With Dhein's revelation, a lot of questions had now been answered. Victorina's innocence had been proven, too.
Since the situation had changed, the tournament and the competition had all been cancelled. The scions were now free to go back to their homes and proceed with their businesses, but they chose to stay and help the empire hunt its enemies.
Zarria, Fiorelle and Dhein were standing by the palace steps once again like they did yesterday morning.
"Now that I've achieved my goal of proving Victorina's innocence, I no longer have a reason to go with you, Lord Dheinyrus," the child of the spirits said if not a bit sadly.
Dhein sighed.
"You're right. But you're free to do as you please," he said.
After being silent for a bit, Fiorelle asked:
"What about you, Lord Dheinyrus?"
"Hm? What do you mean?"
"What are you going to do next?"
Dhein stared at her for a moment and then turned his gaze to the bright blue skies.
"I have an unfinished business that I need to take care of."
Coming to this supposed tournament, Dhein was expecting his life to be over. What happened instead was completely outside of his expectations. If it was for better or for worse, he wasn't sure anymore.
"Y—You know... I can come with you if you want," the blonde girl suddenly said, her eyes averting his as she forced a confident smile.
"I'm sure I'll be useful—"
"Hold it right there," Zarria interrupted.
"You said it yourself: you no longer have a reason to stay with him."
Fiorelle opened her mouth but Zarria had already spoken over her.
"Nope! Don't say anything about being useful. Didn't you see how capable Dhein is? There's nothing we could possibly do to help him. So just scratch the idea. Go back to your hometown or whatever."
Fiorelle immediately recovered from her shock and then argued back.
"W—What's your problem? I thought we were friends!"
Zarria pulled Dhein's arm to her chest.
"I can sense something ominous from you," she said, glaring at Fiorelle.
"All the girls Dhein has met produce a certain scent. And just this morning, I can smell it from you, too."
Fiorelle's face turned bright red.
"W—W—What the heck d—do you mean by that?!"
Dhein's laughter stopped their back and forth. Zarria hugged his arm tighter while Fiorelle couldn't help but stare.
"Now, now. If she wants to help me, I won't stop her. Besides, I did tell her that there's a purpose behind all this that she needed to find. Maybe that's enough of a reason for her to come with me," Dhein stated.
"YES! THAT'S IT!... I mean—ahem... you're right, Lord Dheinyrus," Fiorelle said.
Zarria glared at her even more intensely.
Dhein spent the rest of the day preparing for his next move.
The letter he gave to Jaizen was indeed torn in half. He kept the other half to himself. That part of the letter contained information about the possible location of the princess.
It was written that several spies had seen traces of her heading east — opposite of the direction Dhein gave in the meeting earlier, making the soldiers search in vain. It was specifically mentioned in the letter that she might be heading to the kingdom of Selense.
'I need to warn her as soon as possible...'
Two days had passed with Dhein studying all that he could about who he was up against. He found out that these people, including Silver Cloud we're all former residents of southern Olcour. They were all somehow related to the Divinity Clan.
Sike Monrow was just a pawn despite being Raymond Theocheirós' right hand man. Could his uncle also be part of this?
He sat at the lounge, waiting for Zarria to arrive after calling her for an announcement.
For a few days now, they had been staying at the guest chambers the emperor generously prepared for them. It was even more luxurious and comfortable than their own rooms that they almost didn't want to leave.
Moments later, she had arrived.
"Dhein. You called for me?"
He sat up straight.
"Take a seat," he said.
There was visible nervousness on Zarria's face. It wasn't often for Dhein to call for a serious talk like this and when he did, it usually didn't end happily for either of them.
She sat on the chair across from Dhein.
He began to speak.
"Zarria, I need you to go back to the manor alone."
Her eyes widened and her face paled.
"What...?"
Wearing a serious expression, Dhein sighed.
"I still have something to do here, but someone has to go back to the manor and investigate about the betrayal and corruption going on within the clan. Zarria, you're the only one I can count on."
The girl stayed silent, shock was evident in her face. It was as if she was waiting for her brother to say he was only joking. He wasn't.
"Uncle Raymond has a bad history. Now that we've discovered one of his officials is a traitor, I can't help but suspect him even more. I need you to keep an eye on him and gather all the information that you can."
Zarria looked down, her eyes still widening. She eventually took a deep breath and then uttered:
"I... I understand."
Of course, Dhein could see this reaction from his sister. And nothing hurt him more than seeing her sad.
"I regret having to put you through this, but there's no one else more suited for the job."
The girl lifted her gaze towards Dhein and asked:
"When will you come home?"
Dhein gave her a firm look.
"As soon as I can."
She frowned.
"Come home quick."
"I will."
Zarria stood up and walked up to Dhein to give him a hug.
The next day, she was ready to leave.
Their luxurious carriage was waiting by the gate while Zarria and Dhein said their last farewell — for now at least.
Dhein gave her every information and instructions that she might need. It wasn't that he didn't trust in his sister's abilities, but being cautious never hurt.
"Promise me one thing. No matter what happens, never put yourself at risk," Dhein stated with a stern expression.
"When you feel like it's getting dangerous, immediately abandon the mission. I don't care if you end up not getting anything done."
Zarria smiled faintly and then replied.
"Yes, brother. I'll be careful, but I definitely will not let you down."
With that, Zarria boarded the carriage and went on her way back home.
Now, it was Dhein's turn to leave as well.
His next destination: Selense Kingdom.