A depressing silence filled the air. Not a single word was spoken for the next five minutes. Even the sound of breathing ceased. There were blank stares, clenched fists and bloodied finger nails.
The despair was heavy.
But then came the other emotions.
Courage.
"No matter how long it takes, we'll keep fighting."
Anger.
"Until one day, the power that gave her this arrogance can no longer protect her."
Pride.
"Others can't even think of it. But I know for sure. It's not too long before she will be crushed."
Sarah, Sia and Enigma expressed their emotions strongly. There was no 'you and I' factor in their words. There was only we.
Isadora was let down—again.
If all you need to do to be safe from the wrath of a divine ranker was to abandon your spouse, few would hesitate.
She thought there would some hesitation in their faces. Some blame on Varian. And some very usual shift of responsibility so that they could safeguard themselves.
'Judging them with my values is failing again and again. If neither Reina nor Sonya betrayed me…then maybe…just maybe, it's a bit too much to conclude every relationship would break down.'
Isadora thought back to the reverence in the eyes of the maid.
Reina hadn't slept a second since waking up and fully devoted herself to serving her.
Sonya was still trying to figure out on how to face her, sometimes trying to act mature and composed but other times, behaving like an immature younger sibling.
But their presence caused a shift in Isadora. Cracks appeared in her frozen heart. And even though she didn't wish to fully open her heart to anyone, she wasn't averse to maintaining good relationships.
Her reasoning was that even if only a little of that happiness managed to find its way through the cracks in the walls built around her heart, that's more than welcome.
In her own way, the Princess was trying to deal with her past.
The presence of Sarah, Varian and this place that somewhat began to feel like home was really helping.
So, she earnestly wished for the status quo to remain, if only for a bit longer.
"You don't have to make it that serious," Rubbing between her eyebrows, the Princess said.
Her words caught their attention.
"Unless the gains outweigh the losses, Eshala wouldn't make a move by herself. Nor would she send a divine ranker.
Even though a new divine ranker means zilch to her, they're still an important asset to the Empire and her own faction.
Think about it, Pala kingdom has an excellent network to detect any presence of foreign rank 9s. They can't infiltrate.
The reason her clone managed to sneak in was thanks to an insider's help. Even then, we were able to know right away and blocked her before anything could happen.
If rank 9s are subject to such heavy restrictions, the checks and balances imposed on divine rankers can only be imagined."
Her words caused the women to let out a deep sigh of relief. Sia leaned back on the chair while Sarah's tense shoulders drooped. Enigma, on the other hand, kissed Varian with a relieved smile.
The man in the room, the focus of the situation, just shrugged. "Don't ommit key words. You aren't selling insurance here."
Isadora snorted. "I was just trying to break it slowly, okay? Didn't you see how anxious they were? Oh, how would you know? You're the muscle head who thinks heart is just a bunch of muscle."
Varian pursed his lips. This woman was definitely trying to pay back for his taunt earlier. "What a petty woman."
"I know I am pretty, but praising me in front of your wives, isn't that a bit too much?" Isadora covered her mouth and let out an aristocratic chuckle.
"I said petty!"
"You don't have to say it twice. Or are you implying I'm twice as pretty as them?" Isadora crossed her arms, a charming smile adorning her lips.
Their banter relaxed the tension further and a sense of calm returned.
Isadora also noticed this and continued. "The worst Varian will have to face, technically, should be a rank 8 hunters in the Pala. But since it happened once, a rank 9 infiltrating again isn't out of question. Traitors are the most ungrateful vermin, aren't they?"
There was sound of teeth gnashing at the end of her words.
In a sense, the initiator of Isadora's tragedy was the traitor. And everyone who betrayed her were, indeed, traitors.
"Rank 9s are a big threat today. But a year later, I don't think so." Sia said. "In that sense, isn't he practically safe?"
"As long as he remains a low-value target. Once Eshala really wants him, well, then we can send our goodbyes." Isadora shrugged.
"How does he remain a low-value target?" Sarah asked, trying hard not to sound desperate.
"He doesn't have to show any specialty by himself, at least for a while. Divine rankers percieve time differently from us. As long as he doesn't show any abnormalities, she wouldn't care if a year or two passes."
Sia covered her face at those words and Sarah exhaled deeply. Enigma glared at Varian.
"…It's not in my hands, I swear!" Varian stated his innocence but not even he could believe those words.
Who the hell was he trying to fool here?
Someone somewhere somehow would screw up. And he'd end up in the middle of a storm. It's guarenteed.
Leaning back and crossing her legs, Isadora gave him a gloating look.
"Okay, you know a way out, right? What's the solution, Isadora?" Varian asked.
"Princess." She fanned beside her face and said with a smirk.
Varian's expression crumbled for a moment but he quickly recovered. "Oh dear beautiful princess, what is the solution?"
"Emotion." Isadora tapped her lower lip with her index finger, appearing noble even in that little action. "Put in more emotion. I need to hear your sincerity."
Varian's lips twitched and he wanted to walk away.
But Sia and Sarah grabbed his arms while Enigma gave him a puppy look.
'Betrayal! This is betrayal! That woman and the three of you! No one will be spared!'
Varian noted down the historic backstabbing and took Isadora's hand.
"Princess," He said with the most sincere smile he could muster.
"Oh my god, so corney!" Isadora cried.
"Will you please let this—"
"Stop! Stop!" She stood up and waved her hand. "I'll try to get you into the Pala kingdom and let them protect you.
The assasins won't be able to touch you for a while. You'll still be targetted only by rank 8s but they'll try to scheme a way to lure you out.
Just take a year or two, make them believe they're making progress in their scheme. Things will be fine."
It's an excellent plan.
As long as the enemy thinks he's winning, he wouldn't make any drastic changes which demanded a higher cost.
"But there's still one problem." Varian sighed.
"Yeah. Solar system and all of humanity. They'll threaten you with it if they're smart, which I bet they are.
You can take them into Hortus at rank 7 but if you really take in so many people, you'll be severely inhibited in your fights."
Varian sighed, rubbing between his brows.
Isadora shook her head. "I know you hate it, but maybe you'll have to pick between their lives or everyone else' lives.
Who will be protected? Who will be sacrificed?"
