The nights in Imnolyn didn't take long to go back to how it was before the monster's reign of terror.
It was just another tranquil night at the palace, and almost everyone was sound asleep.
Almost everyone.
It was not uncommon to find Kaari still awake despite how late it was, diligently attempting to catch up on the work that came with her newfound responsibilities as Varen's temporary replacement.
The only source of light in her private chambers was the candle positioned on her desk at the center of the room, casting a cozy, amber hue on the entire room.
Amorphous shadows mindlessly danced to the dim glow of the candle, but Kaari was far too preoccupied with work to notice, let alone acknowledge it.
The words seemed to shift on their own the longer she stared at them, making it even harder to decipher the contents of the letter she so desperately needed to respond to.
Kaari continued to push through her own exhaustion despite knowing that she needed some rest after only having a couple hours of sleep throughout the past few days.
The preparations for spring were all that occupied her thoughts as the date of the festivities approached, causing her more distress than excitement.
This was her first time being this heavily involved with the royal duties for both her own nation and Exousia, and it was clear that the pressure to excel was starting to get to her and her general well-being.
"Who knew learning a new language would be this difficult?" She sighed tiredly, looking out into her window. "It's been almost a year of constant studying, and I still can't read a single sentence without depending on the dictionary."
With a heavy heart, she was just about to reach for her books yet again when out of nowhere, a loud crash was heard from right outside the doors of her private chambers, sending a slight chill to run down her spine.
'I'm sure it's just one of the maids...' She thought, her attempt to calm down was clearly not working. 'Let's just keep working and pretend I didn't hear anything-'
A loud knock on the door rudely interrupted her inner dialogue, making her even more nervous.
"Your Majesty..." It was a voice she recognized, but Kaari remained vigilant, just in case. "May I come in?"
"I-Is that you, Nox?" Kaari called out but there was no response.
Instead, she watched in fascination as a large cloud of darkness slowly seeped into her room through the cracks of the door before it molded itself together again, revealing the docile shadow monster.
"What a pleasure to see you, Nox." Kaari said with a relieved smile before heading over to the entrance to pat the creature endearingly. "What brings you here so late in the night?"
"The pleasure is mine, Princess." Nox replied as it leaned into Kaari's hands, clearly enjoying the affection that the human gave it. "I am here under His Majesty, Lex's orders. He has agreed to meet you, and I am here to fulfil that request."
"That's wonderful news, I was hoping to solve the issue on my own but I'm afraid I'm already at my wit's end." Kaari beamed, grateful that Lex managed to make time for her despite his busy schedule. "Then, you must be here to tell me the date and time. Hold on, let me go grab my pen and paper-"
"Actually, you will be meeting him tonight." Nox corrected Kaari before it grew larger, revealing its wings in its full beauty. "He has ordered that I escort you to Stygia to see him once his meeting ends."
Before Kaari could respond, Nox handed her a handwritten letter before allowing her some time to read it.
"Are you feeling alright, princess?" Nox questioned out of the blue, taking the human by surprise. "Your face appears to be growing redder by the second."
"I-I'm completely fine, Nox." Kaari stammered as she hastily folded the paper away before trying her best to regain her composure. "W-Why don't we head out now? Come on, I'll lead the way. It'll be a bother for the two of us if any of the guards happen to spot you inside the palace."
=================
Lex's mind couldn't help but wander elsewhere while Arius went on with the boresome statistics.
'I wonder what she's up to.' He thought, looking off into the distance visibly bored out of his mind. 'Aren't humans usually asleep around this time? Maybe I should've just made my way to her residence myself, it's not like I don't even know where she lives-'
"Your Majesty." An angry voice jolted Lex back to reality, much to his dismay.
"With all due respect, I hope you're listening to my presentation because it is extremely important." Arius urged with his eyebrows knitted into a tight frown. "The upcoming spring festivals are currently our main priority because of the foreign guests we've invited."
'It's already spring.' Lex appeared more interested in how much time has already passed. 'I could've sworn winter had only just begun not too long ago.'
The past few months for Lex had started to blend together as he became increasingly busy each passing day.
Spring was quickly approaching, bringing with it the dreaded preparations for the sacred spring celebrations.
One would expect him to have grown accustomed to his duties after several years' worth of practice, but despite his best efforts to free up time, it would get filled in with more work appearing out of thin air.
The Roseabelle had tried multiple times to cancel the must-awaited festivals, hoping that it would ease his workload.
However, his proposals were all rejected by Arius, who, fully aware of Lex's nature, threatened to increase his paperwork if he continued to be a troublesome emperor.
"I know you find these things tedious, however the meeting will end quicker if you help us come to a solution accordingly-"
"You're worried that the guests will be a bother to our people since the festival takes place in the middle of the city." Lex interrupted Arius' string of grumbling without much thought. "Sure, there will be guards placed throughout the venue, but you're confident that some troublemakers will surely be there to cause up a stir."
"The solution to this is simple really." Lex pointed to on the documents Arius was holding before he continued. "You said our court's been on good terms with the Exousians recently, didn't you? Then have them escort the guests around as an extra measure. After all, they are the ones insisting on having foreigners participate in the first place."
"The Stygian people are simple, if they are so against with what we are doing, they'll simply not be a part of it." Lex explained as the entire room listened intently. "I agree that there will be a few individuals that will cause us a headache but, rest assured that I will handle that matter privately."
"We will need Varen's approval to do that, don't we?" Nevra spoke up, unconvinced by Lex's idea. "And... well, you know how he's been since... Zeya's disappearance."
"Is he even attending in the first place?" Amrit chimed in with his usual condescending tone. "He's so caught up in tracking her down that he placed all his duties on that frail human. Fucking pathetic, really."
"He has no choice but to, I'm afraid." Arius joined in on the conversation, his usual stoic demeanor slightly softened when Zeya was mentioned.
"I've heard that the Academy is displeased to have the Valors under the control of the princess. And if he wants to continue the peace between the Fire Deities and Kaxarenes, he has no choice but to step up, at least during the festival when the headmaster will be present."
"I just hope she's doing well." Rowen muttered softly, uninterested by the current topic of the discussion. "It's already been seven years since she's left."
"... Do you still have no leads on where she might be, Lex?" Amrit questioned.
Everyone turned their gaze to Lex, somewhat expectant of his findings even though the answer has been the same for the past seven years.
All eyes turned to Lex, somewhat expectant of his findings, despite the fact that the answer remained unchanged the past seven years he had spent finding Zeya's whereabouts.
"It's the same answer unfortunately." Lex responded solemnly, though it wasn't as surprising anymore. "All the leads I've obtained have only led me to dead ends."
"Your Majesty." Nox's monotonous voice seemed to suddenly fill the quiet room, but it only caught the attention of the emperor. "Princess Kaari has arrived. I've escorted her to your private study, where she is currently waiting to meet you."
'And that's my cue to leave.' He thought, clearly pleased with the news.
"My job here is done, right?" He quickly switched topics as he got up, ready to leave. "Then if you'll excuse me, I've got some paperwork to catch up with in my study, so don't even think about bothering me until tomorrow."
"... He must think we're idiots." Amrit finally spoke up after Lex left the chamber in a haste, leaving the others with their own speculations. "Does he really think we can't smell that human inside the palace right now?"
"And who has a huge grin on them when they claim to have paperwork to do?" Nevra added to Amrit's accusations with a frown. "I hope he's just acting that way because he's excited to consume the girl, and nothing else."
"I was just like him when we first started dating... though I never really changed much, did I?" Rowen chuckled naively before glancing over at Nevra with a loving smile. "In his case however, I doubt he's actually interested in the human. He's part Roseabelle after all, I'm sure he knows better."
'... Rowen is right. Surely, he knows better than that... right?'
Arius tried to convince himself, but with no luck.
'Ugh, I'm getting a headache just thinking about it.'