she was given another choice.
She made her way to an inconspicuous part of the busy city, easily locating the place she was looking for. She entered a blacksmith shop hidden away in a filthy alley that was no different from the others around it.
The shop was far from being anything impressive, a few weapons were hanging here and there but nothing of note was among them. The weapons being displayed were passable at most and nothing more. The building itself seemed like it was a single crack away from completely falling apart, the windows were barely hanging on and the walls were filled with all kind of cracks.
All things being considered, the shop was quite a shabby place. No one in their right mind would willingly patronize such a place even if circumstances were against them, however, that was exactly what the imperial knight order was aiming for when they chose the shop as one of their stations. Information that was capable of shaking the Empire to its very core was regularly exchanged within the walls of the rundown building.
"Good to see you Aria"
A bald man seated behind a desk placed in a corner greeted Aria the moment she walked in. He appeared to be the owner of the establishment.
"You too Jack"
Jack was a muscular giant of a man, his shirt was on the verge of ripping just from trying to hold back his bulging muscles.
"I see this place is still as shitty as ever"
"That's just how it is, it's not like you expected any better"
The two of them joked around for a bit before moving on to more serious topics.
"Is the agent already here"
"He arrived a while ago and is already waiting in the back room"
Jack suddenly looked around cautiously.
"What's up"
Aria slightly tilted her head to the side, she found his actions rather odd.
"It's a different one this time"
He attempted to make his voice as low as possible while he spoke but loud enough for her to hear him.
"He seems to be of a very high rank within the order"
"Why would they send someone of a high rank to do something as simple as collecting information"
Aria was confused since agents were usually around middle rank, they were never among the top brass within the imperial knight order.
"I was thinking the exact same thing, it is really strange for them to suddenly switch agents much less replace a mid rank agent with a high ranking member of the order"
"I guess I will understand more about the situation when I talk to him"
"I agree"
Jack nodded.
"Looks like I have to get to work, see you in a bit Jack"
Aria moved towards a door hidden in a corner and opened it, the door was rather inconspicuous and blended really well with the walls of the shop, it wasn't easy to spot unless you knew where to look and she knew exactly where to look. She quickly walked through the door and shut it behind her.
A normal blacksmith shop would have a smithy at the back but this particular one had room used as a meeting ground between agents and informants instead. The meeting room was named the back room by all who used it, the back room was far from spacious and could be considered small in size but it had more than enough space to fit the table an two chairs placed within the room. The chairs were on opposite sides of the table with one of them already being taken.
Aria was unprepared to meet the familiar face with green eyes that closely resembled hers.
"Of all people"
She grumbled in a low voice while knowing of the fact that he could probably hear her, however, even if he could, she didn't really care. She finally knew the reason why someone with a high rank within the order would suddenly replace an agent. It all made sense to her now that she saw the person sitting on the other side of the table, the high ranking member who replaced the agent assigned to her was none other than her brother.
"Take a seat"
Alistair pointed at the chair in front of him, ushering her to sit down. He could clearly see the reluctance on her face but it was nothing new to him, he would be very surprised if she was actually willing to talk to him.
"Where is the usual agent"
Aria spoke as she took her seat.
"He has been assigned to another mission so I will be replacing him for today"
His words were only half the truth and both of them knew it, however, none questioned the other. Aria chose to ignore the other half of the truth and Alistair chose not to elaborate.
"Here are the reports"
A stack of paper appeared in her hand. Now that she was outside the barrier, she was no longer subject to its restrictions and could use magic items whenever she wanted to which included using a void magic trinket to conveniently carry any items she wished.
"As usual, there is nothing peculiar about her activities"
Aria tossed the stack of papers on the table and patiently waited for Alistair to look through them.
"Is this everything?"
"Yes"
She answered without skipping a beat. This was the true motive behind being permitted to leave the barrier, it was all so that she could report the activities of the one she was tasked with serving. The role of a guardian knight was merely a cover for the true purpose of monitoring the white witch.
Aria wasn't very comfortable with her role as it felt like she was betraying Kharis but she knew that rebelling against the Emperor would do her lady more harm than good. She didn't want to cause any troubles for Kharis especially with the fact that there wasn't much to hide in the first place. If there was, she would try her best to hide them as long as she possibly could but in truth, there wasn't anything of note.
Kharis spent most of her days within the confines of her room, she rarely left her room or roamed the castle grounds so there was truly nothing to report.
"If there is nothing else, I would like to take my leave"
Aria attempted to leave but was stopped by Alistair before she could even stand up from her chair.
"Wait"
His tone was calm and his eyes mirrored the same, however, his thoughts were the exact opposite of the calmness displayed on the surface.
"Is there anything else?"
"It will do you no good if you continue to get close to the white witch, you have already exceeded the boundaries of your mission"
"I understand, I will heed your warning"
Aria had no intention of following through with the words that just left her lips, she only said what she thought would make the conversation end quickly.
"I'm not concerned as your superior but I am worried about you as your brother"
Alistair didn't believe that she would simply heed his warning just like she had said, he knew her well enough to know that it was impossible for her to be so willing to listen to him.
"If that's what you are worried about, you don't have to be, I am more than capable of handling myself"
"Aria listen to me, you might end up being in danger"
Alistair was genuinely worried about her. He had already surmised that the only way the white witch could have known that they shared the same blood was through his sister. Green eyes may be the symbol of Polemos but it wasn't an extremely rare eye colour, it was possible for people who had no connection to the bloodline of Polemos to possess green eyes so there was no other way the white witch could've known unless she was told. He didn't like the possibility of there being any sort of close relationship between Aria and the witch that made his sister trust her enough to tell her about their past.
"If there is any cause for the Emperor to view you as a variable, he will attempt to remove you from the equation and I'm sure you know what that means"
"I am done with the reports so I would like to return to my mission"
Aria ignored him and resumed her attempts to leave, however, she only succeeded in getting up from her chair this time before she was stopped again.
"Let go of my arm Alistair"
Alistair restrained her with a firm grip, he was a much stronger knight than she was so she couldn't escape his hold no matter how hard she tried.
"Why won't you listen to me?"
"My life is none of your concern"
"Yes, it is"
"Not anymore and it has been that way for a very long time already"
"You still resent me?"
Alistair looked a bit dejected as he spoke.
"What exactly were you expecting"
Aria tried to feign calmness but she couldn't stop her heart from trembling.
"Not after all that happened"
Aria didn't want to remember the past, there were still memories she didn't dare to face.
"I had hoped that one day you will come to understand my choices"
"You delivered Polemos right into the hands of our enemies and you are asking me to just understand your choices"
She felt anger but the pain in her heart far eclipsed the rage.
"It was the best choice at that time"
"No, it wasn't"
She shook her head.
"It was what you wanted, that doesn't make it the best choice"
"Polemos would have fallen anyway"
He tried to make her see things the way he saw them, he only ever did what he had done because he wanted to save her.
"You are probably right but we would have fallen like the proud knights we were and not like pigs waiting to be slaughtered"
"I watched our father, my mother and brother Liam die right before my eyes because of your decisions"
Her words were fueled by the pain and guilt she always carried with her. The guilt of living when she didn't deserve it as much as those who fought until the end. She wanted to pour out the emotions that tormented her.
"I know the Patriach was not a father anyone would wish for but what about everybody else"
"What about brother Liam, Sir Gasper and the other knights"
"Each and every one of them were proud knights of Polemos"
She seemed a bit out of breath after completing the last sentence. She tried to pour everything out but the pain never lessened.
"I never cared about them or Polemos itself"
Alistair never lost his calmness despite the emotions hidden beneath the mask.
"I didn't want to save the grand name of Polemos, I only wanted to save you and I do not regret it"
"I will never regret it until my final breath"
He had never regretted his decision and he was sure that he never would. Polemos had treated him like nothing and only regarded him when he displayed more talent than the other children of the Patriarch. It was all because he was a product of the Patriach's promiscuity, he was the son of a mere prostitute and not a child of the official wife, he was treated like a rat that managed to crawl up to the surface. She was the only one who treated him like he was human and not some puppet meant to be used for the glory of the family. He didn't care if he had to live with her hatred for the rest of his life, he didn't care if she would never smile at him like she used to all those years ago, those were simply the consequences of his actions and he had accepted them long ago. As long as she was alive and well, that was more than enough for him, he would only try to protect her from afar the best he could.
"I never wanted you to save me"
Aria felt the rage overwhelm her.
"For the past fifteen years, I had to live with the guilt of being alive chasing me"
"You should have just let me die with them"
Alistair remained silent for a few seconds, the fact that he didn't have any regrets didn't mean that her words could never hurt him.
"If that is what you think, then I guess I can't do anything about it"
His grip on her arm loosened, giving her the opportunity to escape his hold but the moment she saw the look in his eyes, regret slowly mixed in with the pain in her heart.
"I..."