BANG!
Aeris' office door was thrown open roughly by an uninvited guest. Aeris let out a heavy sigh before she even saw the person who dared to barge straight into her office without an appointment.
She rubbed her forehead and gathered what little energy she had left before lifting her head. Across the desk, she was met with a look of disbelief.
"What is it this time, Elya?" Aeris could not be bothered with greetings or formalities. She just wanted to get rid of this woman as quickly as possible.
The woman standing before her wore a shocked expression. She was Elya Hatra, the heiress of House Hatra, a family of knights.
"Aeris, are you really going to open the South region?" Elya asked in disbelief. The shocked look still lingered on her face, which only irritated Aeris further.
"Wipe that annoying look off your face first, can you?" Aeris rolled her eyes as she leaned back into her leather chair.
Elya rubbed her face in frustration. She placed both hands on the desk and leaned closer to Aeris. With a determined gaze, she asked again.
"Are you really going to open the gates?" This time, Aeris knew she could no longer dodge the topic.
"It seems the news has already spread," she replied shortly.
"No. The news hasn't spread widely yet. I heard it from Viscountess Everheart." Elya shook her head, confirming that the information had not yet been shared with others. After all, they still needed approval from the Emperor to hold the swordsmanship tournament and the royal hunting competition.
"And why would she tell you that?" Aeris narrowed her eyes, suspicion flickering through her gaze. She found it strange that Viscountess Everheart would suddenly approach Elya.
"Is that important right now? She probably doubts the real reason you so readily agreed with Marquis Zarki's suggestion. Not only her, I want to know too. Why did you agree with him so easily?" Elya shook her head and narrowed her eyes. There was no way she would be swayed by Aeris. She knew the woman before her was simply trying to change the subject and was not truly curious about why Viscountess Everheart had sought her out.
"Why not? The South region is bound to open sooner or later. We might as well do it now," Aeris replied with a half-hearted shrug.
"Aeris Ambroise," Elya called out. Her voice was calm, yet it carried a hint of sternness.
"I have known you for almost twenty years. Do you really think I would believe such half-hearted words?" she questioned, shooting Aeris a glare. Her rude behavior toward Duchess Ambroise showed just how close they were. Had anyone else dared to act this way, their head would already have been sent flying.
Aeris chuckled softly. She knew she could never hide anything from her best friend. Still laughing, she merely shook her head without offering a counter, which only irritated Elya further.
"Are you done laughing? Can we get back to our conversation?" Elya cut in.
Leaning forward, Aeris rested her chin on her right hand.
"Elya, don't you think it's finally time for the South to open its gates?" Aeris asked, looking at her friend with an unreadable gaze.
"I think it's time," Aeris continued without waiting for Elya's response.
"It's been seven years." Her voice softened, carrying a trace of sorrow that threatened to surface.
"It's time for Ambroise to show itself to the world. I need to avenge the grudge that has been held back for the past seven years. I must give my parents and my people justice for their deaths." She closed her eyes, hiding the emotions that were on the verge of spilling out.
"I will not stop, Elya. I will never stop until I get revenge on those who killed my parents. If you are afraid, you can back out now." Aeris looked at Elya, waiting for her answer.
"Back out?" Elya was stunned by Aeris' words. She looked at her with a gaze full of disbelief and scoffed.
"I was there, right beside you, when you had to pull yourself together to become the next head of Ambroise. Your tears, your grief, your rage. I was there to help you contain all of it. And now you're asking me to back out?" Elya snapped.
"You want me to step back now, when this is the moment we have been waiting for?" she questioned coldly. Elya could not believe that Aeris would ask her to withdraw from the revenge they had been planning together for years.
"You may want to avenge your parents' deaths. I am here to avenge my mother too. Aeris, we both lost our mothers that night. No matter what you say, I will never back out. I swore that I would stay by your side until the very end. So stop trying to push me away." Elya knelt down, waiting for Aeris' response.
Aeris looked at her friend, dressed in a white and red knight's uniform bearing the crest of House Hatra. House Hatra. A family born from a long line of knights.
For generations, Count Hatra and his successors had always sworn their loyalty to the head of House Ambroise. They were the shield and sword of Ambroise.
Long ago, House Hatra, a family of knights, had been bestowed the power of wind by House Ambroise, who once held dominion over wind among the five great families that founded the Empire.
Although the powers of the five great families had dissipated nearly a hundred years ago, the tradition of pledging loyalty to House Ambroise endured for centuries, until Aeris inherited the title.
She had refused the loyalty of the Hatra Knights, causing many to wonder whether the new Duchess Ambroise blamed them for failing to save her parents.
But Elya knew the real reason behind Aeris' rejection. Rather than blaming the current Count Hatra, Ezrik Hatra, for failing to save her father, Aeris blamed herself for the death of Countess Hatra.
Yet they had never blamed her. The death of Countess Hatra was tragic, but Elya knew that her mother had sacrificed her life to save Aeris, the heiress of Ambroise, because Aeris was their master.
They existed because of Ambroise. And if Ambroise were to fall, the Hatra Knights would cease to exist as well. That was their motto.
Aeris let out a sigh and gestured for Elya to rise from her kneeling position.
"Stand up. You know I would never accept you as my personal knight. Elya, you cannot be my knight. Because I need you to do something that being my knight would not allow," Aeris said. She reached for a document on her desk and pushed it toward Elya, who had already stood up.
"I know you will not back out. That is why I have prepared a special mission for you, my friend." Aeris rose from her seat and walked toward the window. Gazing at the fine weather outside eased her mood. A smirk slowly formed on her lips as she spoke.
"Elya Hatra. Heiress of Count Hatra. My aide," Aeris called, her eyes still fixed on the scenery beyond the glass.
"Head to the Capital and request an audience with His Majesty." Aeris turned around, her eyes gleaming with a hint of mischief, as though everything had finally begun.
"Convey my wish to hold the Swordsmanship Tournament and the Royal Hunting Competition in the South, as an opportunity to open our region and welcome the world once more." Elya bowed, accepting Aeris' orders.
With a mischievous grin, Aeris continued. "And spread the word wherever you go on your way to the Capital. Make sure the news reaches His Majesty's ears before you stand before him, so that he will have no choice but to accept our plans. A rumor repeated often enough becomes difficult to deny. Not even an Emperor can go against something that everyone already believes."
Aeris smiled sweetly at Elya. No matter what, the Emperor would never be able to reject their proposal once the rumors spread far and wide. Thus, it was already decided that the Swordsmanship Tournament and the Royal Hunting Competition would be held in the South, even before the Emperor himself learned of it.
It would take at most a month to travel from the South to the Capital. And a month was more than enough for Elya to spread rumors with the help of her Hatra knights.
Elya could not hold herself back and laughed. As expected, Aeris had begun to make her move. This time, the entire Empire would learn of the true power of the new Duchess of Ambroise, whom they had yet to meet.
"I will not disappoint you, Your Grace." Elya bowed, accepting Aeris' orders not as a friend, but as her aide.
Aeris nodded in return and patted Elya's shoulder. She had always believed in her and knew she could handle this matter well.
"You will do well. If any issues arise later, report to me as soon as possible. But do not worry for the protection of the wind shall be with you until you reach the Capital."
Aeris handed Elya a white orb. Within it, a small whirlwind could be seen swirling endlessly. It was one of Ambroise's treasures, a trace of the Wind ability left behind by Aeris' ancestor, who had realized that their power was gradually diminishing.
After all, that power had awakened only due to the great danger that had occurred centuries ago. Once the threats were eliminated, there was no longer a reason for them to hold such power.
Thus, as time passed, the awakened power that had always been bestowed upon the firstborn weakened and slowly disappeared, never to be revived. However, traces of that ability remained. At the very least, they could still use the treasures left behind by their ancestors to wield the power, even though the awakening itself was long gone.
The orb left by that ancestor contained his power. Once the orb was broken, a violent whirlwind would erupt and sweep away everyone present. Only one who possessed the power of wind could control it, as they were the master of the wind. And as a knight of House Hatra, blessed by the head of Ambroise, Elya could wield that power, even if only for a brief moment.
"Anyway, refrain from using the orb if you can. I still treasure it," Aeris said, patting Elya again as she lightened the mood.
She was truly stingy when it came to using the remaining power of wind left behind by her ancestors. After all, those relics were a reminder of how great the Ambroise family had once been.
Elya was left speechless. She looked at Aeris with resentful eyes. "You do not plan on taking this orb back, right...?"
"Of course I will take it back. That is my ancestor's gift to me," Aeris replied immediately, which left Elya exasperated.
"Stingy!" She yelled in dissatisfaction.
"I am," Aeris nodded in agreement.
Elya rolled her eyes and scoffed. But then, her expression changed. As if she had suddenly remembered something, a mischievous grin spread across her face.
"By the way, since you refuse to accept my knight's pledge, I suppose you should brace yourself." Aeris looked at her in confusion. What was Elya talking about?
"A certain knight. Mhm, my little brother would surely come running the moment this news reaches his ears." Elya tapped her chin, pretending to think as she spoke.
"Argh, my head," Aeris muttered under her breath as she finally understood why Elya looked so smug.
Elya's twin brother. Edhar Hatra.
The most powerful knight in the Empire at present. The reigning champion of the last Swordsmanship Tournament.
Seven years ago, when tragedy struck the Ambroise duchy, Edhar, who was only fifteen at the time, was not in the South. He had been studying at the Imperial Knight Academy.
When Aeris ordered the South's gates closed to outsiders a month after her parents' deaths, Edhar was stranded in the Capital, unable to return home to mourn his mother.
It was not that Aeris had refused him entry. It was the Emperor's decree that forbade knights from returning home until their graduation. As a result, it had been seven years since Aeris and the Hatra family last saw Edhar.
Edhar graduated from the academy at the age of nineteen. He participated in the Swordsmanship Tournament last year and emerged victorious. By all rights, he should have entered the Imperial Knight Order. However, he outright refused the Emperor, declaring that as a Hatra, his loyalty belonged solely to Ambroise.
Such loyalty was not something the Emperor could easily dismiss or alter. It was a bond that had maintained for hundreds of years. By the decree of the first Emperor, the Hatra Knights were never to be interfered with as they would and will always belong to House Ambroise.
In the end, the Emperor let him go. Edhar became a free knight as his master have yet to summon him. He could not return home, as doing so would make Aeris appear biased for opening the gates for him while so many others remained separated from their families.
Now that Aeris had decided to open the South and welcome everyone back, those who had been stranded outside could finally return home. And Edhar, who had lived away for so long, would return as well.
By then, Aeris knew she would no longer be able to reject Edhar's pledge of loyalty, especially since he had used her name as a shield to escape the grasp of the Imperial family.
"Damn you, Elya," Aeris cursed softly, earning a laugh from her.
At last, that persistent and troublesome brother of hers could finally return home. Elya could hardly wait to see how everything would unfold.