Canis stared at the woman before him, his gaze sharper this time. After a few seconds of silence, he asked, his tone flat yet carrying something deeper beneath.
"So you inherited that name too... Mariposa?"
Shina didn't answer right away.
Canis leaned back in his chair, arms crossed.
"In that case, I'll call you Miss Mariposa—if you're not comfortable with your first name."
Shina shook her head slowly. "I don't mind. Call me however you wish."
A small nod from Canis. No smile, no warmth. Just acknowledgment.
Then, like a blade drawn from its sheath, he struck straight to the core.
"So," he said, "what business brings you here?"
Shina met his gaze without hesitation, and this time—no preamble, no diplomacy—she answered directly.
"I want to know... if you have any ties to the Bloodminers."
For a moment, Canis's eyes narrowed. There was no surprise, but a subtle anger began to surface in the undertone of his voice.
"Ah... we're back here again, are we?" he muttered. "I figured you hadn't let go of that suspicion. Even back in the forest... you were thinking the same, weren't you?"
Shina didn't deny it.
"Our first encounter nearly turned into a duel because of it," Canis went on, his voice and eyes growing harder.
"I don't speak without basis," Shina replied, her voice now firmer, yet still controlled. "My ability to sense energy—it's no parlor trick. Within the Empire, only a handful can match my sensitivity."
She leaned slightly forward.
"And I felt it. Here. Something—someone from the Bloodminers. It was brief, but the trace was unmistakable."
Canis remained silent. His golden eyes stared forward, heavy with pressure, but not defensive. He neither denied nor allowed an opening.
Shina then slowly opened her palm over the table. The air temperature dropped. A cold, sharp aura began to seep into the room, like a thin layer of frost spreading in silence. The atmosphere grew heavier. A subtle pressure started to roll toward Canis.
"I don't like shadow games, Mr. Majoris," she said quietly. "If you know something, speak now. I'm not in the mood for patience today."
Still, the man didn't flinch. His gaze was sharp, yet undisturbed. He simply raised one brow.
"Unfortunately... I'm not someone easily pressured either."
The words came out emotionless, but they cut—like a blade slowly twisting in midair.
Silence fell.
Shina's aura still clung to the room, but the pressure now began to thin. She studied Canis—searching for lies, fear, even the smallest crack.
But all she found was a wall.
At last, she withdrew her aura—slowly but clearly. The room's temperature returned to normal, though the tension never quite lifted.
They still faced each other.
Two formidable forces—two storied names—trapped within a small room, weighing truth, suspicion, and unfinished history.
---
Outside the building, right on the stone steps, three figures stood in silence. Grell leaned casually against a wooden pillar, his gaze cast into the distance. Aron sat on the bottom step, restless, fiddling with the edge of his glove. Bruto stood tall beside the door, like a voiceless shadow.
Silence.
Until Aron finally broke it.
"Grell," he said softly. "Are you sure the two of them won't pick up where they left off?"
Grell let out a slow breath, shrugging. "I... hope not."
He looked toward the heavy guild door, still shut.
"Canis... he's strong. I see that more clearly now. But if his opponent is—" Grell paused, choosing his words carefully, "—the Frost Queen, then that's a whole different matter."
Aron frowned, curious. "Is she really that powerful?"
Grell nodded. "A few months ago, the Imperial Palace was attacked by something... a creature they called the Fox Phantom. It emerged from a dimensional rift, burned down three main halls of the palace, and killed twenty elite soldiers in just ten minutes."
Aron held his breath, eyes widening slightly.
"And the one who ended it," Grell continued, "wasn't a general. It was a young officer. A woman who is now the captain of the Red Star Corps."
He turned to Aron.
"Her name... is Shina Mariposa."
Aron swallowed, finally realizing just who was inside that room with Canis.
Grell added, half under his breath, "Since then, people began calling her the Frost Queen. Because of her power... and her face."
"Her face?" Aron asked, confused.
"Beautiful. But cold. Deadly." Grell looked up at the sky, then crossed his arms. "Just like her magic."
Beside them, Bruto remained silent. Still as ever. Yet in his expression, something had shifted. Perhaps concern. Perhaps only caution. But he said nothing.
A light breeze passed. The leaves on the guild steps swirled gently.
And silence returned, as all eyes fixed on the still-closed door.
As if waiting for a sound—
That might mean negotiation...
Or a battle.
---
Canis leaned back in his chair, arms crossed. His eyes never left the figure of Shina across the table. The air between them was thick—almost tangible with tension.
Then, in a low but clear voice, Canis said,
"It's true. One of them was here just now." He glanced briefly toward the fogged-up window. "A member of the Bloodminers."
Shina narrowed her eyes, her posture tensing.
"But that's none of your concern," Canis added, his voice calm but barbed. "This... is a personal matter between me and them."
Shina didn't reply at once. A soft tapping came from her shoe against the wooden floor. Then, she spoke—cold and firm.
"The Bloodminers are a terrorist organization threatening the very existence of the Empire." Her eyes pierced through him. "Anything involving them is no longer private. It's a public matter. A matter of state."
Canis stared at her for a moment. "You talk like a tool," he said flatly. "You uphold the law... as if it were the only truth."
"There's a reason the law exists," Shina cut in. "And that reason is to prevent threats like the Bloodminers from growing unchecked behind the cracks you call 'personal matters'."
Canis let out a short breath. "Then do your job. But don't get in my way when I do mine."
Shina slowly walked around the table, approaching, staring down at Canis.
"Every second wasted could mean a city razed. A family gone." Her voice was quiet but heavy. "The Bloodminers must be wiped out. Now. Not later."
Canis stared back, unmoving.
"That's your job. Your responsibility. Not mine."
Silence. Several seconds passed.
Shina finally let out a short breath and stood tall. "Pointless," she muttered. Her steps began to move toward the door. The sound of her heels echoed on the wooden floor.
As her right hand touched the door handle, she paused.
Without turning back, she said,
"I don't care who you were. Legend or not. But if you stand between me and this mission..." Her voice sharpened. "I won't hesitate to bring you down. Even if it breaks my sister's heart."
The door creaked open, letting in the soft light of evening.
And in an instant... Shina Mariposa stepped out, leaving behind a room still lined with traces of cold magic.
Canis remained seated. But his eyes had changed.
No longer blank.
But filled with thought.
And something close to... Anger.
{Chapter 11 end}