The Requiem Of An Empress 7 Mien: Απ?Τη「Apátē」

"Where could she be?"

"Should we look in the bath?"

"You do that. I'll go look in the closet."

Words were exchanged, albeit calmly, considering that the situation was not the sort to be taken lightly. Their franticness was purely flaunted in the clumsy conduct of investigation they were conforming to. It took them a single glance alone at each area to deduct that the Empress was truly truant. They couldn't be bothered to put effort in a search beyond that. Once they were finished fiddling around, the twins had a rendezvous in the middle of the room.

"The Empress couldn't have possibly eluded our watch."

"Of course! We were on guard, right outside the chamber's door, the whole time until the knights dropped by."

"Her existence cannot be sensed inside the palace."

"We know that, already."

The handmaidens stared at each other's eyes; both of them were wearing an uncanny grimace on their faces.

"Hmm, Tara is troubled."

"Sura is troubled too."

"We should tell the Countess and the d.u.c.h.ess."

"Yes, we should."

The maidservants stepped out of the room, carefully closing the door to their backs. They leisurely made their way to the main entrance, unperturbed of viably incurring the wrath of the n.o.ble ladies.

Tara and Sura bellied up to their guests and initiated the conversation.

"We are back, Countess Lukan, d.u.c.h.ess Tristan."

"We apologize for making you wait."

"That much is fine. Thank you for listening to my selfish request.", Lauviah responded with false modesty. She did want to express her grat.i.tude but was galled of continuously wasting time.

"So, what did the Empress say?"

Without missing a beat, the twins bowed their heads apologetically.

"We ask for your forgiveness, Countess."

"Forgive us."

"Is there something wrong?" - Lauviah asked, hoping that it was not the unfortunate picture she was thinking of.

The knight was in anguish that she might have to spend the Nasha in a dilapidated palace.

"The Empress is in a deep slumber."

"We should not disturb the Empress' repose."

"Oh, is that so?"- Lauviah's shoulder drooped, utterly dissatisfied of the outcome.

'What do I do? What do I do?!', she profusely thought about her successive course of action.

Countess Lukan detested the idea of staying in an unfamiliar place, the Empress' palace to boot. However, the Countess had a greater concern. She is a knight that has a lot of responsibilities to fulfil. Lamentably, she could see d.u.c.h.ess Haniel exercising superiority over her if ever she attempts to disobey the Emperor's command.

The twins observed the varying degrees of consternation flas.h.i.+ng across Lauviah's face. It was none of their interest. Still, they decided to ease her anxiety.

"Do not worry, Countess Lukan."

"Yes, there is no need."

"We will inform the Empress of your request to apologize to her personally."

"Her highness personifies the word altruism. She'll recognize that your intentions venerably befit her welfare."

"She will reach out to you when her schedule allows it."

"We know that the two of you are occupied with your duties. We, ourselves, cannot entertain you, esteemed knights."

"Willingness is a form of apology in itself."

"It is alright to let the Countess free of this minor burden, d.u.c.h.ess Tristan."

After the lengthy speech of Tara and Sura, Haniel entered a moment of contemplation. She tried to find a justification to consider the twins' suggestion.

'If the Empress' attendants say so, then I'll take their word for it.' As stubborn as she is, Haniel acknowledged that there are things that just refuse to be resolved in the instant you want them to.

"Very well, I will treat this as temporarily done. Howbeit, please visit the Knights' palace once the Empress agrees with the arrangement."

The tension in Lauviah's body dissipated when Haniel vocalized her consent to the maids' proposal. She thought for a second that she'd have to camp out the Sortis Palace, seeing the d.u.c.h.ess' furrowed eyebrows.

"We'll take note of that."

"We thank you for coming by."

Tara and Sura Kishnar gripped the edges of their dress of a uniform and curtsied towards the n.o.ble ladies. It was a custom decorum to show that they wanted to wrap-up the discussion. Lauviah and Haniel readily returned the gesture.

"We also thank you for welcoming us this late. Farewell for now. I hope to see you soon.", d.u.c.h.ess Tristan said her goodbyes. She then urged the Countess to begin walking.

The two maids monitored the physiques of the knights as they fetch their horses. They retained an eerie silence between them up to the point when the scene of galloping horses faded in the horizon.

"Good riddance."

"You said it."

The twins bolted the double doors. Following that, they headed back to their post outside the Empress' chambers.

Tara Kishnar exhaled a long trail of breath prior to speaking.

"Whoo! I would have had a heart attack if this was the first time that this happened."

"I agree, sister. Experience honestly pays off. It's the fourth instance that she did this after all."

***********************************

"Greetings to the both of you."

Mikhail and Sarakiel suddenly turned towards the source of the voice. It was from something, or rather, someone standing a few meters away from them.

'What?! Has the barrier worn off already?!', Mikhail was reasonably alarmed.

Initially, he expected the barrier to last a couple more minutes. No creature can get a sight of them in that window. Then comes this deviant who was looking at them. It even had the temerity to start a discourse.

On the other hand, Sarakiel's panic was of a different thread.

'I didn't notice its aura despite remaining vigilant the whole time. Who is this?'

The silhouette, appearing warped in their vision, slowly approached the confused men. The knight captain immediately brandished his sword to prepare for a strike.

'Enemy or ally? As far as I'm aware, Khamael was my sole companion. The tribe people are under the demon n.o.bles' control. In case they escaped by chance, they still wouldn't have the capacity to be this sane. It is most probably an enemy.', Mikhail concluded, one he didn't want to arrive at.

Sarakiel hid behind his captain since he hasn't summoned his holy sword yet. Instead, he opted to do his best in supporting Mikhail with his magic.

While the distance separating the two sides decreased, the knights gradually got a clearer view of the wanderer. Shortly, they were able to discern their guest's ident.i.ty.

"Khamael?"

"Yes, my Lord. Were you surprised? I did not mean to sneak up on you."

"It's..."

There was an awkward pause in Mikhail's reply, his face displaying an unreadable expression.

"...fine."

The older Percival withdrew his sword and returned it in the scabbard hanging on his waist. Meanwhile, Duke Helian went beside his escort to acquire a glimpse of his countenance.

'Geez, you could've shown some concern to your younger brother, Lord Mikhail. He went through lengths just to get here.'- It's nothing new of a complaint. Withal, Sarakiel did not dare blurt it out. The siblings' relations.h.i.+p wasn't all rainbows and b.u.t.terflies. He determined that interfering in a family matter won't lead to anything productive.

"It's a relief to behold that you are unscathed, Lord Khamael."

"I share your sentiments."

In their brief chat, the Duke heed several aspects that were quite a disparity from the usual Khamael.

"My Lord, why is your voice a bit hoa.r.s.e? It did not register to us that it was you who greeted us because of this."- Sarakiel chose to bring them up one-by-one.

"I do not know myself, Lord Helian. I guess it will revert to normal once I'm completely in full health."

"I see. Th-", Sarakiel was about to carry through his questioning when Mikhail rudely interrupted him.

"How did you break out from that horde?"

"The events transpired quickly, so I'm unable to provide specific details. Nevertheless, I could remember the demons and monsters ceasing in activity and my body being mended. The next thing I knew, I was gawking at an empty sh.o.r.e."

"Who helped you?"

"I have no idea, my Lord."

'How curious.', Sarakiel pondered on a suspicion he had on impulse.

Khamael's behaviour seemed strange to him. The way he was answering all of their queries, without an ounce of hesitation, resembled an accused who was reaping their retorts from a script of excuses.

Oblivious of Sarakiel's speculations, Mikhail dismissed prying further regarding the saviour of a character.

"Come here. We need to deliberate on how to proceed with our mission. Let's not waste time."

"As you wish."

Duke Helian had a feeling that he couldn't get a hold of. It made his fingers fidgety, as it was bugging a part of his conscience. He scrutinized the facial features of his nearing comrade, struggling to hunt for an explanation.

"Hmm? Lord Khamael, your scar is missing.", the Duke managed to scratch an itch of his anxiety, picking on the first deviance he investigated.

"I beg your pardon?"

"The scar under your left eye is gone. You were so adamant in removing it."

"What do you mean, Lord Helian? I simply healed the wounds in this body."

"Come ag- Wait a minute. Healed the wounds in this body? Didn't somebody heal you?"

Khamael only gave him an odd grin and that confirmed Sarakiel's inauspicious presumptions. It was similar to a thunder striking his head, puzzle pieces gathering themselves.

'Something is wrong.' - Mikhail caught up with the Duke's current perspective. He shut his eyes to heighten his senses, subsequently taking out his sword, again.

"Sarakiel, my barrier is in effect."

"I figured, my Lord."

"Also, a herd of adversaries is drawing in."

"Incorrigible, really incorrigible."

The Khamael afore them looked jovial with his malevolent smile.

"Oh, am I discovered this early?"

Mikhail and Sarakiel took a step back.

"Now, what might you be?", the captain has begun to probe the supposed foe.

"I wonder."

Khamael's impostor advance in an equal manner.

"How did you invade my barrier?"

"There was a barrier?"

They kept up with the fas.h.i.+on of traipsing backwards and forward while the inquest was afoot.

"Where is Khamael? That's not his body, isn't it?"

"It could be."

"Aren't you going to deliver a proper riposte?"

"If you catechize appositely, I will."

Sarakiel did not listen to the ongoing dialogue for the reason that he was doing his own thinking.

'This is a demon, and a powerful one at that. Judging by the atmosphere surrounding it, we are definitely outcla.s.sed. Perhaps it is a demon n.o.ble.'

On the a.s.sumption that they won't be leaving soon, Sarakiel thought apropos of his secret conference with the Emperor.

'His Majesty was certain that another demon n.o.ble will present itself. Naturally, I doubted it. It's such a preposterous incident for multiple demon n.o.bles to appear contemporaneously. Although, how did the Emperor a.s.similate this occurrence? If he knew of it, he could've warned the two Lords.', Duke Helians mind was swimming with plenty of data to deliberate that it was almost dizzying.

Sarakiel locked eyes with the demon and mustered up the necessary courage to declare his statement.

"Are you named Malphas?"

"Interesting. How did you know my name?"

"That's none of your business.", the knight's confidence to interrogate the abhorrence increased. He just had to authenticate the Emperor's findings.

The demon raised its right eyebrow then c.o.c.ked its head to the side.

"You seem to be misunderstanding something, human. I call the shots here. It is puzzling, you see. Mortals should be unqualified to voice our names out."

Malphas instantaneously disappeared. The knights swiftly surveyed the dark for its movements. They belatedly realized that it reappeared right at Sarakiel's rear.

"What are you--!"

A blade abruptly punctured Sarakiel in the abdomen. Astoundingly enough, it was Mikhail's sword. Consequently, Malphas bashed the Duke's body, making sure that it will hit Mikhail who was stunned at what betided.

"Humans like you are no fun. You match that dead lad in the forest. That b*tch who put up a fight fared better."