Episode 149- Unusual tension

Emperor Zen froze as Levis told him his theory about the entire incident and its connections. His expression was expressionless the whole time; not because he didn’t trust Levis, but because he was speechless.

“The people weren’t after my son but… your eldest daughter?” Emperor Zen titled his head and continued, “But for what reason?” Levis’s words made sense but they didn’t at the same time. Eugene wasn’t ‘anyone’ three years ago. Not only that, she was just a baby. If they had targeted her because she is a twin, why not target Euria and Eugene together? Only targeting Eugene was too random in his opinion.

Levis shook his head to indicate that he didn’t know the organization’s motives, however his expression remained firm that they were after Eugene. Levis explained that the paper incident that occurred following the incident at the Imperial Palace was something the organization did to make everyone believe they were targeting the Crown Prince.

Irvin Graeme narrowed his eyes and agreed, “The paper incident… It truly might be to divert the incident elsewhere.” He leaned back as his hands tapped on the table, “We were certain it was the Crown Prince they were after. And the papers that circulated throughout the city ‘confirmed' this for us. It gave us the confidence that we were investigating in the right direction.”

Duke Marleigh’s face was grim as he listened to Irvin Graeme. He pursed his lips and gave his theory, “The second time the paper incident occurred. It wasn’t that they cared about criminal Aiya being executed.” He paused for a moment and continued with a deep look, “It also wasn’t that they wanted us to delay her execution…”

Duke Rodriguez turned to Duke Marleigh whose facial expression was pale from a sudden realization, “What do you mean?” He asked.

Irvin Graeme replied in Duke Marleigh’s stead, “That paper that spread compelled us to remain in Xenperia and remain vigilant. No one would have known what was going on in Zene.” If not for Euria’s letter, the organization might’ve gotten Eugene, and no one would realize that Eugene was gone because of Commander Kal’s hypnotism. The situation would have not been the way it is if there was no Levis or Moniqua.

“So you mean the papers were nothing but a diversion?” There was only speechlessness in Duke Rodriguez's face as he asked.

Irvin Graeme nodded.

Duke Rodriguez gulped. He was silent for a second before deciding to ask, “Does this mean that what happened to the Veria estate, as well as Levis encountering the enemies was all a... diversion?”

Irvin Graeme stared at Duke Rodriguez right in the eyes and nodded. The papers announcing Lady Aiya’s execution, the incident in front of the Veria estate, the encounter with the child, and 3 adults were all to make sure no more Great Nobles head to Zene.

“We would not have been able to get Eugeneia back because the people I fought all committed suicide.” Duke Marleigh exhaled loudly as he thought back to the incident.

The room was silent following his words when a voice spoke out.

“I believe we should ignore future ‘paper’ incidents or messages from the organization released to the public from now on.” It was Irvin Graeme who spoke.

“Why?” Adele turned to her husband, “But that’s our only lead.” Her face was scrunched up as she stared at him.

“I agree with Irvin.” Levis nodded.

Irvin turned to Adele and explained, “The reason why we should ignore future paper incidents is that the paper incidents only occur when the organizations want us to believe in something, or investigate in a different direction. If the organization had been ‘mad’ or ‘angered’ that criminal Aiya was being executed, they would have also spread papers after she was executed. However, they didn’t.”

“That makes sense.” Finally, Duke Rodriguez realized the significance the paper incidents had on their decision makings.

Adele Graeme pursed her lips. There was something even more important than ignoring future paper incidents and that was, “How did they know we were going to execute Aiya that day?” This was not a coincidence.

Irvin shrugged, “They probably guessed it.”

Emperor Zen also had some suspicion, “The incident that occurred here at the Imperial Palace happened long ago. So of these three years, how did the organization predict when we would execute criminal Aiya?” He paused for a second and looked straight at Irvin Graeme who didn’t reply. He exhaled before saying,

“I trust your instincts, Irvin. But their ‘probably guessing’ doesn’t explain how they knew when exactly criminal Aiya was going to be executed.”

The room was instilled with a heavy silence when Levis suddenly spoke up, “Though we don’t know exactly how they knew when criminal Aiya was going to be executed, I have a feeling that the organization will not be releasing anymore ‘papers’...”

Everyone turned to Levis with their eyebrows raised. Levis wasn’t one to make decisions based on his instincts. Even though his instincts were sharp, he was one to make decisions based on evidence. And when Levis had given them his hypothesis that Eugene was the one targeted this whole time, everyone knew Levis had spoken based on whatever evidence he had.

Everyone had mixed feelings when suddenly Levis began to recite what he and his children had seen in Zene. This included the day he and Moniqua arrived in Zene and encountered people who weren’t of this continent. Everyone’s face was ridden in speechlessness as Levis continued.

Duke Rodriguez furrowed his eyebrows. He didn’t want to believe his ears. Even Clyde Akler found it odd and questioned, “What kind of situation were you in to not be able to catch the guy?”

Levis had a good reason for not apprehending the criminals who had ambushed him on his way to the Veria estate. It was because Levis needed to return to the Veria estate to ensure that there had been no breach of security. However, there should be no reason why he was unable to apprehend the man he fought in Zene.

Moniqua replied in Levis’s stead and confessed, “We went against Promissum too many times, especially… Levis. The risk of getting injured was too high, and we still needed to get our children.”

The moment Moniqua mentioned Promissum, everyone turned and stared at Moniqua and Levis in shock!

“You went against Promissum? You defied it to the point where fighting enemies from another continent was deemed a "high risk." Adele’s voice was raised as she glanced back and forth between the two.

“Are you two alright? How about the rebound?” Clyde Akler asked, his voice filled with worry.

Moniqua smiled reassuringly at Clyde Akler and Adele Graeme and said, "I'm alright, I didn't overdo it.”

“And Levis?”

Moniqua’s curved lips lowered slightly as her gaze moved to her lap. She paused for a few seconds before replying,

“He had some internal bleeding.” She turned to Levis, gave him a small smile, and continued, “However, he has since recovered.”

Adele’s tensed body relaxed. Internal bleeding is nothing to Levis. Some people might’ve died, but Levis couldn’t be critically injured with just internal bleeding.

“That’s a relief,” said Clyde Akler who exhaled out in relief.

After everyone had calmed down, Levis continued informing them about what happened in Zene, and at the end, he mentioned the note he found inside of a messenger bird with an odd appearance. His expression was dark when he recalled the words written on the note. His body exuded a chill air, alerting everyone in the room.

Irvin Graeme’s expression also turned dark and he asked, “What was written in the note?”

Levis’s eyes narrowed down as his fists clenched tight. In the end, he exhaled loudly and replied,

“Eldest daughter, grey eyes. Confirmed.”

The moment the word eldest rolled out of Levis’s tongue, the room immediately turned chilly. Their hearts trembled with a chill. Except for the descendants of the house of Veria, there was no one with grey eyes on this continent, or even on this planet. As a result, ‘eldest daughter, grey eyes' could only refer to Eugeneia.

Emperor Zen rubbed his aching forehead and he closed his eyes from shock. So this was the evidence. With this note, Levis’s theory was confirmed.

“... But why?” Duke Rodriguez muttered speechlessly. His eyes showed that he couldn’t comprehend the situation.

Why, Eugeneia, a three-year-old child?

No one was able to answer Duke Rodriguez as it was as flabbergasting to them as it was to him.

Irvin Graeme sighed and asked, “Did you find out where the messenger bird came from?”

Levis shook his head, “No.” He paused and described the bird’s appearance, “The bird was oddly hairy. The fur on the bird was turquoise and black.”

Irvin tapped his chin with a paper fan and mentioned, “Then we might be able to figure something out.”

Levis hesitated however in the end agreed. If they were able to find where the bird originated from, they would be able to track the organization. However, that was only if they were able to locate where the bird originates from. That was the reason why Levis hesitated.

Adele sighed in relief, “That’s good news.”

Moniqua nodded and was about to smile when she remembered something, “Wait.”

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“The children saw Ario changing appearance using a pill. With the pill, Ario was able to alternate some of his bone structure.”

“Promissum does not affect the Crown Prince of Zene.”

Emperor Zen rubbed his aching head again. Just when he thought this was the end of Levis’s and Moniqua’s report, there was something more. He motioned with his hands towards Clyde’s direction and ordered, “Investigate the Royal family of Xenperia- No. Investigate the entire Royal family of the United West Liasel. Look for Royal 'newborns' who have died or 'missing' Royal newborns.”

Duke Clyde nodded.

Irvin Graeme added, “We also have to keep an eye out for Crown Prince Nexiel.” There was a chance that people would take advantage of him because he was not bound by Promissum, or that he would go rogue.

Levis nodded when suddenly his gaze trembled.

“Why?” Emperor Zen rolled his eyes, “What more is there?” He would not be surprised if there were more ‘strange’ occurrences.

Levis turned to the Emperor slowly, and with a dead-serious gaze, he said, “The Crown Prince. He kept glancing at Euria with weird eyes.”

“.......” Everyone blinked.

Duke Rodrguez tilted his head, “Huh? Why would he look at Euria weirdly?”

Moniqua rolled her eyes, her face showing a ‘Not-again’ look.

Levis stared into Duke Rodriguez’s eyes and said with seriousness, “There was love in his eyes.”

“.....” Everyone… was blank.

Adele rolled her eyes, “I hope you realize not everyone ‘loves’ or ‘adores’ your children.”

Levis ignored Adele but his face was adamant that he was right.

“Ha…” Moniqua exhaled loudly.

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The house of Veria

There was an odd tension in the house of Veria. It was an unusual situation. It was something everyone living here never expected or never thought that such a day would come. It was a day where the twins would be living and spending their own separate lives.

This all began after their trip from Zene.

Because of the unusual situation, everyone speculated and assumed that the twins had a falling out. It was a dark period everyone in this estate was going through. The last time the atmosphere was this dark for this long was when Eugene slept for a month after birth.

Day by day, little by little, the twins began to spend their days by themselves or with the companions of others. It started when the twins started training separately and studying on their own. Soon, the twins began to use different rooms and graduated from sleeping together.

Normally one would be happy to see their child being independent but when it came to the twins, this situation was nothing but odd. The twins used to play morning hugging games or be stuck together 24 hours a day, however, this was no longer the case.

It was strange enough that Levis and Moniqua brought out each twin and spoke to them. Eugene and Euria, on the other hand, denied having a falling out. ‘She probably grew up,' one said, and the other said, ‘I'm grown now.' Yes, the twins were expected to grow up because they are now past the halfway point where they will turn four years old, but it was a sad sight to see. Especially when you consider that the time they spent together was reduced from 24 hours to 2 hours per day; Breakfast and dinner taking up the two hours.

The strangeness and their separation all began when Eugene, Euria, and Aernest went on a picnic date together.

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It was a bright and sunny day, but not overly hot or warm. It was the perfect day for a picnic, which prompted Aernest to drag Eugene and Euria out of their room. The three sat and relaxed under a large tree that had most likely been there since the house of Veria was founded. Aedelak and Aeselak sat under a different tree a few meters away to give the trio privacy.

“Haa…” Aernest exhaled. As he stared at the blue sky, his eyes were dazed. He was debating whether he should sleep or stay awake at this moment. The former was very appealing, and he could feel his body sinking deeper into the blanket spread out on the grass. However, he shook his head firmly, trying to shake off his sleepiness.

'Now is not the time to sleep! It's time to spend some quality time with family!' He pinched his cheeks, trying to keep his eyes open as much as possible.

Eugene, who was lying on her side with her right hand propping her head up, stared blankly at Aernest. Boredom was shown on her face as she watched Aernest falling in and out of sleep to finally hitting and pinching himself to stay awake.

“Heh.” Eugene's lips curved in a smirk as she looked at Aernest with a casual expression.

“!” Aernest eyes widened immediately and he jumped to sit up! His arms were covered in goosebumps as he stared at Eugene’s disgusting face. Well, the expression on her face was icky, not her physical appearance.

“Si..Sister…” he covered his shivering body.

Eugene raised her left brow, ‘what?’ showing on her face.

Aernest gulped, and he confessed, “You look… creepy.”

Eugene raised her right brow this time. Her lips smirked, ‘like this?’ showing on her face.

Aernest face scrunched up in disgust as he looked away.

“Hahahaha!” Euria's cute and cheerful laugh cut through the strange back and forth conversation, and they all turned to look at her. They both looked at Euria with a 'What?' expression on their faces.

Euria shook her head as she gave them a big smile.

Eugene pointed to Euria, “I think she looks creepier than me though.” She turned to Aernest and motioned for him to confirm her words through her eyes but his face was completely blank.

‘How does she think that her nonchalant plus smirking lips are less creepy than Euria’s smile of happiness?’ He shook his head, unable to comprehend Eugene’s thoughts. ‘My sister is weird.’ He shook his head again at Eugene’s sad and bad emotional intelligence.