Chapter 42: House Of Scale

Aries was staring quietly in a glass box that contained a dagger. Its silver hilt had the shape of a rose with three leaves.

It was his beloved, and he was waiting for a sign that she wanted to communicate with him. But after hours of waiting, her soul was not showing any interest in starting a conversation.

He could understand her reason but that was not enough to extinguish his hope.

He was not hoping to be forgiven. He only wanted to hear the voice of his beloved.

"Staring won't help you."

It was the axe-wielder. He appeared right next to Aries.

"If you want information, you should force it out of her."

"Shut up."

"You should be firm with her as you are with the rest of the souls in here. There will be a problem if you softened up to her."

Aries glared and the axe-wielder raised both his hands in surrender.

"Fine," he said with a mocking smile. "I will shut up. But you better remember your promise to me. I will not stop pestering you until you keep your word," he had instantly disappeared and he was not failing in ruining the mood of Aries.

After glancing at the dagger with deep longing, Aries closed his eyes and woke up in the guest room at the house of Quaria.

"Just right in time," Siorre was sitting at an adjacent couch and beaming brightly at him. "Quaria wants to have lunch with us."

"She's already done strengthening the barrier at the Eastern Border?"

"You are finally awake," Prince Sunrei had entered the room and even though he was not smiling, the rage in his eyes had somehow lessened. His princely composure had returned. "You've been sleeping for two days."

"What?!" Aries bolted upright from the couch where he was lying. "Two days?"

"Don't worry. My brother woke up just an hour ago," Princess Pieffer came in and pushed her blushing brother further into the room then she held the door open. "Quaria is waiting and I am getting hungry. Let's go and have lunch with her. Then we can head straight to the House of Scale."

^#############^

"Quaria, is there something wrong? Why are you so quiet?" Princess Pieffer asked because they had been eating for a few minutes and no one was saying anything.

The Pitched House Leader was usually the one opening the conversation over dinner but at that time, she was awfully quiet and there was a look of agitation in her eyes.

She glanced up from her plate and tears brimmed in her eyes as she cried, "While I am busy strengthening my borders, all of you were suffering. Forgive me. I could not be of any help."

"A comfortable room and delicious meals are enough to help us," Aries admitted. "And I think that even if you are not busy with the barriers, you cannot offer us any aid. What we've been through… is something personal."

"That is the truth, Quaria," Prince Sunrei agreed. "We are the only ones who can settle that mess."

"You did a great job strengthening the barriers," Princess Pieffer added. "I didn't find any cracks on them when Siorre and I patrolled the borders these past two days."

"Are you going to the House of Scale after lunch?" Quaria asked as if she was not yet ready to let them leave.

"Yes," Aries answered, feeling a little embarrassed. "I've been resting for so long. I should get back to work."

"Be careful out there," Quaria seriously advised.

"Do you have any information regarding the House of Scale and its leader?" Princess Pieffer kindly inquired.

"Since House of Scale strictly abides by their law, we could not get a lot of information. Gossiping is forbidden in that house. And when the corrupted souls found a way to invade them, sharing information with the people outside their barriers had also been banned. The last news we have regarding that house was that the heir to the leadership had been prohibited to enter the Central Hall. She had been kicked out of their house for trying to talk some sense from her family. She was trying to revolt but was always failing. I think she had been forced into hiding."

"If I remember correctly, Lira Gavel is the name of the heir," Princess Pieffer muttered.

"Yes, Princess," Quaria nodded. "You have to find her. Help her overthrow the reigning house leader."

"We should try talking to them first," Princess Pieffer suggested.

"I don't think it will make any difference," Aries opposed. "As Quaria had said, the heir had been kicked out of their house for going against her family's ideals. She was even forced into hiding."

"But they didn't kill her," the princess had reasoned. "I think that is because they are still hoping that Lira will come back to them."

"Fine," Aries sighed in defeat. "We can try talking to them."

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"You cannot use the transport bracelet inside the House of Scale," Quaria had warned. "Trespassing is a crime. You will be heavily punished for it."

"But that is also the fastest way to meet the house leader, right?" Aries mischievously smirked.

"That sounds reckless," Prince Sunrei glared at him.

"But reasonable," Princess Pieffer had smiled. "If we are caught, the house leader will be the one to pass out a verdict, right?"

"Usually, yes," Quaria seemed bothered. "But you can be killed right away."

"We can protect ourselves," Aries reassured the house leader.

"It's interesting," Siorre winked at Aries. "I like surprises. We should finish our lunch and head straight to the House of Scale."

^########^

Quaria led the way towards the gate at the Southern Border. In front of the stone gate, she raised her hand and pointed her adjacent palms at the emblem that was similar to the statue at the fountains. Her hand had glowed and a tiny crystal vial had manifested in the middle of her juxtaposed palms. The vial splashed water at the emblem and the gate had slowly opened up for them.

"Be careful," the house leader had reminded them one more time.

As soon as they passed through the gate, it had instantly closed.

What lay beyond the gate was a long stone bridge above a clear blue ocean.

"Just wait here," Aries had instructed. "I will find a way inside the House of Scale and put this transport crystal at a place where we can be easily noticed."

"How will we know when to break a transport bracelet?" Siorre curiously asked.

"I will use the other bracelet Tauren had given us, the call-for-aid bracelet. I will summon Princess Pieffer. That will be your cue."

"Understood," Princess Pieffer had said. "Be careful."

Aries nodded and jumped into the shadow. It took him nearly an hour to find a stone gate that had an emblem of a scale and another ten minutes to reach the centermost part of that House.

At first glance, everything in that place appeared normal. He did not notice a single corrupted soul. But he did perceive that the village was unusually quiet. Windows were not closed and he got a glimpse of people cowering inside their homes. Not all but most of them were afraid.

Aries wondered if it was because of the guards scattered around the village. There were too many guards for a village that had no imminent threat. Even the Central Village that appeared peaceful had so many people guarding it.

The only building in the centermost part of the village is a three-story house that had a wide balcony overlooking a vast quadrangle with seats arranged like those in a coliseum. Not far below the terrace was a stage with a single seat on it that somehow seemed scary.

Guards were roaming around the quadrangle but none of them was checking on the platform with a chair. Aries decided to move out of the shadow the chair was casting and put the transport crystal on the seat.

"Princess Pieffer," he immediately called and after only a few seconds, the princess had appeared in front of him.

In the next few seconds, Prince Sunrei and Siorre had been transported right next to the princess.

"Trespassers!!!"

One of the guards had finally noticed and more of his comrades rushed towards the platform and seized the four offenders.

"There is no need to tie them up."

A man probably in his sixties had entered the veranda. He was wearing a robe that was similar to a judge. His long curly hair was grey and there was a strict look in his sharp eyes.

"We will be holding a trial," his voice was loud, clear, and intimidating.

Aries was staring closely at the old man but he could not see a corrupted soul possessing that body. It gave him more confusion.

How did this village get conquered when there are no corrupted souls roaming around? There are no possessed people. Just a house leader that appears strict enough to frighten his people. Is it because of him that villagers are scared to get out of their homes?

"Adding to their violation of entering my House without permission, Prince Sunrei will be on trial for possessing a body he did not own," the old man had said. His voice thundered over the quadrangle. "The complainant is here to fight for the ownership of his body."

Merrick entered the balcony and stood right beside the old man.

"It will be a duel to the death," the old man had said. "And the winner will claim the body of the prince."

^#######^

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