Chapter 141: The Message (I)
Two days it took to cross back into human territory, the flight took a lot longer than I anticipated. Honestly, it should've taken a lot faster, but the constant drastic hot and cold, and even Tart's whining about the cold and food made us stop quite often. Sometimes, he reverts back to his younger days, making him quite childlike. Even Cathy's constant plea to stop for breaks chanting alongside Tart's made it worse, giving me a headache. I had to snap at the two for their constant bickering, but luckily, Moca had them under control, so I didn't have to constantly shout at them.
I should've known that she was the complaining type. She just never stops talking about how hot or cold it was; what was even more impressive was the Phil didn't say anything and just listened.
Usually, he would've bluntly stated to deal with it, but it must be a whole different case entirely with her. For a moment, I didn't feel bad about him dealing with her complaints, because I knew I would've bitten her head off if she didn't stop.
Eventually, I saw the castle standing proudly on the mountain, even in the dark, I couldn't help but swell with pride every time I looked at it. Even Cathy gasped, and she pointed towards it with gaping jaws. I know it's pitiable, but I felt a bit like I won over something trivial. I couldn't help it. It was my home, and the view was amazing.
The lush green forest alongside the towering skyscrapers and the Magical Academy inside the black walls had a whole different feel during the day. Nighttime, the magical lights were always on, lighting up the city with its brilliant white colors. Then during the sunrise and sunset, sitting on the take-off platform's ledge, you can see the beautiful colors of the sunset perfectly hitting the top of the buildings, bringing out different colors. While during the day, the whole city life gives it a slight shimmering look, giving that magical feel.
"Is this the city that I had so much about?" Cathy asked with a gasp. "It's so beautiful." She gazed mesmerizingly down at the lit city that twinkled like the stars.
"Yes," Phil stated, crossing his arms in front of him. He was pleased that he was back home.
"So, it's true." Said Cathy, "I heard about the city that never sleeps. I never knew that this was possible until I saw this." She waved her hand in front of her.
"The lights were first introduced by a young mistress." Tart replied proudly with his chest stuck out like a proud peacock. "The magical equipment is fueled by the magical stones that the young mistress created as well."
"Wait, really?!"
"Of course." Tart snorted as if he just heard Cathy say something sacrilege. "Who do you think it was?"
"The owner of the Wonder shop?" Cathy slowly stated, unsure if she said it correctly, but she glanced over towards me as if she had an inkling of an idea of what he might say next.
"Who do you think is the actual owner of it?"
"Berry?"
"Exactly." Tart reassured her as if it was the natural answer that everyone should know.
"But, I thought it was that female Beast-kin." Cathy waved her hand in front of her, not quite remembering her name.
"Her name is Siva," I stressed the words, so she wouldn't forget. "She is my partner."
Cathy waved it off as if it wasn't a big deal, then she tilted her head and turned towards me, searching for any hints of a lie. When I didn't flinch, she raised her eyebrow and gave me a curt nod, realizing that everything that Tart said was true.
"Impressive," said Cathy. "I wouldn't have actually thought you would have some kind of hand in all this." She motioned the whole city. "Your creation has become a revolutionary item, and quite a large number of people are coming to this city to learn about this new magic. Right now, back at my home, we seek these magical stones out. So far, we were able to decipher a third of the magical incantations. I'm pretty impressed with how complex the whole wordings are, I never knew that it could be advanced."
Tart gazed towards me proudly, puffing up even more as if he was the one being complimented. On the other hand, I was dithering between quite pleased at the compliment at the same time a slight bit worried that they were cracking down on the code, but then again, in the future, I wished that my teachings would travel all around the world and better it. Still, I didn't quite feel like the world was completely ready for such knowledge. Honestly, I knew that it would be used for war, and that was something that I could never stop.
All I could do was teach with the best of my ability to use it to better everybody and push the world into a more modern world. Other than that, all I could do was watch over how people would use to create and wield the knowledge given to them.
"Is it possible that I learned how to make it too?" Cathy asked.
I should've known, and I wanted to hit Tart for opening his mouth. I didn't mind teaching times, but there were times when I didn't want too. This was one of those times, but I knew this was a bit of my jealousy. With a gulp, trying to push down the "No" from my mouth, I replied. "I'll think about it."
"Really?"
"Really?" Even Phil was surprised that I could possibly think about it, and he was examining me as if I really meant it. When he couldn't find the answer, he just shrugged it aside and let it go.
"Maybe." I unconsciously sharply replied.
"That's good for me," Cathy replied with a happy tone. "Having such knowledge will definitely help out my people."
Thinking about it, I remembered that the Leaf family was considered one of the lowest ranking officials in the Divine Kingdom. I had to wonder why.
"If you don't mind asking," I said. "Why were you outside your Kingdom in the first place? I thought you were part of the nobility."
Cathy scoffed at the word nobility, she scowled, and her face darkened. "It's simple, really. The Leaf household has been in decline over thousands of years, but it's been worse these past five years. After, Tania Drakel had become the Drakel head."
My ears perked up when I heard the last name. I instantly knew that the Drakel line was the line that spawned all the dragon maidens, but I didn't know a single family member. The only family members I had were my closest friends and Ccoc, Tart, and Moca. Without them, I wouldn't have come this far in life, and I loved them very dearly.
Now to hear that the Drakel line was the cause of the Leaf family's decline made me feel bad. Just the thought of my family causing other people suffering was unnerving.
"Wait, isn't the head usually males?" I asked.
"No. It's always female, especially because it's the Dragon Maidens born from them, leading the Drakel line. It seems that your Aunt has been nominated until you wake."
"I'm the one that's supposed to lead the Drakel household?" I let out a grunt, the thought of having more responsibility made me cringe. I had already had a task of watching over this city, pretending to be queen, but now leading the Drakel household was something that I never wanted.
"Absolutely," said Cathy as if it was the most obvious answer. "All Dragon maiden's had led the Drakel Line."
"Oh…."
"But for someone like your aunt….." Cathy held back her tongue to say anymore as if what she would say would offend me.
"Go ahead. I get the feeling that there is more to this than meets the eye."
Just as quickly as I said that, Cathy just spilled everything that she wanted to say for a long time. "I don't know much about Tania, but she's cold and ruthless." She spat with anger in her voice. "She eradicated the Falcon's family line with a wave of her hand just because they spilled tea on her! Isn't that ridiculous?!" She threw up her arm in outrage. "I never heard anything so stupid in my life!"
I thought over what she had said; it indeed was a bit over the top. Even I wouldn't get mad over a spilled tea. All it took was to brew another cup, but I realized that wasn't the point. My Aunt, who I didn't know, was crazy. The thought of her killing off other maids or people just because they pissed her off crossed my mind, and I wasn't surprised if she did in the first place.
Meeting her sounded like a bad idea; she could be power hungry, and evil. Mainly because she killed my mother, who I also didn't know much about or father. I swear, there might be some kind of crazy love triangle going on, and I wanted to know what my father's stance on all this was. I didn't get the chance to talk with him when he first visited; he was just too difficult to even try.
"Not only that, just because one of the Revena households had their daughter's head chopped off for speaking ill of her."
"What is the king even doing, allowing her to do all this?" I asked, completely appalled that he would even allow something this crazy to go so far.
"Nothing," Cathy replied with an angry grunt that told me enough. "He's oblivious to the things that she is doing. Everything has been done in an underhanded tactic, even sending out assassins."
"Then...how do you know it was her…."
"It wasn't easy to find proof, but eventually, I got a few. Without it, I wouldn't have known her dirty tricks, lies, and schemes she has been brewing up these days." She bite her lower lips, furrowing at the thought. "Though this also led to my hiccup and was found out by her. She was on the offensive to eradicate my whole family." Cathy worriedly stated, her hands clenched into an angry fist. "I had to move my family out from the Kingdom and even keep them safe. I don't want them in on this fight."
Even I would've done the same, trying to save my family from the terrors of my Aunt. I could already tell that my Aunt was someone not to mess with unless you had the power to go against her. It seemed Leaf's family line didn't have such backing because of their decline.
"So far, she killed five of my family members." She hissed angrily. "Both of my brothers, my uncle, my father, and even my younger sister."
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