The next few days on the ship were strained. The soldiers were responsible for guiding us and it was clear that's all they'd be doing. They sat together lazily drinking and taking our supplies, even gambling amongst themselves. At the beginning they had messed with one of the sailors to which Earnest made clear how we felt about. Since then they refrained but it didn't stop them from causing a fuss whenever possible. It was almost like a bad joke. Sure we weren't the Hero or as important as Ronalt and Ardent, but we still took down the Demon Lord.
The Imperial City came into sight the morning after our seventh day on the ship. The scope of the city made the Kingdom's Capital seem small. Past the first checkpoint there were still many others as the ship continued through the river that split the city. There was probably twice the amount of districts here than the Kingdom had. Warehouses lined the banks of the river, with trade coming to and fro. As we progressed, the warehouses decreased opening up to markets and fisheries. Past the fifth checkpoint and beautiful mansions lined the coast. Men and women in refined clothing stared at his with haughty eyes.
Taylor pointed to a particularly big building not far off, "See that, I stole treasure from there. Also that one over there. Oh and that smaller looking place too. The people here had a lot of good stuff."
"Must have been fun," I replied.
"It had its moments. If you want we can always take a peek."
"Let's leave that for later," I laughed at what I was suspiciously suspecting wasn't a joke, or at least not entirely. A dark mass of buildings caught my eye quite far from the city. From here it could be barely seen but unlike the city's regulated streets, it looked like a pile of haphazardly placed shacks. "That's the slums isn't it?" I pointed in the direction. The space it occupied wasn't small.
"Bingo," Taylor nodded. "It's both not as bad and worse than it seems. I was born there, or at least I think so."
I pulled her in closer as her voice grew quiet, "You're here with me now."
After one final checkpoint we were taken to the heart of the Imperial City. Even from outside we could see it, the white metallic towers that rose into the sky marking the Palace. Now we were inside its grandeur wasn't lacking. Perfectly trimmed grass lawns that stretched smoothly across the ground, paths made of paved stone that were polished enough to reflect like mirrors and each tree looked like a meticulously made work of art. Even more so the buildings and structures fit together perfectly rounding out what looked like the pinnacle representation of power and wealth melded with tranquillity. The sheer amount of work put into it and the effort to maintain it sent a shiver down my spine. Yes, it truly was a beautiful sight but also caused a pit opened in my stomach. You couldn't reach wealth like that in ordinary ways.
We landed at the private pier of the Palace. A procession of uniformed men and armoured knights waited for us on shore. The soldiers who had been guiding us were dismissed quickly, much to their disappointment.
"Welcome to the Imperial City," a tall man in an elegant suit greeted us. "I am minister Palor one of the Emperor's hands."
"I am Rain Axel of Axel, these are my companions and friends of the Hero Lara, Taylor Tiana and Master Swordsman Earnest," I spoke on behalf of the others pointing them in turn.
"It is a pleasure to meet you," the minister bowed. It seemed like he and those behind him had better attitudes than the soldiers from before. It could also mean that they were better actors.
"Likewise," I made a slight bow in return.
"Please follow me into the Palace interior. Your companions and friends are already waiting inside."
"Of course, lead the way," I gestured for him to move and we kept a steady pace behind him. Pina and our carriage were allowed to disembark as well but were taken elsewhere.
Everyone we passed bowed at the sight of us. Many of them were the Palace staff but a few looked to be high ranking nobles. As we entered the interior I was once more blown away by the elegance displayed. Fine art almost everywhere you looked to the point it was being shoved down your throat. The Kingdom's Palace had quite a few pieces as well but this was overkill for sure. Taylor however practically ignored it all and kept her eyes forward while Earnest occasionally gazed at one in mild interest.
"Ah minister Palor," an infuriatingly smooth voice called out towards us. My body suddenly tensed up at the mere sound and I had to stop my mana from reacting on impulse. The source was a tall man in what looked like his late thirties, though he could have been older. His features were handsome and his body strong. Even covered in armour you could tell his physique was well built. The problem was the seething hate I was feeling by just having him in my gaze.
"General Elroy," the minister bowed to him. "I am just taking the Hero's companions to the waiting room."
"Oh?" his eyes fell to us and the knights cleared a path. "I am Elroy, General of the Empire and part of the Council."
"Rain," I replied straining mentally to be normal. Kill him! A dark voice screamed inside my head. The worse part was that it felt incredibly convincing. As if there was a reason to do so, as if my entire being was hell bent on his destruction. I needed to know what this was, "Have we met somewhere before?"
He looked at me curiously, "I do not believe so. Though I did spend some time in the Demon lands while I was younger, I'd doubt you'd have been born then."
I nodded. It was taking far more than I wanted to admit to stop myself drawing my sword and gutting him.
"Why if it isn't our famous thief Empress," his eyes met Taylor's in recognition. "It's been some time. To think you were helping the Hero."
"I'm not the Empire's. I go and do what I want," Taylor answered coolly. "Helping the Hero was a worthy cause."
He laughed, "So even someone like you can turn a new leaf."
Okay now I really wanted to kill him. I knew he was joking but that tone he took with Taylor was the last straw. Earnest stepped in front of me with his hand pointed towards the General, "I am Earnest."
"The Master swordsman correct? I do hope we'll have time for a bout," Elroy shook his hand. "Perhaps we will talk later. For now I must be off."
Minister Palor turned to him, "Is everything going well?"
"Perfectly," the General smiled. "Tonight's ball will be beautiful." He left just as quickly as he came. The tension in my body receded. I had never felt that kind of hate before, not even against the Demon Lord or the Monster of the border forest. Heck even when I wanted to kill Ronalt it paled in comparison.
We were guided further into the Palace and into a large well-furnished room. An assortment of food was laid out on table and a large window opened up to a veranda overlooking the city. More importantly however Lara and the others weren't there.
"Please wait here," Minister Palor bowed. "I shall ask for the Hero and the rest of your companions to meet you soon. If there is anything you need simply ask one of the maids or butlers outside."
"Thank you," I nodded my head to him as he left. The knights followed, leaving us in privacy.
I sat in a nearby chair and heaved out a tense breath.
Earnest frowned at me, "Rain, what was that? If I hadn't interrupted you would have killed that man."
Taylor sat beside me, "Really? I mean I was surprised he recognized me but that's no reason to kill him."
"I-," I opened my mouth only to close it. "Honestly I don't know what it was. I just really, really don't like that General."
"That's unlike you," Earnest said.
"Was it magic?" Taylor asked.
I shook my head, "No, if it was I'm confident I would have felt at least some trace."
"Just don't lose your head okay," Taylor poked me in the cheek. "You're the one who told me not to cause trouble."
"Right...," I breathed out slowly. "Though if you see me pull a knife out please stop me." They laughed thinking I was joking but I was entirely serious.
Two hours passed with us doing not much more than looking outside the window and tasting the assortment of foods that they had left for us. It was taking longer than any of us had expected to meet with the others and we had seen no sign of them so far.
"Don't you think this is a bit weird?" Taylor asked. "I'm just going to remind you but the Empire's government is not a small bit shiftier than the Kingdom's."
"I know, I'm getting a little antsy here." I turned to Earnest, "What do you think, should we go find them ourselves?"
He smirked, "It would be interesting."
"Let's try this by the book first," I stood up and opened the door leading outside. Two knights stood down the corridor and several staff were walking by. I called to them, "Excuse me, I was wondering how much longer we would be waiting."
The knight turned to me, "Please remain where you are. The Minister should not be much longer."
"Can't you just take us to him now?"
"Apologies sir but my orders are to stay here and guard."
"Then can we take a look around ourselves?" I narrowed my eyes at the pair.
It was slight but an agitation crossed his body, "Sir please stay in the room."
"I'm starting to feel less like a guest and more like a prisoner." My voice became haughty, "Is this how you treat one of the Hero's companions? We faced the Demon Lord for the sake of peace! Don't you have any respect?"
"I must obey my orders sir," he was becoming flustered.
"And what were your orders exactly?"
He paused just a little too long, "To guard you sir."
"Earnest, Taylor we're leaving."
The pair pointed their halberds towards me, "You will stay were you are." The last straw was plucked. Their actions clear that something more nefarious was on the rise.
"Is that so?" As I said those words Taylor descended from the ceiling above and with a quick knock to their unarmoured necks they fell to the ground unconscious. If this really was a misunderstanding we could talk it out later.
The servants that had seen the commotion blanched, staring at us with wide fearful eyes. Earnest nodded his head to them, "We'd appreciate if you kept quiet about this."
"Taylor you didn't kill them right?" I asked to make sure.
She looked at me insulted, "Of course not... wait did you want me to?"
"No you did well," I gave her a thumbs up and walked up to the closest maid. "Hi there, we're looking for the Hero. Would you happen to know where she is?"
Her eyes continued to shift from me to the pair of knights on the floor, "N-no sir. I just clean."
"Then when people cause trouble where are they taken?"
"Th-the dungeon sir."
"And where is this dungeon?"
For a moment her mouth clamped shut but seeing something behind me her eyes widened in fear. She shook her head, "P-please I don't know."
"Then where do they take people who make mistakes?"
"Mistakes?" though she was confused it was clear she had somewhere in mind.
"You must have at least heard rumours," I pressed further.
Her eyes flicked past my shoulder, causing her to flinch, "Under the garden... they take people and they never come back."
"Thank you and sorry," I pulled out some powder and blew it into her face. Her eyes rolled back into her head and she fell to the floor as well. I turned around to have Taylor suspiciously close. "I appreciate the help, but that poor maid was terrified. What did you do?"
"Oh I just scowled a little," she smiled innocently. "Anyway we should clean up." Her eyes turned to the remaining staff who peeked from the corridor in fear.