A room sat in the beneath of the Solerian Citadel, it's wals lined with glowing gold that warded it. But what drew one sattention were the people sitting in the room.

The Steward of the Empire.

The Marshal of Sorelia.

The Emperor.

And of course, herself, Nerusia Sorelian, Empress.

How times had changed. Nerusia still remembered the last time she had been here. The day when their adventures had ended and they had left their youth away. But the past would not stay silent.

A fifth chair stood before her, a crack running through it's back. The seat of a particular Fae Princess. A reminder of why they were here.

"So, she is alive." Ven said, his voice gruff. Even after sending a decade as the Steward of the Empire, he still felt it. Nerusia knew it. Lorn knew it. And even worse, Keron knew it.

"And you're still in love with her." Keron taunted, making her groan. The two had been fighting over a dead woman for a decade. And now that woman was alive.

Nerusia knew that Ven would not stop blaming Keron for refusing Jerissa's love. And Keron would not stop blaming Ven for getting between him and Jerissa.

Nerusia just thought they were idiots.

"Have you tried to sensing for her?" Ven asked, ignoring his rival in love.

"That was the first thing we did." Lorn said. "Jerissa did not reply. I think you should try. If there is someone she will respond to, it is one of the two of you."

Lorn extended two communication orbs. Ven took it, sending his mana inside. And then withdrawing it. Nerusia could see the pain flashing through his face. Jerissa's betrayal had been the hardest on him, save perhaps Keron.

"Come on, coward." Keron said, but he didn't even take the orb. Taking it meant they were back. Taking it meant that they would have to learn why. Why their friend had tried to kill them in this very room little over two decades ago.

"Nathan is a royal half-Fae." Ven said instead. Nerusia felt the black fog start to make an appearance again. The thing loved coming whenever she was feeling a strong emotion. But she had long ago learnt to stop it from killing her friends.

"Do you think...?" she asked as Keron stared at Ven.

"I cannot think of any other royal Fae on the continent, and certainly not one that would have a child with a human." Ven said, meeting her eyes.

There was a silence in the room. Jerissa...had a son? Nerusia was unsure of what to make of this. On one hand, she was sure to return if she had a son. On the other hand, she was sure to return. That might not necessarily be a good thing.

Wait a second.

"If she was there, then she participated in it." Nerusia stated.

"No, she would never." Keron had words spilling out of his mouth before Ven could even start.

"I don't think we know her as well we think." Ven said. "At the end of the day, she was Fae."

"And that justifies this?" Keron shouted. "Come on, you know her. Can you really say that she would stand for the things those Fae did? The same Jerissa that wanted to wage war because the Geron Empire dared to kidnap her friends?"

Ven hesitated. Nerusia could see that he had a hard time making an argument. But these two probably knew her firmed the best in the world.

"Jerissa was the daughter of the Crown Prince of the Fae. The granddaughter of two Grandmaster stage Fae. I do not think we can truly tell what she feels." Ven said. Keron looked like he wanted to slam the table.

"I think she would be very disappointed in you, that even after all these years, you still have a grudge." Keron said.

"I do not say this because she rejected me." There was poison in Ven's tone. "I say this because our friend tried to kill us. I know it might be my fault, but there was a reason for that. Jerissa did not like me, but she loved you."

"And I rejected her! Told her that you were her love! What did you want me to do?" Keron shouted.

"Perhaps you shouldn't have slept with her then. That is quite contradictory to what you say. A classic case of you being you." Ven said.

Keron huffed. Nerusia knew the story. Keron had refused Jerissa, but the two of them...they were just meant for together. Kerron’s exact words were 'I couldn’t stop myself.'

Ven did not believe it, he thought Keron was being the manwhore he was. But Nerruisa hadn't spent the last twenty years avoiding her brother-in-law. There was a reason that the Marshal was still single. There was a reason that despite having so many lovers, not one graced his bed more than once.

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Ven might think him to not care about who he bed, and to a point he was right. Keron had thoughts about things that were...less than pleasant. But there was one person he hadn't forgotten. Nerusia saw the signs, and even if Ven denied, it, so did he.

"Are you doing it?" Lorn said. The two of them had found it optimal to let the ex-friends argue before. The blame would turn to them if they tried to stop them.

Keron huffed, mana spilling into the orb. Ven followed suit, his mana a much steadier flow. The orbs glowed, sending out signals. Nerusia took out her orb, as did Lorn. The four orbs glowed together, and the four of them waited. There was no answer that they could see.

But Nerusia knew that somewhere in the world, a fifth was glowing. And hopefully, her friend received it. And finally answer the questions that had troubled her for two decades.

sc

Althea was bored. There was apparently no work for her to do. The commanders had already sent out the next batch of assignments. The college students had already had their class. Pulsie had already read every book in the library, and would transfer the knowledge whenever she wanted it. Now she was bored.

Perhaps she should go try to read some books from the manual hall. Or practice her spells. The propel spell could be stronger...Steward Ven stepped into the room, taking his old place. But he seemed shaken and abnormal. For one, he did not notice her staring at him.

"What happened?" she asked before she could stop herself.

The Steward startled turning towards her. "Oh-oh nothing. There is no need for you to worry, Countess."

The Steward tried giving a smile, but that just made her more suspicious. The block of stone was showing emotion? What had him that shaken up?

"I can help." she said.

"No, I do not think you can, Countess. This is not a matter for you to be involved in." the Steward said. And there was the barb.

"Well, we still have to talk." she said. "I was quite rude to you the last time we spoke."

"What?" the Steward said, confusion apparent on his face. Every expression on his face seemed to tell her that he did not want to have this conversation. "Oh that. Don't worry about it."

Althea ignored him, focusing on her feeling. Mana circulated beneath her skin as her core glowed. There was a feeling...an emotion. A powerful one. This was her first time sensing an emotion. But this one...did not seem like one that should go ignored.

"I can feel emotions, you know." she noted. The Steward turned to her, his mana flowing freely. At that moment, she felt the entire weight of an Adept fall on her. Even breathing seemed to become harder as time seemed to slow down. But she did not want to stop. The feeling was still there. And it was getting heavier, like a festering wound that was trying to harm its host.

The Steward withdrew his aura. "What do you want to talk about?"

So, avoiding the topic.

"Nathan." she said. "I think we should have a talk about our contradictory views on that matter."

Ok, she was at a loss. There was a problem there, but she wasn't a therapist. Karen would be so much better at this.

The Steward paused, looking at her for a few seconds before bursting into laughter. "I swear...you, are just-"

The Steward took a deep breath and straightened himself. But the feeling was much lighter now. The wound was still there, ready to strike again.

"What do you know about what the Empress found at the caravan?" he asked.

"Just what was in the papers." she answered. What did have anything to do with this.

The Steward looked surprised. "Nerusia did not tell you then."

And then he did something she did not think he would ever do. The Steward of the Empire, took a seat.

"The caravan was set up." he said. "The Adept stage Fae were injured, the most powerful of them killed himself before the Empress could even attack. There was mana in the air. The signature of one person."

There was a different feeling now. A feeling so heavy that wondered why it wasn't eh forefront before. Magic came naturally to her, but she was at a loss right now. Why was she just sensing it now? Was it the depth of them? The power of the person feeling?

But still, she had a feeling she was on the right track. Mana swirled as she exercised her power. Stretching and pulling in ways she could not quite understand.

"Jerissa Heron. Princess of the Fae Empire. The love of my life and the reason I am stuck at this stage." the Steward said. Althea just listened. A love story. Was this the book author striking back because she destroyed their romantic plot?

"I loved her...but she did not love me back." the Steward said. "No, she loved another. A friend. I told her to go to him, to live happily...but he rejected her."

A bottle appeared beside him as the Steward chugged the entire thing in one go. Was that alcohol? Or some other variant from this world? Althea hadn't had alcohol before...ok, she should not be thinking that now.

"I think he was just trying to be a good friend." the Steward said. "But that just made things worse."

"How did he do that?" Althea asked, softly.

"That night...they slept together." the Steward said, suddenly turning towards her, his face scrunching up. "Sleeping together means-"

"Steward Ven, I know what sleeping together means." Althea said, in a hurry. That conversation was one she did not want to have with the Steward.

Please don't ruin the moment. Please don't ruin the moment. Please don't ruin the moment.

"Ker-the friend said that he could not stop himself. That he couldn't help it. That the second their lips touched, it was a done thing." The Steward said, looking at her awkwardly. Ok, the old man awkward talking to her about...that. But like, move on. Tell the story.

"And then?" Althea asked.

"And then...she tried to kill me." the Steward said. "Well, me, the friend and our other friends."

Althea blinked. Wait what? That was certainly a twist. The ending was usually the woman dying. Or marrying the other guy. Not this.

"...Why did she do that?" she asked, confused.

The Steward looked at her, tears glistening in his eyes.

"I do not know, Countess. I do not know." he said. "Keron thinks that she was controlled. But there is not a single weapon or force in the world that could control her like this. Jerissa was the wildest of us. A telekinetic Fae. An Adept Fae. Not even her father, the strongest of the mind Fae could compel her to kill us. Not if she truly loved us like we loved her."

"What if she was compelled? There are ways other than magic-" she began.

The Steward shook his head, getting up. "No, Countess. I was there that day. Jerissa fought with everything she had. Even with four of us, we barely survived. I have thought this through. Jerissa was not compelled or coerced, she wanted to kill us. To further her family's agenda, or increase her own standing by killing the heirs to the Solerian Empire."

The Steward walked to his position, turning back to her.

"And Nathan is her son, Countess." the Steward's eyes burned with a passion that she had not seen in them before. The tears were long gone, replaced by fire.

"This is why I hate the Fae. There is no knowing them, or understanding them. Human lives do not matter to them. To them, they and their own gain is all that matters."