The Two Empresses
Treaty

"What do you mean by key? I never brought the key," Max replied, his voice trembling slightly. Deus looked at him sharply, investigating the demi-humans in front of him meticulously.

"You're not for ordinary people. Or need..."

"Ahh, later! Can't you send us to Ceshier without having to go through Oorun?" cut Saciel out of frustration. Deus sighed and turned to Saciel.

"Well, you want to ask for my help?"

"Now do I have a choice?" ask Saciel back. Deus shook his head, then hit the ground with his trident and moved them into a dark and gloomy forest.

"Where is this?" chirps Phillip.

"We are in Lumos village" said Nero.

"A place like this you say village?" ask Phillip.

"Right, this is the place. Almost all demi-humans live in cities and the rest still like to be alone in forests and remote places. Check the map, I think we're quite in place" said Max Kalem. Saciel took out his map and showed the others.

"Hmm, I guess we're not in this area yet. Our position is a bit far from expected" Nero said, pointing to a region on the map, occasionally looking around. "Follow me."

They walked after Nero, occasionally Saciel cursed when his shoes went into the mud or his clothes torn from sharp twigs.

"Nee, it looks like nee needs to get changed" Kezia said.

"You're right," he replied with a sigh of resignation. He flicked his fingers and changed into a more simple and powerful shirt.

"Ehehe nee remains beautiful!" praise her while hugging tightly. Saciel patted Kezia's head gently and clasped her tiny hand. "Yey~ handrails."

"Oh you don't have to spoil it" Max said.

"It's none of your business" Saciel replied. Nero just sighed and continued walking until he reached a tea field. Unlike tea leaves in general, the tea leaves in the field are black sparkling like a pearl. Visible drops of dew on the surface of the leaves further add to the sparkle of tea leaves.

"Wow" Phillip and Saciel said.

"No wonder it's called the Black Pearl. It's beautiful" Saciel said. Nero plucked a leaf and instantly the leaf turned blood red. "Eh?"

"This tea plant is poisonous, so not just anyone can process it into tea. It needs adequate expertise to be able to remove the poison," said Nero.

"It deserves to be expensive and rare" Phillip lamented. Saciel looked back at the map and realized something. He walked into the middle of the field and looked down as if looking for something on the ground.

"Nee?" call Kezia. Saciel crawled up and tried to dig, but he found nothing. "What is nee looking for?"

"Please hold this and tell me, what kind of emblem is on the Lumos tea field?" answer Saciel while giving Kezia a map. Max quickly snatched the map and found a golden trophy-shaped emblem with blood flowing over it.

"This is the symbol of the Black Pearl tea producing family, Bloody Wine. What are you asking that for?" said Max.

"I wonder if it's just a family crest or something else. ..seal for example?" chirps Saciel.

"Why don't we just ask them? I think they can give you a clue" said Nero. "Follow me, we can meet them."

"Oh good, from earlier dong. I don't need to dig the ground" Saciel complained as she clapped her hand and followed Nero in the opposite direction.

"Who told you to dig? Stupid," chirped Max roughly.

"I thought I'd find something, sorry if I was stupid," Saciel said. Phillip could only shake his head, tired of seeing their behavior and innuendo.

"Can you stop babbling and just walk? I'm dizzy," Nero snapped. Both of them fell silent and walked until they reached a simple house with a variety of strange and dangerous plants, according to Saciel. A middle-aged demi-human woman was sitting on a rocking chair, her hands were engrossed in floss and forming a half-finished scarf.

"Excuse me" said Kezia. The woman stopped and looked up, then gave a friendly smile. He immediately got up from the chair and approached them without any worry.

"Hello, can I help you?" tanyanya calm. He glanced at Phillip and Saciel, but did not give off an aura of hatred, instead, the aura calmed down and made Saciel wonder at his reaction.

"We..."

"Let's know if a witch comes in here and leaves something on you" Saciel quickly cut. He ignored Nero's annoyed gaze which was quite disturbing, let alone a small sneer from Max. The woman was not surprised, but her probing gaze could not be hidden.

"30 years ago, I remember. Under a pile of snow, I found an unconscious witch. I took him home and hid him from the soldiers, it was gripping. The soldiers who found the witches in this region would be instantly slaughtered and the corpses become food for the wild animals. Well, before I continue, what if we go inside?" behold.

"How is this?" whispered Phillip.

"Come in. I'm too old to attack you guys" he joked as he opened the door and let them in. A pair of eyes as clear as Saciel's honey began to examine the contents of the house and was surprised to find an old photograph on the fireplace. A very familiar face for him took pictures with a big smile.

"Grandfather?" he said softly and grabbed the photo with a tremble. The woman took out a small box and stretched it out to Saciel.

"He asked me to keep this with a message to give it to his descendants" he said carefully. Saciel accepts the box and opens it, finding a key with an intricate design that he believes only the best forger can make. "Your journey is not over here."

"...thank you for helping my grandfather" Saciel said, bowing deeply. The woman held him back and shook her head.

"I'm just helping other living beings, that's all. Even though we are still in the war, but that does not mean I hate you," he said. "You must be tired, take a break before you go."

"Ah, no need. We'd better get going, "push Phillip down.

"...we're here first. There's something I need to talk about" Nero said. The woman invited them to sit down, and she went to the kitchen.

"What do you want to talk about?" ask Phillip.

"This journey. Actually we are already in the Ceshier continent and this is our final destination. We have no obligation to help you anymore" Nero said firmly. Phillip gritted his teeth and refrained from hitting the table.

"Whatchu mean? You intend to leave us?" furious Phillip.

"Well, he has a point too. Our main goal will be to return to Ceshier" chirped Max casually. Saciel just shut his mouth, trying to observe the situation.

"Suckers! After what we did for you and here's the payoff? Saciel even redeemed you to save you!" he pointed at Nero.

"Nii?" great-grandson Kezia.

"Be quiet for a while Kezia, we must draw the line for this. The more we get involved with the government, the greater the danger it will face" Max said. Saciel sighed and pulled Phillip to sit down, then looked at Nero with a calm look.

"You're right. It's better to draw the line for this or die" Saciel said.

"iii! Don't be! We're..."

"Kezia, shut up," cut the sadistic Nero. The little girl stopped and trembled. Saciel sighed again and pulled her lips to make a smile.

"So this is the end of your journey?" ask Saciel.

"...yeah. This is the end" chirped Max. There was a bitter taste in his heart, but he threw it away for his good. The woman came back with a pot of Black Pearl tea that she had just concocted.

"Son, how about a cup of tea to calm your feelings?" bargained for. He deftly poured tea into several cups of carved family emblems.

"Thank you," Saciel said as she picked up a cup and took a sip. The thick aroma of malt combined with roses calmed his mind. He lifted his head and looked at Nero.

"I can't let you go now" Saciel said. "There's still something we need to finish."

"Isn't our business done?" ask Nero.

"You sure? You don't want to catch your kidnappers?"

"Heh, you want to raise the case? I'm sure it'll be very difficult from your problems."

"No problem, I just need certainty. I don't want to be separated from Kezia. He's been considered part of my family, I've considered him, "Saciel said embarrassedly. Kezia was stunned and immediately embraced her with overflowing happiness.

"I love nee! Dear nee!" sahutya cheerful. Saciel hugged him back and kissed him on the cheek.

"I was curious about our abduction, but there was no definitive clue" Max said. "You just want to hold us back, don't you? Because of our power?"

"A good analysis. So how?" ask Saciel. Max and Nero looked back at Saciel.

"alright. After all, we cannot go back to the city without any preparation" said Nero resigned. "And I want information about the elder you're talking about behind my back."

"Maybe," Saciel said as she offered her hand, which Nero greeted immediately. "And I want information about you guys."

"What kind of information?" ask Max.

"Everything. From the most trivial to your secret" Saciel said.

"can't. There's something you can't know" Max refused. "But it's still legal for some information. We better get going."