Gladean Empire, Capital city of Ksatria: 936, August 12th, Sunday, 3:00 PM.

“What do you mean?” Jean—leader of the blue lobsters, asked.

After the commotion at the palace and most of the city, things had calmed down in the massive capital after an hour—with continues patrols from the emperor’s guards protecting the citizens. Jean and the blue lobsters drove Bloodhound in their bus, making their way towards the emperor’s location—where they’ve been called by Gaspard.

“We need to go back as quick as possible,” Claire told the girl. “Is your ship ready?”

“The lobsters are always ready!” Jean shouted confidently—keeping her gaze on the road. “But why so fast? Are you feeling home sick already?”

“Confidential.”

Reaching a large checkpoint in the city’s outskirts, surrounded by constant patrols of the military and heavy weaponry installed outside and inside the place. The lieutenant hoped out of the bust with her team, presenting her ID card to identify herself as an officer from Cerberus and the group of special forces sent to aid in the emperor’s protection—receiving access to enter after a few short minutes.

As they were allowed into the facility, the group was led by a pair of armored guards towards a large and heavily protected bunker—going through many security checkpoints before reaching the emperor’s hiding room. A massive vault like door about 3ft (91cm) of thick carbon steel slowing down their reunion for a second—as it was slowly pulled open by security in a completely different room.

“Gaspard!” Eric rushed to his butler—who seated on a dining table in front of his nephew—the emperor himself.

The butler stood up with a smile, happy to see the noble alive and well. “Young master, I am delighted to see you well.”

The room was secured with reinforced walls, with soldiers keeping a watchful eye on every corner of the hall outside, carrying firearms and swords with them. Despite being a panic room, the place counted with many luxuries like a large kitchen, a bedroom with scented candles, and a living room with a decently sized library filled with a wide collection of books.

After bowing to the monarch of the gladean empire, Bloodhound introduced themselves to the emperor—who politely offered his name to the group that helped save his life. Displaying a demeanor that surprised every member of Cerberus’ officers, with the exception of Gaspard himself and the noble Eric.

“M-my name… my n-name is…” he struggled to speak, his legs and lips trembling with nerves. “M-my name, is Elias… Elias A-alexander. Thank you all… for saving my life during the events at the p-palace.”

Tori giggled at the young man’s tense and shy attitude. “How cute… oh!” she covered her mouth while raising both eyebrows, realizing the words had escaped her lips. “I’m sorry, your majesty.”

Gaspard smiled brightly with eyes closed, watching as his nephew’s face turned as red as a tomato. “There’s nothing to apologize, young Endel. My nephew is not used to speaking with people of similar age to his, and becomes nervous around large crowds.”

“I see…”

“It is our pleasure to meet you, your majesty.” Claire confidently stepped forward to stand in front of the emperor, her usual sharp gaze staring directly into the young man’s deep brown eyes. “I wish to speak to your uncle about an urgent situation.”

“Ah…” the young emperor was lost for words, his flinching stare glued to the lieutenant’s dashing amber eyes—strict, yet somehow radiating with calmness and warmth. “You are…” he said from under his breath—prompting Claire to tilt her head, as she was unable to hear the words.

“Is this about the picture, young miss?” Gaspard spoke, bringing Claire’s attention to him.

“Yes, I know there’s no chance we can make it back in time to be of any help, but…” the lieutenant’s gaze lowered, a worried frown plastered in her face. “We’ve achieved our goal here at the empire,” she quickly shifted to her strictly professional stare. “As you and Eric are not official members of Cerberus—”

“Sorry to interrupt, young miss.” Gaspard bowed. “But it is my duty to take of all of you, even if my salary does not depend on your company.” He expressed with a smile. “I will accompany you back to Hemel, as long as the young master comes with you of course.”

All eyes on the noble, Eric wasted no time in nodding at the group—reaffirming his desire to stay with the unit. “We shall help you as we always have,” he stated.

Gaspard bowed to his nephew with a smile, reassuring his safety now that the threat of Paradise has been dealt with. He returned to Bloodhound as the group prepared to leave immediately, standing behind Claire—who respectfully bowed to the monarch with her team. Young Elias stopped the Cerberus officers in a hurry however, twiddling his thumbs.

“Wait! U-um…” he hesitated for a second—his gaze fixed on the lieutenant. “Can I convince you stay for a moment?” he requested—causing Claire’s group to glance at each other.

“I apologize, young nephew.” Gaspard apologized with a bow. “We find ourselves in a tough situation at the moment, and must make haste towards the western continent.”

“N-no, I mean her!” Elias said, referring to Claire—who flinched backwards in surprise.

“Uh?”

A quick gasp escaped Tori, recoiling back with her hands clasped together. Scott cleared his throat to avoid the awkward silence filling the room, while Eric hummed in contemplation as he rubbed his chin.

“What do you… mean?” Claire was lost for words, clenching her jaw with a low grunt. “Why is this happening to me now…?” she thought.

“Please!” Elias begged with beaming eyes, hands trembling with anxiety. “You are her right? News of a woman fighting the specters with a special type of gear had reached the empire,” the emperor informed her. “Y-you saved my life a-and… I want to g-get to know you better.”

Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

“Huh,” Eric chuckled. “So, you have fans?”

“Shut up,” Claire retorted with a growl.

“Do you want to be my bride?” Dropping the request like cold water, Elias stepped in front of Claire with a more determined expression in his eyes. “I can give you anything you want. Please, consider being my wife, and the empress of all the Gladean Empire.” The words of the emperor petrified all present on the spot, filling the room with deadly silence and twisted faces brimming with shock.

“That’s… one hell of an offer.” Scott said under his breath while playing with his glasses—his hands quivering.

“The empress… lieutenant?” Tori’s cheeks flushed red like tomatoes—her eyes wide open in shock.

Claire closed her eyes with a twitching eyebrow, keeping her jaw clenched as a low grunt emitted from the depths of her chest. Thinking of her objective, and the danger that affected Cerberus headquarters at the moment however, the lieutenant simply threw all pleasantries out the window—offering her answer to the emperor’s request, an unflinching tone in her voice that many would’ve seen as disrespectful towards the young monarch.

“No,” she coldly replied—offering her usual strict gaze to Elias, to which the man recoiled visibly. “Forgive me if I’m being too blunt, but I have not time to waste when my home is in need of my aid. Unless you can offer a way for us to return home faster, then I have no desire to remain here more than it is required of me. Please, Excuse us.”

With a straight forward statement and a polite bow, Claire turned back towards the exit—striding through her team to exit the room with no further words to offer. Bloodhound stood firm before the emperor before bowing themselves, promptly following their lieutenant with worried expressions and sweat dripping from their foreheads.

Rapidly walking the hallways, with her group following behind. Claire’s anxiety only grew as she pictured both the knight and the princess wreaking havoc at HQ, a place that long ago, had become nothing less than her own home to protect. Keeping Yeon in mind, the lieutenant’s senses shut themselves away from her surroundings, continuing to stomp away before Tori’s voice snapped her back into reality.

“L-lieutenant!”

“…!” Claire turned back in a hurry, looking at everyone’s concerned faces—the nervous emperor standing at the center of her group. “Wha—hmm…” she pressed her lips together once she noticed Elias, her anxiety quickly boiling into anger. “We can’t—”

“I-I want to help!” the young monarch interrupted. “We can take you back to Hemel in one of our vessels,” he claimed. “The fastest ship in all the empire, it should be faster than whatever you took to get here.”

Gaspard nodded to confirm his nephew’s words, “the young master and I have sailed the seas of the empire in such magnificent vessel.” He claimed. “I’m confident it should cut our journey for… about a week at the very least.”

“That sounds great!” Tori expressed with awe. “It will be too late to help, but everyone will need us there as soon as possible.”

Scott fixed his glasses, voicing a question that’s been nagging at his mind for a while. “Excuse me, if it isn’t much to ask… but, wouldn’t be better if you could lend us a plane or something? I know preparations must be made, but isn’t there something like… I don’t know, a jet or something?”

“Ah, well…”

“Allow me to answer your question, young Foley.” Gaspard chimed in. “While the fastest route back home would be through the skies, the Hemel continent is under control of king Date from Heildin. Which needless to say, is also involved in what just transpired here during my nephew’s festival.”

“They haven’t been the most cooperative with the empire,” Eric continued with the butler’s claim. “If they see us coming, there is no guarantee he won’t shoot us down immediately.”

“What?” Tori recoiled. “But… they can see us from the ocean too, right?”

“If we were traveling through normal means,” replied Eric.

Lowering her head in contemplation, Claire whispered to herself. “The blue lobsters…”

Joining the conversation, Scott scratches his temple before speaking. “Wait, so… you mean we’ve been traveling illegally all this time?”

“Correct,” nodded the noble. “The Blue Lobsters are allowed to sail here in the empire, but became wanted in Hemel quite a few months back.”

“That’s so cool…” the young sniper couldn’t help but smirk at the revelation.

“I-it is not official that Hemel is against us traveling to their territory but…” the young Elias chimed in—pausing for a moment. “After a wave of refugees escaping the continent into our territory thanks to the Deadlands… they’ve closed themselves as to not allow anyone from leaving anymore.”

“And a few ‘accidents,’” emphasized Gaspard. “Have occurred with some of our planes and ships attempting to enter, and even leave Hemel in the recent months. Being shot down… or gone missing during their travels.”

“But how is that possible?” Tori expressed with a baffled expression. “Surely this would be all over the news by now, right?”

“I am afraid your home is under total control of the monarch in Heildin, and the place you were briefed about before this mission… Paradise, young Endel.” The butler explained. “Anything outside of your company’s territory is being monitored by them at all times.”

“Damn… is it really that bad?” Scott bit down in disbelief.

Taking a deep breath to relax herself, Claire approached the emperor to accept his aid in returning home. “Then let’s not keep wasting time,” she said. “Thank you for your help, your majesty.”

Trembling once again, with sparkling eyes of anxiety. Elias nodded at Claire rapidly as his face burnt in a fierce red, replying with stuttering words. “T-t-tha…thanks! No, I mean! Y-you are welcome! And please, call me Elias!”

In a surprising rush that left Bloodhound stunned, the young emperor sprinted away towards the exit of the bunker—startling his own guards in process, a misunderstanding Gaspard himself had to clear right after. Having explained the situation to the guards, Bloodhound was showed the exit by the patrols—walking back into the open outdoors.

The emperor waited for them personally, completely surrounded by soldiers. His nervous expression quickly changed into a smile once he noticed Claire and her team emerging from the bunker, waving at them from a distance.

“I apologize for the trouble my nephew caused you, young miss.” Gaspard said. “He is still young despite his position, and can be quite direct with what he is feeling. However, he does his best to be of help to those who need it.”

“Ah… yeah, I can see that.” Claire smiled at the butler.

“You got asked to be an empress,” Scott commented—quickly pushing the bridge of his glasses to light up their lenses. “And you straight up flung the entire dictionary at the emperor himself… just to say no.”

“Shut up.”

Tori giggled, enjoying the exchange. “It wouldn’t be the lieutenant if she accepted the offer. Although… lieutenant empress sounds super cool!”

“I guess some people are just destined to die alone,” Eric said while crossing his arms.

“How about I kill you now,” The lieutenant snapped back at the noble. “That way you can die in company.”

“Killing the young master in public would be a grave mistake, and I would advise against it, young miss.” The butler advised Claire. “However—”

“Are you my butler or hers?”

Bantering as always, Bloodhound and the emperor joined the blue lobsters in their little bus—who drove them towards the coasts of the empire, where Elia’s fastest ship resided. Finding himself around cheerful people instead of his guards or politicians, the young emperor smiled brightly while making conversation with not only Bloodhound, but the blue lobsters as well.

In a corner however, sitting next to the window. Claire’s troubled mind could not join in the lively conversation of her surroundings, her heart pounding out of her chest with every breath she took. She swallowed dry with furrowed brows, her eyes close to drilling a hole in the screen of her phone—reading the message she herself had written almost half an hour ago during the trip in the lobster’s bus.

‘To: Harumi.

They are after Yeon.

This operation was all a distraction to get to her, please take Lucy out of there and inform Yeon of the danger. You stay safe too, alright?

-Lionheart.’

END OF CHAPTER