"According to the scenario I imagined, they all staged a rebellion while I wasn't in the meeting room." Darren and Richard stood in the middle of a slightly sloping room, both speaking with their father, Emperor Alric.
"Was our decision the right one, Your Majesty?" Richard asked, wanting to know whether he had made a mistake or not.
"No, that was the best decision. I didn't even know that this palace had already been surrounded by all the troops from this city. Maybe leaving Georgia is the best option." Darren observed the emperor's face, which now looked fresher—his complexion wasn't as pale as it was yesterday when Darren had just arrived.
"Do you think you'll be killed, like you said yesterday?" Darren asked without hesitation, even though his question was a sensitive one.
"Maybe they've postponed it. After all, my death would throw the empire into chaos if Finn isn't prepared properly. The kings and queens would compete with each other to hold onto their power, thinking they were more worthy to be emperor than Finn."
"So... Finn has to convince all the kingdoms that he is the rightful one to ascend the throne as Emperor?" Darren asked again. There were many things he didn't know, which made him learn a lot here.
"Yes, and Finn will surely try many things to make Mierre-Park the Capital of the Empire," Emperor Alric said before continuing, "Are both of you going to leave again? Don't want to stay longer at the palace?"
"I still have other agendas and must go to Mierre-Park soon. Maybe my brother will stay here for a few days." Darren replied casually, though it wasn't a lie.
"No, I also have business in Mierre-Park. Too busy to stay longer at the palace," Richard refused next.
"Don't you both want to meet our guests from Kleinn? They will arrive tomorrow night and stay for a few days." Emperor Alric turned to Richard, his firstborn. "Harry, stay at the palace for a few days. You're the one tasked to welcome our guests!"
****
"I think we need to form a team to win this game, Darren. None of us can win this easily. That woman would be glad to help us win this game." Darren listened to what Richard said behind a wagon filled with goods bought by his older brother a few hours ago. "Don't forget to stop by the store that sells tents when you pass through the city. Tell them you're picking up my order—I've ordered several tents for temporary housing for everyone at the camp."
"I noticed you still have a lot of money, even enough to buy all these things," Darren said with a suspicious look.
Darren wasn't truly suspicious—it's just that Richard knew Darren had come to the palace without a single coin. Receiving these items from Richard would give the camp a lot of new supplies.
"Look, it's going to rain soon. Maybe you and Evan need some new clothes. Besides, you're going back to that camp without walls, aren't you? At least use those temporary tents. Later, they'll be useful when some traveling merchants stop by." Richard said before lifting a box filled with dozens of loaves of bread, yet another thing he bought. "Deliver all of these to Mierre-Park; it's easier and quicker. The terrain to Narima is too rough if you carry too many things."
"You're too fussy, Richard. I know what I'm doing," he said, protesting against Richard dictating what he should do. "Besides, why are you so relaxed when we're about to return to camp together?"
Richard's laughter echoed, and Darren recalled what else he had to bring on the journey to camp. Darren had packed clothes—including Richard's, Evan's, and Max's. There were several kilograms of salt made by salt farmers. They were also carrying dozens of loaves of wheat bread for the journey and the camp. In addition, they brought stacks of paper—maybe around two hundred sheets—that would be very useful for record-keeping, along with writing tools.
"Do we need to buy another wagon? Coincidentally, the workshop I visited earlier still has one left," Richard said before Darren turned back to think about the wagon. Wagons were quite expensive, and Darren didn't want to waste money on one. At the camp, he remembered they still had one wagon, one carriage, and two horses.
They'd be spending a lot if they bought another wagon, which could cost up to a hundred gold coins. Especially since Darren still planned to build several houses at their camp.
"No, we still have a mission to build three houses," Darren said. "Can you see the statistics?"
"What statistics? You mean like a statistics lesson at school? I don't get what you mean," Richard asked, truly not understanding what Darren was referring to.
"Like what we've achieved, our military strength, citizen support, money we have, and current population," Darren explained—only Richard and maybe Luna would understand this.
"There's a part like that?" Richard asked in confusion. "I just occasionally hear the voice of a woman telling me to do something. I thought it was a bug since I didn't see anyone around."
"Do you mean Sasa? Someone whom we always heard when we need to do something?" Darren asked twice.
"But, often I'm not told to do anything. It's like the game is asking me to think more creatively without giving direct instructions." Darren thought the same—it was either the game getting more confusing lately, or maybe they were being allowed to make more independent decisions.
"In that case, maybe Luna also doesn't know about the statistics. She works according to the instructions given. If she goes off track, no one scolds her, but the developers give her something different as a lesson," Darren concluded, though still filled with doubt.
"Let's go home now, Richard. I'll explain the statistics that have appeared like pop-ups when we get to the camp," Darren added before walking toward his horse.
****
"What are you doing out at night in those clothes, Luna?" Luna froze at the doorway of the room, its lights still on. She saw that her two younger sisters hadn't gone to sleep even though it was late at night. Luna was sure the other four friends were already asleep—very sure about entering the room without remembering that her sisters would be waiting like this. "I didn't sleep on purpose because I want to know what you've been hiding."
Mia folded her arms and still sat firmly on the chair by the study desk in the room. She had turned the chair so it now faced the bed. Meanwhile, Thalia sat on the bed with a book she had gotten from the library in this house.
"Are you trying to sneak into the palace alone?" asked Thalia, speaking even though Luna hadn't answered Mia's question yet.
Not wanting to disturb their sleeping friends on the other side of the room, Luna entered Mia and Thalia's room. She closed the door tightly before turning around and speaking honestly in front of her two sisters.
"There's something I need to talk to you both about." The girl sat on the bed, on the part that Thalia wasn't using. "Yes, I did sneak into the palace. But listen to me for a moment. I have a strong reason why I had to enter the palace now, and why it had to be done secretly."
"Then explain to us why you had to do it secretly. We all know the consequences of doing this, Luna. What if you were caught by one of Finn's men?" Mia asked, though all three of them spoke softly, Luna knew Mia was now wrapped in anger.
"Mia, I'm fine. I did this because I thought we'd save time before executing our plan. Mierre-Park Palace has dozens, even hundreds, of rooms—we'd never know where Rhea is. Are we going to explore the entire place?"
In truth, what Luna said made sense. She also thought ahead—it wasn't like she made rash decisions. If she had entered the palace with all her friends, and especially unprepared, wouldn't that have endangered everyone?
"Did you find Rhea?" Thalia adjusted her seat, asking with an eagerness she couldn't hide.
"Yes, in a room guarded by two guards," she said with a smile on her face. "I heard she always drinks milk at night, so I brought her milk tonight."
"How did you get in there? Weren't you suspected?" This time, Mia stood and sat in the bed, wanting to know how her older sister had entered the palace safely without raising anyone's suspicions. The palace was large, filled with guards—it must have been too risky to go inside.
"One of Rich's connections brought me inside. He's the one who took me to Rhea." Luna gestured for them to come closer—she wanted to whisper something to her two sisters. "Tomorrow night, we're going to pick up Rhea. Everything's going according to our plan."
"Are we going to talk to the others about this tomorrow morning?" Thalia's voice came out, softly whispering as she focused on Luna's eyes sitting in front of her.
"Yes, but...." Luna paused for a moment, taking a deep breath before continuing. "...I'll be the one to handle when we go to the palace to get Rhea. So, please don't tell anyone about this yet."