LEONIS kissed his teeth as he stomped along a corridor reserved only for the most important members of the staff. The cause of his anger was that saint.
Apparently, she was once the fiancée of a Pythian prince, but the rumors said she wasn’t treated all too well. Hence, Leonis had assumed she would latch onto him as soon as he dangled a little kindness in front of her. However, she had thus far subverted his expectations.
She was just as Raven had described her—carefree, and completely incapable of logical thought. However, that wasn’t all. She possessed a strong will—her heart resembled a large tree with big, thick roots. That was what made it particularly difficult to get through to her. Leonis found people like her the most difficult to deal with.
“I must make that saint mine. By any means necessary…”
If he couldn’t find a way to shift Marialite’s interests from Sirius over to him, he would be in deep trouble. The plan he concocted the moment he heard of Marialite’s arrival in Celaeno would come to stand at an impasse.
“What’s wrong, Lord Leonis? Looks like something’s ruffled your feathers,” an airy voice quipped up ahead. Leonis looked up to see Raven with a worried expression on his face.
“Oh…” he sighed. “My bargaining with Lady Marialite didn’t go as planned.”
“Eek… Don’t tell me you asked her to keep her assistance a secret from Lord Sirius.”
“You must be psychic,” Leonis said, his brow furrowed.
“Yeah, well, I don’t think she’ll go along with anything like that,” Raven explained with a shrug. He hadn’t known her for all that long, but even he could tell that much from the little interaction he’d experienced with her.
Leonis quickly understood that it was going to be far more difficult to get the saint under his control than he’d anticipated. A wave of anger and despair washed over him.
“Leave it to me, ’kay?” Raven said with a smile, as though he’d sensed his dilemma. “Marialite has a kind heart—almost too kind. If we can just use that, I think she’ll gladly become your puppet.”
“Hmm… That sounds rather promising,” Leonis said with a raised eyebrow.
“You know me,” Raven grinned. “I even betrayed Prince Sirius for you. I’ll do anything to earn your trust.”
“No, you already do quite enough just by serving me. You’re a lifesaver.”
“Why, thanks! I really am glad I started working for you instead, Lord Leonis. Between you and me, Prince Sirius has done nothing but obsess over Marialite ever since he got back to Celaeno. He’s left his work basically untouched!” Raven exclaimed, his tone colored with contempt. Leonis couldn’t sense a single shred of loyalty towards Sirius from him any longer.
Leonis chuckled to himself. After betraying his former master, Raven had truly fallen for him hook, line, and sinker. Leonis was certain he would continue to serve him no matter what awaited them.
“I trust you, Raven. In fact, I’ll prove to you exactly how much,” he said with a grin.
“Ooh, what does that mean?! I’m kinda excited now.”
“Follow me.”
Raven hopped along beside Leonis as he led him down the corridor. It split into two, and they took a right before venturing even deeper into the building, until they came to a dead end.
“Only my most trusted personnel are permitted here. You should feel proud of yourself,” Leonis said, clapping a hand to Raven’s shoulder before drawing a circle on the wall with his finger.
A black door gradually emerged, solidifying itself into the wall before automatically swinging open.
“What’s in here?” Raven asked.
“My paradise.”
They took a step inside the secret room. It was dimly lit, but a huge collection of cages soon came into view in the middle of the room. They were filled with all sorts of creatures—divine beasts.
“What are they?” Raven asked, squinting.
“Divine beasts of the most prized, rarest variety. It’s far too dangerous to let them roam the outside world. The chance of them getting captured again is too high.”
“And you think that’s a good enough reason to keep them here?” Raven asked, eyebrows raised.
“I saved them; I earned the right to own them,” Leonis insisted. “Alas, there are many who would disagree with that, hence I keep them hidden here.”
Raven breathed a hefty sigh. “I still don’t think that means you’re justified in keeping ’em cooped up in such small cages. Poor things.”
“It’s better than letting them back into the wild to be hunted or killed, don’t you agree? It’s been difficult finding enough food to keep them fed, but Saint Marialite’s cooperation now makes that a non-issue,” he nodded.
“So, that’s why you were so keen on securing Marialite’s help…”
“Of course, when I become emperor, I will legalize the keeping of divine beasts, and no longer will I have to keep them hidden.”
“Is that your main reason for trying to steal the throne from Lord Sirius?” Raven surmised. Leonis continued talking with a laugh, completely missing the way Raven referred to Sirius using his former manner of address.
“Don’t get me wrong—that is but one factor. I fully intend to carry out all my duties as emperor,” he smiled, not even a hint of shame in his voice.
Then, he noticed something in Raven’s hand. It was a black feather with an amber spellstone embedded in the tip.
“…Is that one of Celestine’s inventions?” he questioned.
“That’s right,” Raven smiled. “It’s a reverse teleport. Rather than using it to teleport elsewhere, it allows a specific person to teleport to your own location. It’s an amazing little invention…isn’t it, Lord Sirius?”
The feather glowed, creating a sudden flash and a golden yellow pillar of light. Leonis’ face fell when he saw a young man with silvery hair step out from it.
“Sirius…!” he exclaimed.
“Brother,” Sirius boomed, his voice low and angry. “Where do we even start?” he scowled, deep crimson eyes glaring at Leonis. An ice-cold, wintery chill blew through the air.