Euris marched through the wide halls as he followed behind Duke Aureus, who took the position from the front.
While Euris' eyes came out of focus from the sound of footsteps from each moment both of them took.
Until suddenly, they stood outside the golden patterned doors as the two knights stood on both sides.
The knights lowered their heads as their eyes took notice of the staff embedded from Aureus' chest. On the other hand, their eyes also met the red gem in the collar of Euris' suit.
Then the knights said as they opened up the wide door. "Duke L'virdawn and Lord Cloudflaw have arrived,"
They were greeted by a long table, and many people had also gathered, as they all remained seated while at the very edge of the chair remained empty.
The men's eyes gazed over them in unbroken silence, their eyes followed them as they entered the room.
The room was spacious as they finally reached nearly at the end of the table, Aureus was greeted by familiar faces who squinted their eyes at him.
"You seemed to be quite late, Aureus," Vesper stated, who wore a sleeveless top as his bulged muscles revealed from a fine-looking bicep, with a crest of bear embedded in his chest.
"How was the search?" He smiled.
"We're still on it. I could say we have found some trails of magic." Aureus grabbed the chair that faced him and seated.
While Euris remained stood from his back as Vesper glanced over his way. "Whose this man...? He seems like a very fine worker for the Kingdom with the gem he had in his collar..." said Vesper.
He pointed his fingers towards him with a smirk. "Young man, may I know your name?"
Euris placed his hands in front of his chest and lowered his head. "My name is Euris Cloudflaw, your grace."
Vesper's eyes flickered as he glanced at Aureus for a second. "Cloudflaw?! How did you manage to enslave this man under your hands, Aureus? You sly man!"
Aureus giggled as he waved his hands in the air and said, "Not at all, Vesper. Euris worked for me with his decisions. Why don't you ask?"
Vesper raised his brows as he faced Euris' gaze. "Is this true? Has Aureus not forced you?"
Euris nodded his head and smiled. "Yes, it's true, your grace."
Vesper crossed his arms and leaned his back at the chair as he glared over Aureus' way. "You're cheating! I want Euris too!"
Aureus laughed as Vesper kept his pupils back to Euris in his deep thoughts until finally, he parted his lips. "Say young man, who would you like five-hundred gold just to work for me?"
Aureus squinted his eyes towards Vesper, while Vesper winked at him as he slammed the table. "Fuck you, Vesper. You're stealing my good man!"
Vesper laughed as he put both his hands behind his head and glimpsed at Euris. "It's just good business, Aureus. What do you say, young man?"
Euris shook his head, "I am thankful for the kind gesture your grace, but I'm afraid I have to refuse."
Aureus plastered a wide smile.
Him and Vesper battled with arguments despite the noise of the other nobles made; their focus was towards one another while the other Dukes remained silent, and one chair remained empty from the table.
For a little moment, Vesper had clenched his teeth and sighed. "I guess I underestimated your man's loyalty... Nonetheless, if you changed your mind, my offer would always be valid," he said before winked at Aureus.
The Dukes shook their head as they all watched both Aureus and Vesper's chaos unfold in silence.
The sound of metal echoed from the doors outside, and all eyes turned towards them as the knights announced in chorus, "His Majesty has now arrived."
The nobles stood as the door opened and a tall, slender man walked in, in a white suit with golden buttons covered all the edge of the fabric.
Kieran, the Emperor of Einheart, silky red cape that fluttered by as he stride in full of dignity and grace inside the room.
"Greetings to the Emperor of Einheart. May the god and the spirit bless the Empire," the nobles greeted him.
Kieran motioned for them to take their seats and cleared his throat. "Let us start."
"Recently, Einheart Kingdom has had some recent situations in small remote towns. Civilian bodies were found, yet we didn't know the reason behind it," Kieran stated.
Aureus sighed and turned towards Kieran and said. "Your majesty, my men and I went to find tracks of magic used, specifically Dark element. That's all we came to uncover,"
Kieran nodded and hummed. "Anything else?"
"Your majesty, we also sadly informed that more towns had also experienced the same situation in Stonescale City," another man added, sitting next to Vesper.
Kieran let out a sigh and said, "We must take action as much as possible. Send more scouts and troops to wander into the towns. Keep an eye out for anything that acts suspicious."
"Yes, your majesty," the nobles said in chorus as they murmured amongst themselves.
The nobles continued to add more conflicts from economics and infrastructure of the Kingdom that Kieran set up plans for.
After several hours, they were dismissed to leave the castle. Aureus and Euris were the last to leave the hall as they marched down the hallway and ran into Kieran along the way.
"Your majesty," they both bowed in unison.
Kieran glanced behind Aureus' shoulder and squinted his eyes at Euris as he scanned him when he raised his face.
"Who was this man, Duke L'virdawn?" He asked, and Euris met his gaze.
"His name was Euris Cloudflaw, your majesty," Aureus answered.
Kieran's eyes vibrated and glanced over to Aureus. "Was it perhaps the one who encountered the dark spirit five years ago, Euris, a Royal mage?" he pondered.
Aureus nodded his head. "Yes, your majesty."
"I see. How was the boy doing, Mr. Cloudflaw?" Kieran asked as he turned towards Euris' way.
"He was well, your majesty. Thank you for your concern."
"Very well. I heard that you were also part of the Church. Could you relay this information to the Priestess for me?" Kieran said as he plastered a smile on his face.
"As you wish, your majesty."
"Good. Be careful on your way back," Kieran said as they bowed and went their separate ways.