After a few minutes of complaining, Apolo finally composed himself and tried to open the trapdoor, only to find that it astonishingly opened at his attempt, leaving him completely dumbfounded.

—See, I told you the password was light!—Exclaimed Homero proudly, pushing his brother's back to hurry him to the outside.

Apolo wasted no time and climbed out of the well to find himself in the middle of a grove, although the boy had never visited this part of the Black Forest. The reason Apolo quickly deduced this was because the trees in this area had bark of different colors, and their leaves were not red. Furthermore, the boy could see a gigantic circular tower in the distance that struck him as impressively familiar. Homero emerged from the ladder and looked at the tower in the distance with concern, immediately understanding that the area in question could be problematic: because the two children were in none other than the Ministry of Magic!

—Where do you think Helena and the witch escaped to?—Apolo asked, drawing the sword he had been carrying on his back all this time.

—In the tower, where else would they be? There's no other conspicuous place in this forest...—Homero said with concern. He knew that sneaking into the Ministry as children wouldn't be easy unless they forced their way in, risking the mission—Remember that the witch said they were going to talk to the wizards? Well, they probably live here.

—Then let's not waste time, let's go for their heads!—Apolo replied, setting off.

—Wait, you idiot!—Homero shouted angrily, grabbing his brother's shoulder, turning him to face him while skillfully closing the hand that was missing a finger to conceal the obvious issue—I just told you that the wizards live here: in other words, we're in the imperial capital. You can't just barge into the tower where the wizards live with a sword.

—Why not? Wizards are weak. Let's go in, kill them, and return with the heads of the traitors! How hard can it be?—Apolo commented, not understanding his younger brother's concerns.

Homero quickly responded, trying to reason with his brother:

—It's full of guards, idiot! I mean... it could be possible... It's not like these guards really know how to use a sword, but if we enter that way, we won't find out why old Eco was killed. We need to know why Helena decided to betray our family, don't you think?

—Yes, I really want to know the reason too...—Apolo replied, still somewhat confused in his heart about his friend's betrayal—But how do you plan to do it? We can't just go and ask them to let us in to look for the traitors.

—Of course, we can. We're nobles: we can do whatever we want!—Homero replied, laying the groundwork for what would come next.

—So, do you really think that if we just go and tell the guards to let us spy on one of the wizards in this tower, they'll accept?—Apolo asked, looking at his younger brother as if he were an idiot.

—No, the guards don't know us, but we can ask the Minister of Magic—Homero replied, noticing that Apolo was starting to doubt. He knew he had to complicate the plan enough until the boy accepted his proposal as "relatively" logical.

—But the Minister of Magic doesn't know us either!—Apolo emphasized with a shout.

—True, but someone so important must be noble like us, and nobles treat each other as equals in front of commoners. So the Minister will decide to help us!—Homero explained.

—It could be...—Apolo said, not so sure about his younger brother's plan—But how are we going to meet with the Minister?

—We could go and ask, we're just requesting a meeting with the person in charge...—Homero replied—Can you think of any way we can find him?

—What if we say we're here to inspect a new war machine in development and we need to see the Minister to take us to review it?—Apolo suggested, coming up with a good idea, an excellent idea. If only they weren't children!

—Great, let's do that!—Homero exclaimed, without a doubt. The chubby boy already knew that everything would turn out fine as long as Apolo didn't doubt why everything was going so smoothly.

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Following the plan, Apolo hid the sword in the forest and headed toward the large tower in the distance. After walking for a few minutes, the two brothers could see that there were actually four castles attached to the immense tower, and the Ministry of Magic was much larger than they had expected.

Intuitively, Apolo chose the castle where the Ministry of Magic's office was located to inquire about the minister's whereabouts. As they approached the castle, the two children spotted a single guard guarding the entrance.

From the guard's perspective, he saw two children wearing white robes and looking sweaty as they approached the castle. He thought that they might be two acolytes who were lost in the Ministry and searching for their master.

—Nice to meet you, kids. How can I help you? —the guard asked, quite willing to assist a pair of lost children.

—We've come to see the Minister of Magic. Dad told me we had to talk to him about a super-powerful and secret war machine —Apolo explained clumsily, omitting the most important detail: that they were nobles.

—Hmm... —The guard listened to what Apolo had said and questioned the young boy's mental state. Seeing the guard's skeptical look, Homero approached and grabbed the guard's armor, saying:

—Our grandfather is the emperor! Do as we say, or he'll punish you, and you won't be able to explore the forest around this castle!

—No, please! I enjoy exploring the forest so much. It would be terrible if I were to be punished in such a way! —the guard exclaimed, his eyes completely devoid of brightness—Follow me; I'll personally take you to the minister so you can see the great ultra-secret and powerful machine!

Without doubting the obvious, Apolo watched with delight as the guard fell completely into the trap and proceeded to enter the castle, indicating for them to follow.

With the guard as their guide, the two brothers entered the castle and climbed the stairs until they stood in front of the Minister of Magic's office.

*Tock, Tock, Tock*...The guard knocked on the door of the office while the children waited impatiently.

—Come in —someone said from the other side, with a voice completely devoid of joy or attitude.

The guard opened the door, revealing an old wizard dressed in a traditional black toga, very similar to what Apolo was wearing. The wizard was really old, and his body was quite skeletal, making it seem like he didn't have much time left. The wizard's face, on the other hand, was not at all like that of a normal human. His mouth was completely sewn shut, his eyes stitched, and his nose had been replaced by two metal tubes. As for the wizard's ears, they seemed to have been stapled, and he didn't have a single trace of hair on his head, exposing a multitude of scars.

—Why are you bringing two acolytes into my office? —the wizard asked, although he didn't actually move his mouth to speak; instead, a black cat on the desk was moving its tail curiously.

—They are the emperor's grandchildren! —the guard said, pushing the door, pushing the two children into the room.

—But what nonsense are you talking about? Since when can the emperor's grandchildren walk without assistance or have the rings of the colossi from the Black Forest in their hands? —the minister asked, although he didn't speak, and his eyes were stitched shut, so he hadn't actually seen the children. Instead, the black cat on the desk was pointing with its paw at the rings in the children's hands—More importantly, how did these two children end up in the capital?

—We're on an ultra-secret mission, searching for a traitor and her master! —Apolo exclaimed with absolute confidence.

—What did this kid say? —the minister asked, stunned by what he was being told, although his expression didn't change. However, the cat's face seemed angry, and its paw was extending its claws.

—Yes, we're here to find the traitor, Helena. She killed one of our maids, and we've come for her head —Homero replied, taking a few steps closer to the minister.

—Did your grandfather send you to the capital to avenge a maid?—The Minister asked in astonishment, while the cat spoke on his behalf and licked his groin thoughtfully. Meanwhile, the minister wondered if it was technically possible for the people of the Black Forest to do such a foolish thing instead of sending a letter demanding their heads.

—Yes, she's a disciple of a mage who came to this ministry today!—Apolo said while curiously watching the cat licking itself on the desk, wondering if he was the minister or if the silent person was the minister.

—I see...—The minister responded thoughtfully, while the cat stopped licking itself and looked at the two children with curiosity—What is the name of the mage who caused trouble in the kingdom of the Black Forest?

—We don't know, but she said they were coming to present her disciple Helena to the council today—Homero replied, taking a few steps back. It seemed that the minister was really willing to help them, or at least his tone indicated that.

—Oh, so the mage in question is also named Helena, as there is only one meeting scheduled with the council for today. The minister will tell the guards to stop her and hand over her head to you two—The cat replied with a different tone from what it had been using. Meanwhile, the minister was breaking his static state to open the drawers of his desk, taking out the necessary items to formalize the order.

After hearing the proposal, Homero ran to stop the minister with concern and, touching him, said:

—First, we want you to take us as secret guests to see why Helena wanted to meet with the council: We want to understand why Helena betrayed us!

Immediately, the cat's eyes lost their adorable sparkle, and it moved its tail with more happiness than before, cheerfully commenting:

—Oh, how could I refuse the request of two adorable little brats? We will find you some mage robes so you can hide and sneak into the council meeting.