"No particular reason," Invictus shrugged his shoulders. "I guess I just wanted some fresh air. A nice view of this world before I plunge it into despair and chaos? Something like that, I guess."
"Is your decision final?" She sounded sad, her eyes slightly lowered upon hearing Invictus' plans. "Throwing this kingdom into turmoil will
absolutely involve innocent lives. You're aware of it, right?"
"No one's ever innocent in this kingdom, Aeriel." His tone changed, every word fierce and sharp in tone. "Not unless I deem them worthy of being saved. I remember when kids would not even want to have something to do with me or my family. People will throw rocks at every person that has the same blood as me. I was innocent, ain't I? But no, they lumped me in with my ancestors and punished me and my family for the crime that we
never did. I overlooked everything, hoping that one day I'd be able to bury our past, which I thought I did when everyone started calling me a hero. However, all of it was a lie. Everything was a fucking facade!"
After lashing out his anger, venting the frustration holed up inside his head, wanting to be free and be spoken, Invictus realized that he had said too much and had taken the attention of the guards in front of the wooden gate.
They crossed the small bridge and entered the Virval Highlands after getting inspected. The guards demanded to hand over their citizenship cards distributed to Estarians that would serve as proof of being from the kingdom.
Luckily, Thorp provided the two of them with a new citizenship card after it got burned along with the house. Authentic citizenship cards have the king's dry seal on them. The forgery of the said document was rampant, and people from outside the kingdom managed to sneak in with their fake identification cards.
However, King Estaroth began to deal with it and is gradually solving the problem regarding the forgery. He had proclaimed a new law. The two-factor authentication secret code in the citizenship card can only be recognized by the guards of Estaria. They have been told and trained not to overlook a single hint of mistake in the code because it will determine the authenticity of the card.
"Semper ad... Meliora? Is that your whole name?"
The "Semper" bloodline, one of the most horrendous families in its time, wreaked havoc around the kingdom, causing bloodbaths and irredeemable crimes, which every pair of ears across the Estaria must have definitely heard before.
Invictus' family history, the nightmarish period of the kingdom, became a common story told to children as a form of jackstraw whenever their children were behaving stubbornly.
The two of them saw the sour look on the personnel guarding the gate.
"Is Semper your first name or last name?"
Invictus replied, "it is my last name."
"Tch," cursed the guard under his breath, disgust could be seen in his belittling eyes. "To think that the "devils" of our kingdom still haven't perished up to this date... And here I thought King Estaroth already dealt with that."
The guard placed his hand above the citizenship card Invictus handed over for inspection, and a magic circle appeared out of nowhere. It was a red one at the time, and it turned green, indicating that Invictus is a certified Estarian.
"Okay, here you go. Don't cause any trouble, or we might have to force you out of Virval Highlands."
There was hate towards Invictus, and he sensed it when the guard gave back his citizenship card. He calmly took it and just passed it off like he heard nothing.
"In— Brother Meliora, let's go."
Aeriel and Invictus were posing as siblings traveling all over the kingdom in search of their parents. Moreover, the identification card Invictus presented was forged, provided by a broker Thorp had known for years.
As the two proceeded inside the town, the two guards, who were assigned at the gate and inspecting the incoming citizens and tourists, watched Invictus and Aeriel's figure disappear into the forest.
"They seemed familiar for some reason."
"Maybe because that man is a Semper, yeah?"
"Hmm, maybe..."
On their way to the top of the mountain, walking cautiously on the steep path often taken by townspeople, Aeriel and Invictus could slightly see the horizon from where they were. The vast land of fields, the calm sea, the houses, and small ponds and rivers are so peaceful and serene.
But in Invictus' eyes, he can see the chaos, wildfire engulfing the forests, floods drowning towns and cities, and thunderous strikes from other kingdoms raining down on the whole land.
"Lord Invictus already made up his mind long ago. I don't really intend on stopping him, but... I'm quite concerned for people like Doctor Thorp and
Graciela. Does it really have to be the whole kingdom? Can't Lord Invictus spare the innocent lives?"
Invictus never told anyone about his past, all the hardships he had to deal with and bear with just to survive.
She only heard about his dark past from stories and does not have a solid grasp of what Invictus went through.
"You're so close to me, yet you seem so far from my reach..."
Aeriel looked up to Invictus. She was glad when Invictus offered her a job in his mansion. And when Austria was born, Aeriel gave her all in watching over Invictus' daughter, thinking of her as her child.
Her motherly instincts to protect her child kicked in when Aeriel saw Austria being tied up and instantly covered in blazing fire. At that time, when Aeriel's body suddenly moved on its own to save Austria, she did not care what could have happened to her. In her mind, she just wants Austria to be free of her agonies.
But she was rendered unable to stand back up, forced to witness the brutality done to Uria and Austria, and will be haunted by their screams every night when she closes her eyes.
~