There was a roaring. The deafening rumbling of an unstoppable inferno. Gabriel felt the fire in his chest. It entered him through Alice’s lips through her every soft breath, and it was returned to her with each of his own.

He was burning up from the inside, and for a brief moment, that sensation was all that registered in his mind, his other thoughts discarded as soon as they struck him. He had burned before. The sensation of heat on his skin, his nerves dying and burning away to reveal fresh ones, the cycle of pain continuing without end. The pain in his lungs as scorching smoke forced its way down his throat. Yes, he knew burning well.

But this fire was… Pleasant. The flames that ate him from the inside out were comfortable, warm. It was almost to the point that he wanted to let himself remain in this state of thoughtlessness and just sink into the heat.

But in the end, flames remained flames.

He felt them rise within his chest. They tore at his flesh and ate away at his bones, each flicker burnt away more and more of his mind, his reason. Left unchecked, he would lose all control. He’d lost control once before already, when they first reached the Barong territory. He would not allow it to happen a second time.

So he held back before the fire swallowed all that he was. The taste of blood lingered on his lips, a pair of almost euphoric crimson pupils looking down at him for a moment. There was blood on her lips, but with how they had bitten each other it was impossible to tell whether it was his or hers.

She got off of him, a look was enough for the two of them to convey what had to be done, and in what order they would do it. Alice straightened her dress as if nothing had happened, and she would have almost done it somewhat convincingly if it wasn’t for the way she licked the remaining blood off of her lips before she broke the silence.

"Please forgive us for that short outburst of passion. We’ve been waiting for this moment for quite a while so our emotions got the best of us."

She didn’t even clear her throat, nor did she blush, she showed a complete lack of shame as she addressed the nobles around them. Having just bore witness to such a scene, the nobles were naturally rather stunned, both because of the sudden display of wild passion and because of what this implied that Alice thought about the Emperor’s offer.

To quietly reject him in private would be one thing, but to do it in public like this… One didn’t have to be the Emperor to feel insulted in a situation like this. But naturally, Alice was prepared for this, turning her gaze towards the Emperor before the rest of the nobles could, giving him a respectful bow.

"With that being said, I would like to extend my deepest gratitude to Your Highness, for being willing to help me push my companion into a corner so that he was left with no choice but to act. Were it not for your gracious aid, I fear that I may have suffered the fate of growing old and alone."

What was the easiest way to not insult the Emperor by rejecting his offers this publicly? Simple, make it seem as if he was in on it all along. After all, how could he be shamed and insulted by his own scheme going as planned? Naturally, Alice wasn’t so naive that she thought everyone, least of all the emperor, would go along with her words just like that. But she was just the first stab.

"Ah, that does explain it. I did wonder why this child of mine was agreeing to your offer of marriage when she already had someone she had given her heart to. It would appear that I must extend you a bow of gratitude, Your Highness. I may yet still see her bear me some grandchildren thanks to your effort."

Edward De Vritara, the Duke of Vritara, wore a calm and affable smile as he bowed to the Emperor, showing the casual nature that only a friend could. Edward was someone who thought about what was best for the duchy before everything else.

Between tying Alice and Gabriel together into the duchy and sending both of them off to other places, it was clear which one was best for the duchy. So he played along as she had asked. But he wasn’t the only one, Alice had prepared another separate knife to bring down the Emperor.

"Ah, young love is always so heartwarming to see. Hold your head high, Art, the act of helping two hearts tie themselves together is a beautiful thing. Does it not also serve as a good lesson to your sons that they may lose something they thought they had in their grasp if they hesitate for even a second?"

Before anyone else had the chance to eek in a word, another voice came from the balcony that was exclusive to the Imperial Family. Leaning against the railing was an aged woman, her wrinkles apparent despite what seemed to be her best efforts to reduce them.

She had rather short hair that was as black as the night, more than a few errant grey strands mixed in with the rest. The hair may not be the same, but she definitely had the translucent amber eyes of the Imperial Family, an almost piercing gaze nailing down the nobles in the hall.

She was clad in a long, flowing crimson dress adorned with silver and golden threads that danced about each other as they formed images. As she stood there, Emperor Arthas could only smile softly, his eyes angling into a content smile.

"Yes, it certainly does serve as a good lesson for those no-good sons of mine, Mother. But still, as a father, I wish I could have taught them that lesson in a slightly more comforting way so as to not hurt them too much. But alas, sometimes we must make the hard choices."

First it was the Duke of Vritara, and now it was Regina De Earhart, the Empress Dowager and the previous Empress. With both of them backing up Alice, Arthas could only play along and pretend as if this was something he had planned all along. Thus, he naturally smiled at Alice.

"There is no need to extend your gratitude towards me, child. I simply helped you set the stage, you and your companion are the ones who cultivated the feelings and bonds you share. I can only hope that you end up happy together and bless you with all my heart. Truly, it warms my heart to see such love bloom within my citizens."

Arthas could do nothing but talk and go along with it. The nobles were all looking at him, going against the Empress Dowager and the Vritara Duke in such a public setting would not be good for him. After all, the Empress Dowager still had people loyal to her, and he needed the Vritara duchy to stably rule the empire.

Thus, he could only talk as if he was in on it from the start, blessing the union between Alice and Gabriel. And since the mages were still broadcasting the events of the banquet to the rest of the empire, the citizens had naturally heard his blessings. Thus, his words became chains that tied him down.

Would this anger him? Definitely, Alice didn’t doubt that for even a moment. But to be someone in a powerful position was precarious, it was a shackle as much as anything else. And with how highly he had praised Alice and Gabriel today, he would be unable to do anything to them for the foreseeable future.

It would be horrible for the citizens’ morale if something happened to their two new heroes. And by the time things died down and he could make some moves against them? Well, by that time it remained to be seen if he would even be capable of touching them. Alice was confident of that, she knew how well her kni… Fiancê, grew.

"Please, my fellow people. Join me in a toast to celebrate young love coming to fruition."

Arthas picked up a glass that a servant brought over and raised it high. Since he first went along with it he naturally had to take it all the way so that others would marvel at his magnanimity. With everyone raising their glasses to toast the couple, and the Emperor, Gabriel took the chance to contact Alice using one of his stud earrings.

"The empress dowager, it seems as if you’ve drawn in a big shot to make this happen. Can’t have been easy."

The empress dowager wasn’t a terribly public figure, her son was now the emperor so she didn’t try to infringe on his territory. But as long as you were alive, you had desires, and if you had desires then you could be reasoned with. And thus, Alice had snagged a big fish to ensure that not even the emperor could fiddle with her marriage.

"The first and third prince, I promised her two heads in exchange for a handful of sentences from her at the right time."

If anyone could hear her now then they would be left with no choice but to gawk. Firstly because Alice so casually spoke of killing two Imperial Princes, and secondly because the Empress Dowager apparently wanted two of her own grandchildren dead.

Alice hadn’t asked Regina why she wanted those two princes dead, it didn’t matter to her. No, the only thing that mattered to her was that the empress dowager would speak up when it was needed, she could have every head she wanted after that.

Alice allowed her gaze to wander for a moment as she lowered the glass that was given to her. When the sweet wine touched her lips and mingled with the taste of Gabriel’s blood, her gaze landed on the people of Rutherford Marquisate.

She momentarily locked eyes with the Marquis and his daughter, her eyes narrowing sharply. They were the ones that had tried to make a move on her man, albeit under the orders of the emperor. She raised her glass in greeting and smiled, but to the two of them it looked as if all the poison in the empire flowed from that smile.

Naturally, Alice cared not for their thoughts and turned away after greeting them. She turned her gaze back onto Gabriel, and judging by his expression she guessed that his magic had picked up something. The mark he left with Teresa probably reacted, signifying that she was back.

"So, what sort of traps have you laid?"

Alice knew her man well. He definitely had something planned, something to kick up a fuss. Alice laid plans that made it hard for others to touch them, and he laid plans that made it impossible for others to pay attention to them. And with where he had sent Teresa, she could formulate something of a guess as to who he would involve this time.

Gabriel simply showed her a slight smile before he turned towards the emperor, clearing his throat for a moment to draw everyone’s attention.

"Your Esteemed Highness, it fills my heart with great joy to see that you care so much for your own citizens that you would help Alice prepare a stage like this. I would say that I can only give you my undying gratitude, but my associate is rushing here right now after completing a mission I had given her. With her, she will bring dire news that I must share with you posthaste."

Alice hadn’t been wrong in her guess. The mark he left on Teresa with his Karas magic showed that she was moving. It had hopped about violently a few times as she used various gates to move through the empire, arriving in the capital now. Judging by the speed with which the mark was moving, she had commandeered a horse and was heading here at full speed. Strangely fast even.

"She seems to be rushing quite a bit so I believe she understands just how dire the situation is, so please forgive her if she barges into your palace. But once you hear what she is bringing, I believe you’ll understand that its for the best."

Truthfully, if he wanted to, Gabriel could bring Teresa here right now. He could use the mark he left on her to envelop her in darkness and teleport her straight here. But why would he show the nobles here that he was capable of such a thing?

"You speak of it as dire, may I ask exactly how dire?"

Naturally, with Gabriel ramping it up so much for everyone to see, Arthas had to take it seriously. It could just be an act, but if Gabriel was fibbing here then it would just give Arthas an excuse to punish him. And with Alice having gone through the trouble of bringing the Empress Dowager here, Arthas did not believe that they would try to test him now. And indeed, Gabriel had prepared something that the emperor could wholeheartedly could sink his teeth into.

"Extremely dire, your Esteemed Highness. She will come here bearing evidence that Duke Sorin’s third son is involved in not just illegal slave trading, but also colluding with the Kasarias Kingdom in an attempt to undermine the stability of the empire. When she arrives, you will see that they have had a hand in assassinating more than a handful of our brave generals and courageous nobles who have stood up against the Kasarias Kingdom."

Gabriel drove in the nail, he threw down a glove that could not be ignored. Slaves weren’t illegal in the Earhart Empire, but you couldn’t just turn anyone into a slave, only a proper court of law could deem someone a slave. Taking someone off the street and forcing them into slavery was illegal, and selling slaves, even legal ones, to foreign nations was naturally also extremely illegal.

The illegal slave trade was bad enough, but if someone from the ducal family really was discovered to be colluding with a foreign nation then it would escalate to a whole new level. The entire family would have to be investigated and uprooted until every last piece of information was found. There wouldn’t be a moment of peace as the various families did what they could to either hide or plant evidence. It would be a great big mess as the crown purged the traitors.

As expected, the expression of the nobles, especially Emperor Arthas and Duke Sorin, fell dramatically.

"Open the gates! Allow the messenger free passage!"

Arthas’ orders echoed throughout the hall and even beyond, the knights quickly springing into action. Gabriel and Alice turned to look at the doors that were being opened one by one, no one noticing Abigail, who was as pale as a sheet of paper, blood dripping out from between her fingers due to how hard she was clenching her fist.

Her breath came out in ragged gasps, each one a struggle. Things were flying out of her control, everything was collapsing. The collusion with the Kasarias Kingdom, it was something that wasn’t supposed to come to light for another 15 years. She and Caine had changed some things here and there, but this was a major change, a massive alteration to the established timeline that the balance was so fond of.

How would this affect the loop and its stability? And for that matter, how did Azuras learn about it, even she had to dig into the Sorin family for a good ten years in the previous loop to uncover the truth. Sure, she had the help of Azuras at that point, but he clearly hadn’t regained his memories of the previous loop yet, she knew what he was like when his memories finally came back and he realized how much he had been forced to suffer.

Gabriel did not see, nor know, Abigail’s thoughts and worries, the fear she felt as she worried that everything she knew and fought for might collapse around her now. But even if he did, would he even care? He put down the chess pieces, he made the chaos, so just leave his lovely lady alone so that she can grow happily.

An untold number of eyes were looking at the open doors, Gabriel feeling the mark get closer and closer. She came straight for them, the knights along the path probably guiding her in the right direction. And thus, before too long, she reached the hall where the banquet was taking place.

But her state was rather different from what Gabriel expected. She was panicked, almost desperate. Her clothes were ragged and blood was splattered across both skin and cloth, one couldn’t tell if it belonged to her or someone else. And in her hands she was carrying a young girl who couldn’t be older than seven, her body so pale that it was almost white.

"My Lady! Please, you have to save them!"

Thus, she charged up to Gabriel and Alice. Thus, she begged, her eyes murky and almost unfocused, as if she was looking at something that wasn’t there.