Crimson and Gold

During the time Saria was busy with Demerius, Lysandra received an unexpected visit.

After being gone for some time, Drusus finally returned from his trip around the temples in the region.

The news he brought wasn’t what Lysandra was hoping for.

Her spy managed to confirm that there was indeed a prophetic text that could be of significance to her and her brother, but Drusus was unable to learn anything else.

“Whenever they learned what I was interested in, they immediately refused to talk. It’s like they were afraid of something,” he summed up.

Whether it was the Oracles, priestesses, or even the scholars studying the sacred text, the moment Drusus mentioned the prophecy, they all slammed the door right in his face. It was the first time he met with a response like that.

“I don’t think we’ll be able to find out anything more. Not unless we try a less gentle approach.” Drusus sighed.

“No. Nobody is to be harmed. We’ll find a different way to figure this out.” Learning what Loukios actually was after was important, but to Lysandra, it wasn’t worth making their hands dirty.

Harming innocent people just to get her way was never her way of doing things.

She already considered it a step forward, knowing that her brother wasn’t just chasing a fairytale, that her life wasn’t in danger because of some delusion.

In a way, Lysandra was glad to learn about the prophecy because it made her brother seem less insane and unreasonable.

It made her hate him just a tiny bit less.

***

After parting ways with Tally, Saria joined Eris for their usual night patrol.

The involvement of the army and the city guards helped with the outbreak greatly. However, as long as the cure wasn’t ready, the line between control and complete chaos was dangerously fine.

Nonetheless, the past few nights were calm enough to pass mostly on chatting and only occasional fights here and there.

Everything was pointing towards this night being no different.

“There are just two more quarters left after this one, and I think we can call it a day… or… ehm… night, I guess.” Eris made two long steps, then pushed off her feet and jumped over to the next roof.

Saria landed next to her just a fraction of a second later. “It’s been oddly quiet lately. It’s making me uneasy.”

“The Emperor finally assigned proper forces to patrol the city, so it makes sense that we don’t see as many nests anymore. A lot of them got taken out during the day.”

“Perhaps. But we should be careful.”

Eris spun on her heel, facing Saria, then saluted vigorously. “Yes, sir!” she said with an extraordinarily serious face, just to burst out laughing in the next second.

Watching her like this, Saria couldn’t help but smile.

She grew accustomed to spending time with Eris, and she even enjoyed their evening patrols.

The girl proved to be not only capable, but she was also a very good conversation partner, always knowing how to fill the silence without being overbearing. It was very easy to forget about worries around Eris, and Saria started appreciating it more than she expected.

Between the camaraderie with Tally and the mutual love with Lysandra, her relationship with Eris was the perfect fit to fill the friendship-shaped void in her heart.

That was why Saria strongly refused to notice the infatuated glances the girl would steal at her from time to time. She pinned this on her ego, bloated from Lysandra’s relentless praise, and hoped that her illusion would never shatter.

Passing by the edge of a building, Eris suddenly stopped. “Aw, man…”

“Did something happen? Are you alright?” Saria snapped out of her thoughts and rushed to the girl’s side.

“I’m fine, I’m fine. I just saw that Vettin’s Bakery closed down. Aide is going to be devastated. She loved their poppyseed sweet rolls.”

Saria relaxed, chuckling quietly at the girl’s dejected pose. “What about you? You seem quite devastated yourself. Anything that you will be missing?”

“I’ll be fine. Unlike my sister, I’m not a picky eater.” Saria could hear a hint of pride in Eris’ voice. “Though… I guess I’ll be a bit sad to never eat their spicy meat buns again. Not many shops offer spicy dishes.”

“You like spicy food?”

The girl’s face immediately brightened up. “I love it!”

Eris hopped on another rooftop and then continued. “I’ve heard from a merchant once that there’s a whole region in Liung-Mun that specializes in spicy dishes. And get this,” she said, turning to Saria with shimmering eyes. “The spice there doesn’t burn like ours, but instead makes your mouth numb!”

Saria would have never expected that the topic to make Eris so fired up would be food. She found it quite charming. “So if I ever need to pacify you, I should just bring some spicy food, Ms. Glutton? Alright, noted,” she teased.

Hearing that Eris wobbled while jumping over the low wall dividing two rooftops. “Hey! I’m not a glutton!” she bridled at the outrageous words. “I’m enjoying simple things in life. That’s commendable!”

Seeing her puff her chest and lift her chin, while struggling not to smile, Saria was even more amused. “Mhm. Very commendable.”

“What about you? What kind of food should I bring to get on Ms. Scary Assassin’s good side?” Eris chimed while catching up with her.

Saria suddenly stopped and pointed at herself. “I’m scary?”

“You look quite scary when you’re serious.” She heard in return.

“Good. That means my work will be easier.” Saria flashed a pleased smile and then started walking again.

Eris was slightly dumbfounded, but she recovered quickly and trotted after her companion. “You still didn’t answer my question.”

Saria pondered it for a moment, then answered honestly. “I don’t really care about food. It’s enough if it gives me strength and fills my stomach, it doesn’t have to be tasty.”

When she turned her head to look at Eris again, she was met with the expression of pure terror written all over her face. “How can you say something so blasphemous so easily?” The girl gasped.

Eris muttered to herself for a moment in disbelief. Stealing a few coy glances at Saria, she took a deep breath. “That’s settled then. You have to visit us for dinner. We’ll see if you can stay indifferent about taste after you try Aide’s lamb stew,” she said, forcing herself to sound casual.

Saria laugh. “Alright. Once I have some free time, I’ll take you up on that.”

She wasn’t expecting to have her offer accepted so easily, so when the words reached her ears, Eris was so shocked she was rendered speechless for a moment.

Once she recovered, however, she had to try really hard to stop herself from jumping for joy. “It’s settled then,” she beamed. “Once it’s over, we’re throwing a feast!”

All of a sudden, Eris felt motivated like never before to avert the crisis tormenting her city. First—it was for the people, second—it was for the sake of a ‘date’ with the person she liked so much.

Walking next to her, Saria of course noticed the eagerness radiating from her companion. It made her feel a little bit guilty for bending the truth ever so slightly.

After all, there was a taste she loved very much and yearned for it every second. The problem was, it belonged to Lysandra, and Saria felt it wasn’t an appropriate answer in these circumstances.

She could only smile and secretly try to contain the sudden desire to run back to her lover.

Once it was all over, she would be feasting in more ways than one.

Visit and read more novel to help us update chapter quickly. Thank you so much!