"The prince that would be marrying your elder sister is the renowned third prince of the Lykus Empire," said a yellow-haired young man. He stood before Theta who was playing a game of chess alone.

Upon the mention of the prince, Theta stopped her movement.

Without looking back at the fifteen-year-old young man, who was once an important prisoner of the Hound Correctional, Theta asked in a calm manner. "Renowned? He must be a prominent individual in that magical land, huh?"

"Prominent? Sort of. But it is not how the way you think. Apparently, the third prince was famous for his foolish nature. He is a retarded son of a bitch. In the Lykus Empire, he is the equivalent of waste. Even his brothers did not see him as a threat and spared him from the bloodshed of the Imperial Court." Ruka played with the sparrow on his right shoulder. His gray-colored eyes gleamed when hit by the sunlight that escaped through the courtyard's roof.

Theta hummed.

She eyed the chess pieces. "Surviving the turbulent Imperial Court as a fool, I guess the so-called Third Prince is not that ignorant at all."

Theta finally looked up to the boy who looked a year younger than her. "I cannot let the Mariyah Household have him, Ruka. My instinct tells me that this Third Prince is a variable that I cannot ignore in this chess play I am playing. Whether he is just a piece of waste baggage or a crouching tiger, he is a hot potato that the Lykus Empire passed to the Mariyah Clan. A blessing-in-disguise or a hidden dagger, we have a show to watch."

Ruka did not particularly like schemes, but for once after being freed by a fifteen-year-old girl who claimed to burn the balance of the world, he was suddenly looking forward to it. Crossing his arms before him, he prodded. "So, what's the next plan?"

"Disseminate a rumor about Axue to the lower courts of the Lykus Empire. Make it happen as if a traveling merchant brought it 'accidentally'."

"The contents of the rumor will be taking shit about that sister of yours? If yes, we do not need to make up rumors. Tracing her activities in broad daylight will be more than enough. It is not like your sister is good at hiding her dirty tracks anyway." Ruka scoffed harshly, scaring the sparrow away. "What a bitch."

Theta got what Ruka was saying.

Though Axue Mariyah made everyone in the Mariyah Household believe in her act, the masses were different. Kidnapping males that she fancied and raping them in her secret hideout, people tend to talk when it became a frequent thing. But the common folks were too afraid of the five pillars that they turned a blind eye to Axue's crimes.

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'Talk about the so-called balance of the world!' Theta clicked her tongue.

She answered Ruka's query. "The rumor's content must be about Axue's outstanding ability to strategize."

"Are you sure we are talking about Axue and not your second brother?"

Theta shook her head. "No. By spreading this rumor, we will be assessing what is the stand of the Lykus Empire in pursuing this marriage. Is the marriage a political one like usual? Or is it a marriage of good riddance?"

A knot lodged between Ruka's brows. "And this rumor will help by…?"

"If they view the Mariyah Clan as a tool because of the clan's loyal armies, they will push this marriage more – probably pulling the three months to one month since they can teleport. But if they are using this marriage to get rid of the Third Prince then they will be against marrying the rumored outstanding missy of the Mariyah Clan to the retarded prince. Their reaction will be the key to how we will act next."

Theta touched a silver-colored rook chess piece. "The Lykus Empire is the greatest power in this land. We cannot be hasty in dealing with such a sleeping dragon. Let us deal with one enemy at a time, Ruka."

Ruka was not surprised upon hearing Theta's words.

He was long used to the ambiguous demeanor that made her so mysterious and unpredictable. And in a battlefield, unpredictable opponents were the hardest to deal with. Most of the time, the enemies of the unpredictable ones died without knowing why they died in the first place – it was tragic.

Ruka patted his chest.

He was glad that he was serving Theta rather than becoming enemies with her. He still wanted to see a world where she was standing atop them all. Just a mere thought about such a future sent Ruka's blood into overdrive.

Ruka's gray eyes turned into a pair of serpent ones when he activated his power. His breezy-young-boy countenance drastically became colder. "What will you do if they sent the Third Prince in this marriage to get rid of?"

A seemingly innocent smile spread on Theta's young face as she stared right into Ruka's serpent-like ones. "Then I will snatch the fiancé of my beloved sister."

Nodding his head since he was too tongue-tied to answer, Ruka shifted his focus to the task at hand. He whistled. It was a soft whistle that it almost did not reach Theta's hearing range.

On cue, a one-meter big black hawk landed on Ruka's raised right arm which was covered with cloth.

Its powerful wings shredded some black feathers, raining them down on Ruka and Theta. The hawk's predatory gaze swept Theta for a fraction of a minute before it backed away after meeting a pair of chilling amethyst eyes.

The hawk's primal instinct screamed with anxiety so it immediately shut the idea of eating the small girl alive. After all, the hawk still valued its life more.

"Summon the hawks. We got work cut out for us, buddy." Ruka patted the hawk's head before he bowed at Theta in a respective manner. "I will let the beasts do the scaring while I do the talking with the traveling merchants. This hawk will deliver the news about the progress and the result. You just sit here and… do your chess."

A corner of Theta's lips curled up. "Do not worry about the Mariyah Clan finding out anything, Ruka. They are busy preparing for the expedition. After all, an inheritance of the old mages resurfaced inside the Amina Kingdom. All the powers of this kingdom will be utilized to take the treasures of that place."

"Will you be going there as well?"

"Of course. After all, I did give them a heads up about that inheritance."