Jason didn't answer Risa's question and simply stared at her. His silence was enough to make Risa realize that she would have to give an answer before receiving one herself.
"Maria was my mother's name and she married my father when my grandfather had mixed himself with the king of that time. He had a very good control over the light and fire element which lead to him becoming one of the ten supreme commanders.
However, my grandfather was responsible for the murder of my mother's mother. I know it might sound complicated but that's the truth. My mother later killed my grandfather and took the family in the right direction alongside my father." Risa sighed.
Jason on the other hand was trying to figure out whether his family tree could get even more complicated.
Both sides of his family were messed up. He himself was messed up and couldn't do anything about it.
"I got to know about her from a vision." Jason answered Risa's question. "Also, I will try and see whether I can remove the contracts forced upon such a large crowd."
"You wouldn't be able to do that even if you were a god. Doing something like that will have terrible consequences on you since using too much divine energy can cause fluctuations in space.
Those fluctuations leads to the world punishing someone responsible for their cause. Best case scenario, you will enter in a coma for a year. Worst case scenario, you will be sucked by the world and will be tortured for eternity." Risa informed.
A smile appeared on Jason's lips when he heard what the punishments could be. Hestia had already told him about this and had even given him a way to turn the tide in his favor.
"What if I…"
***
The next day, things were tense around the entire town.
From what Risa had found out, the army would be arriving at any moment with the help of teleportation spells.
Though they had set up multiple traps, there was a good chance Julian would be able to counter them by sending through part's of the army one by one.
The front combat team might also have to face suicides mages whose only job would be to detonate themselves the moment they would appear on field.
Orion's words had also caused many to feel uneasy but none of them deserted the area. They knew that no matter where they went or who they pledged their allegiance to, they would be forced to become Julian's slaves.
"I never thought I would be fighting again so soon." Zeke's grandfather sighed.
"Numok, didn't you predict this the moment all of us were forced to enter that contract with Julian?" Brian asked while asking raising his eyebrows.
"I guess I did…" Numok sighed and averted his gaze.
Numok, Issac, Brian and Orion were currently standing at the entrance of the town and were looking at the land outside.
Neither Orion nor Brian wanted to admit that they weren't comfortable around the other person. They had to act like things were fine when in reality, they weren't.
"Why are all of you standing there and looking outside with such grim expressions?" Zilan suddenly asked as he walked to stand beside the group.
The ex-prime minister of the kingdom had a calm expression on his face yet he was ready to fight at a moment's notice.
After all, this fight was important for both him and his family. If they ended up losing, there was no where else to go.
"We are wondering how much property you would have to give to each of us if we won this sht." Issac replied with a flattering smile.
"Remember, Hiro will be the one to become the king so it will be best that you talk to him." Zilan raised his hands.
"Isn't he our enemy?" Orion asked with a confused expression.
"Hiro is acting like he is our enemy but he actually isn't. He is staying with Julian and is the person actually providing us with information from the inside. If we revealed this to the public, I don't think they would trust us." Zilan explained.
"For most of them, Hiro is Julian's son so no matter how much we talk about his trustworthiness, they won't trust him." Brian added.
Orion nodded in understanding. He remembered seeing Hiro during the ceremony that had happened years ago.
"Will we face him in battle?" Orion asked.
"Maybe but I am sure that he will be heavily guarded. Julian wouldn't want his favorite prince to die in such a manner." Zilan sighed.
"Its hard to believe that Zilan is actually the third prince of the kingdom. The other two princes are simply pawns that Julian uses to increase his power and influence." Numok muttered.
"They are failed princes for him. Despite of being his own children, Julian doesn't trust them one bit. He only trusts Hiro and Mila."
"Mila?" Orion suddenly felt confused.
According to him, Mila was the royal princess he had met inside the chamber of rebirth. They weren't the best of friends but had talked during their free time.
From what he had figured out, Mila wasn't the type of princess who would blindly follow Julian in his evil deeds.
"Mila has been his favorite daughter since a long time. She even claimed a promise from his patron that allows her to ask them for any favor that she wants." Zilan escaped. "She was almost killed by her siblings due to that."
"I mean she can literally ask Julian and Galirius for the throne or for this war to stop but she doesn't seem to be doing it." Brian pointed out.
"Do the others know about this?" Orion questioned. He knew that Jason, Amber and Zeke were much closer to Mila than he was.
"No, we haven't told them about it and we will appreciate it if you don't either. We don't want them to be worrying about something else during the war." Issac replied with an expressionless face.
Orion nodded in understanding but inside, he already knew that he was going to tell the others about this the moment he would move away.
But to make sure that none of the adults present stopped him from telling them, Orion stayed behind for a few more minutes.
'Things are going to be tough during the battle.'
***
"Hiro, that's a pretty nice strategy to counter any traps set by the opposite side!" Julian exclaimed when he saw the battle strategy planned by Hiro.
He had been thinking of sending parts of his army to activate most of the traps before sending the majority of them to Duphia's border with the help of teleportation magic.
But with Hiro's simple yet effective strategy, he would be able to do things much easily without a huge loss of manpower.
"I am happy you like it, father." Hiro smiled and bowed before his father.
"You are doing a good job, son." Silvia praised with a smile. "Dear, when will be going?"
"Soon." Julian replied while glancing at the war map placed in front of them. A projection of Duphia was hovering above the table and showcased the entire town. "Its going to be an intense fight."
"We will be appearing for a few minutes right?" Hiro questioned.
"Yes, your appearance will show the other side that you were just fooling with them about overthrowing the kingdom. I don't need to explain but Silvia's presence will do." Julian smiled.
Hiro and Silvia nodded since both of them knew what Julian was talking about. The mother-son pair had been planning to help him from a long time which was the reason their strategy was almost perfect.
"Anyways, one of my commanders is calling me and I have to go meet him. I will talk to you later." Julian excused himself and went away.
Hiro on the other hand directly stared into his mother's eyes. Silvia smiled humorlessly and picked up a bottle of wine lying near the table.
She summoned two glasses out of the space ring on her finger and filled them. She handed one of them to Hiro and held the other one.
"To a better future." Silvia raised her glass forward.
Numerous thoughts were currently swirling inside Hiro's head yet he decided to disperse them and focus on his goal.
"To a better future." Hiro replied and clinked in glass with Silvia's glass.
Both of them drank the wine together as it left a burning sensation in their throats. However, they knew that something else would be burning soon.
***
"It was you who showed him the vision, didn't you?" Risa asked aloud. "I know it was you, my lady."
No reply came yet Risa kept on staring at the ceiling of the basement with a glare. She already knew who was responsible for showing Jason the vision he saw.
"Hemera, you don't need to act like that. Just come out and talk to me." Risa sighed after not receiving any reply for five minutes.
She stood up from her spot and decided to go up to do some last minute preparations. However, just as she was leaving, a gentle voice whispered inside her mind.
[ Good luck. ]
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