Celestina watched Silas and James enter their carriages from the window of the living room. Maris walked behind Celestina. "What do you think Marin?" Celestina asked. "They are definitely plotting something," Maris replied in a cold tone. She had removed her glasses. "It looked like he knew a lot about Azure City and its defenses even though he never has been here," Maris said.
Celestina nodded her head in agreement with Maris said. Another thing that Celestina did not like about Silas was his gaze. Although she tried to ignore it but from the beginning, Silas was staring at her body. He wasn't even trying to hide his desires. "Maris...!!" Celestina gently called out to Maris. "Should I keep an eye on them?" Maris asked. "Yes...!!" Once Maris left, Celestina went to her office. She then wrote about everything that happened that day. Everything that they talked about, everything that she noticed, and everything that was suspicious of Silas all were mentioned in her letters. Once she was done, the letter was delivered to the Dragon Palace for Prime Minister Spencer to read. Once she was done, Celestina noticed the pile of documents that was sitting on her desk. Sigh....!!
"I guess it's time to work...!!" Though she did not hate work. Working was one of the ways that she spent her time.
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "64ce79d606107d003c23ea27", id: "pf-5140-1"})Celestina had lost her lover at the hands of a Magic Monster. Since then, Celestina has been single. Her heart still remembers her lover. Her lover was the reason why she never got married even though she found many good candidates. Celestina took out her notebook. Since she can't always remember anything or some things might slip from her mind, Celestina always makes notes about the things that she needs to do. Every month, without failing Aditya and Prime Minister Spencer would sit down for a detailed discussion about the ongoing and future development plans of Azure City. Their meetings were held in a large room with a vast map of the city spread out before them. The map marked the areas of interest and concern.
Duchess Celestina Sarlus was always present in these meetings since she was the Governor. These discussions covered the city's various challenges, including traffic congestion, public health issues, the need for new parks, schools, and better waste management systems. They would brainstorm potential solutions, propose new infrastructure projects, and set ambitious goals to ensure that Azure City continued to flourish, making life increasingly prosperous for its inhabitants. During those meetings, Celestina would make notes about the list of things that she needed to do. Security was another critical agenda on their list. Given the growing population and the complexity of maintaining peace in such a dynamic city, Celestina was often advised to prioritize public safety, invest in the city guard, and enhance surveillance systems. Aditya and Spencer trusted her judgment immensely. Simply pointing her in the right direction was all it took for Celestina to spring into action. She would retreat to her study, pouring over reports, drafting plans, and consulting with her advisors. Within a few days, she would return and would present a meticulously crafted detailed plan to Spencer.
Once everything is reviewed and approved, it will be forwarded for budget allocation. In her last meeting, Celestina was told to invest more in the security of the Istarin Empire. She was also told that the security of the Capital would be increased. 'It would be great if I could meet the Prime Minister again but these days he seems to be too busy to even see me.' Usually, whenever Celestina has any doubts or problems or any kind of obstacles, she seeks Spencer for help. 'Working as the Governor of the Capital of the Istarin Empire is not easy.' -
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "64cc9e79c7059f003e4ad4b0", id: "pf-5109-1"})Scene change______
Silas and his subordinate James left the Governor's residence with satisfied smiles on their faces. Both of them were extremely happy and content. Took of them rode their carriages for about 1 km before they exited their carriage. From the distance, Maris saw Silas telling something to the carriage driver. And then the carriage left Silas and James in the busy streets of the Azure City. Silas and James then asked people about directions to a certain place. Both of them kept walking for about two hours. They passed through many alleys, and, narrow streets. Maris continued following Silas and James. She was an expert at hiding herself. Silas and James didn't even notice that they were being followed. After 2 hours of walking, they arrived at a place that was empty. Silas and James passed by a large Oak Tree and entered a very narrow and dark alley. Maris was about to follow them but then she immediately stopped when she noticed a dark shadow removing itself from the Oak tree and then following Silas and James into the dark and narrow alley. This person's full body was hidden by the black cloak, with a hood drawn low over his face. This made it impossible for Maris to see his face or even know whether this mysterious person was a male or a female. 'I can't even tell which Order cultivator this mysterious person is. This person has hidden his Aura so well that I almost didn't notice him. Fortunately, I kept a distance of 100 meters while following Silas and James otherwise, I would have been noticed.' Otherwise, Maris wouldn't have gotten enough time to hide when the mysterious shadow removed himself from the Oak tree. The mysterious figure moved towards Silas and James. Standing just behind Silas, the mysterious figure leaned forward and said in a very low tone. "North border has been hit again. This time, those damned monsters have left a mark." His voice was so low that even Silas and James were barely able to hear what he was saying. As for Maris, she couldn't hear what they were hearing. She could only observe them from a distance. "I have found something you'll wanna see." With a swift and practiced motion, the mysterious figure handed over a small object to Silas.
Silas's expression was unreadable in the alley's dim light. Silas examined the object for a few minutes. The object was a small, and detailed emblem.
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "663633fa8ebf7442f0652b33", id: "pf-8817-1"})"So, what did our boys at the border do about it?" Silas asked back. "They took their sweet time. Like someone told them to drag their heels." The Mysterious figure replied back. "Get word to our friends down south. This...might just push them off the fence." Silas said. The mysterious figure nodded his head in understanding the urgency without needing further details. "Anything else? Things are getting tense; whispers are louder than usual."
Silas, after a moment's contemplation, added. "Keep an ear out. Anything that smells like trouble, I want to know. And check on the western routes. If things heat up, we might need to move quicker than planned."
With a final exchange of nods, the mysterious figure slips away, blending back into the shadows from which the mysterious figure came. Silas remained in the alley for a moment longer.
With the emblem in his hand, he was lost in his thoughts. "We should leave as well.....!! There are ears all over the capital. Staying in a place like this is never safe." James warned Silas. Silas nodded his head. Both of them walked from the other side of the alley. Meanwhile, Maris was left with confusion. The only thing that she saw was the symbol of the emblem. As for what kind of conversation they had, she did not hear a thing. -
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Aditya read the letter that Celestina wrote. Once he was done, he closed his eyes for a few seconds before looking out of the window. 'Too many mysterious things are happening around the Empire right now.'
'Mysteries that cannot be explained.'
'Mysteries that aren't even connected.' 'This is a difficult time.' As he was lost in his thoughts, a figure entered his office. "I thought you were shopping with others," Aditya asked. "I am done already. What about you, big brother?" Leo asked. "There is still a lot of time. I will go later." Everyone in the Dragon Palace had gone out for shopping. Spencer had finally decided to take the final step. A few days from now on, Spencer is going to marry Aria. On this occasion, Aditya wanted the entire Istarin Empire to celebrate. He was going to invite the leaders Aditya is busy preparing for this event. He wants to make sure that nothing goes wrong. This is why he was in his office while everyone was out having fun. "Where is Clara?" Aditya asked. "She is with Big sister Julia. Both of them have returned to Echo Dominion Empire to look for a wedding gift." "What are you planning to give as a wedding gift?" Aditya curiously asked while working. "I don't know. I haven't decided yet."
"I can't decide. Do you have any ideas?" Leo asked Aditya in a hopeful tone. "I can't give you any ideas. Just give them something that they could use in the future." Leo nodded his head.
"Thank you, big brother. " Saying that Leo took his leave. It was Aditya all alone in his office. Realizing that the sun was about to set, Aditya stood up and then walked up to the window. Today, the sun turned a deep shade of red as it began to set. It created a breathtaking scene, painting the entire sky with hues of crimson and scarlet. As the sun dipped lower and lower on the horizon, its red glow spread far and wide, coloring the clouds with a brilliant, fiery palette. For some reason, this sunset gave him a bad feeling. It was as if a warning from Heaven telling him that something very bad was about to happen. "What kind of storm I am going to face this time....?" Aditya asked himself.
Being the Emperor of the Istarin Empire, Aditya has faced many different kinds of challenges and obstacles. 'That reminds me, it has been a while since I had one of those dreams.' Aditya thought to himself. Whenever a bad future is approaching, Aditya can see it in his dreams. But it has been a while since he had one of these bad future dreams. ----------------
