“Did you have fun when you went to look out for Aurora and the others? I saw what you did for them, Zoe. Why did you help them out?”
Zoe quickly turned toward Ava’s voice so that she no longer had her back to the snake. She had expected the snake to make her entryway earlier but it seems like the snake had wanted to wait for her.
“I decided to throw you chosen a bone since she looked like she needed help. After all, it did not look like you were going to help her so I did it in your place.”
Zoe wanted to drive the snake away but her words were all wrong.
Instead of going away, Ava seemed even more amused than before. The white-haired female made her way toward Zoe and draped her arm around the shorter.
“Awww. I knew you would like Aurora if you met her. She has that ‘charm’ about her, right?”
“Charm, huh? I did see what you meant by ‘charm.'”
The charm would be the wrong thing to say. As soon as Zoe had seen Aurora, the need to help her out had made a home inside her mind.
It was the same compulsion the outlookers got when it came to the abyss and its demands. It was just as strong, if not stronger than their sense of duty.
That itch had not faded away even after their second meeting a little while ago.
Zoe had ended up helping her out even when she had not wanted to help Aurora out. She might have even done worse had she not left when she did..
“So, are you going to abandon your mission and join Aurora in hers? I know Aurora would be happy to have you.”
“Fuck off. I am not going to abandon my mission, nor am I going to help that person out any longer. And as far as the bet is concerned, I just need to deal with you and that is all.”
The longer Zoe stayed away from Aurora, the less her urge to help became. So staying away was the best solution Zoe had to her problem.
But Ava’s smile said that things would not be that easy for her.
===========================
“You can leave us alone now. I will be able to handle things from here.”
Aurora quickly received her prize and knocked the auction people out. She would deal with them later.
For now, she needed to focus on the man who was bowing in front of Natasha again. His body seemed tense and unused to bowing but he still did not complain. He had a lot of courage to bow like this in public.
But Natasha looked uncomfortable to see that action being done to her. Her expression told Aurora that this was the first time something like this had happened to her.
“Natasha, do you know this creep? If he’s someone who is trying to take advantage of you then you should tell us. I will take care of him for you.”
Rita sounded too enthusiastic in her offer. She even looked ready to punch someone hard and break a few bones.
But Natasha did not seem to share her enthusiasm. Instead of looking reassured, Natasha looked a little concerned about their situation. It was easy to tell that she was being bothered by something serious.
“To say that I ‘know’ this person would not be the correct thing. But I’m also not ignorant of who he is.”
Natasha’s words conveyed that this person was someone important without revealing the person’s identity. So it was likely that he was not someone who could out his identity without causing problems.
“There is no need to beat around the bush, princess of the north. I don’t mind if my identity gets exposed. All I care about is the tear of the Phoenix.”
The man sounded firm in his belief. The trio was startled when he took his helmet off and Aurora already knew that this man would be a trouble of a kind they had never faced before.
“Please tell me that this is a nightmare. Why would the only duke if the east kingdom be in the abyss?”
Rita sounded pained when she said those words. Her gained expression was something Aurora wanted to mirror.
Out of every continent on this earth, no one was more loyal to the tower than the east. It was because their princess had married the current tower head.
With their king in a coma and the queen dead, the one to inherit the continent was the duke.
The very same duke who currently kneeled in front of the trio and was asking them to lend him their prize.
“I cannot hand the phoenix’s tears to you because I need them to cure my curse. I am sure you understand what I mean.”
The item Aurora had won was something that could only be used once. But it was not like this was Aurora’s only out of this situation.
She was willing to trade it if some other better deal came along. And she was sure that the other side was aware of this as well.
“I’m sure I can provide you with anything you want in exchange for that tear. My king needs that feather to wake up. That is the only way out of our cursed agreement with the tower and to stop them from asserting dominance over the east.”
Aurora’s focus narrowed as soon as the man mentioned the tower. She had a feeling that this situation was connected to the tower.
Even though Aurora knew that the east would become the biggest supporter of the tower, she was not ignorant as to how it was made possible.
Currently, the king of the east was only unconscious, but he would die soon if nothing was done about his condition.
But various experts have already tried their best to wake him up from his curse but there was no progress. Hence, the only solution was the phoenix’s tears.
If Aurora agreed to give up the tear now, then she would gain an invaluable ally in the future. But she would also lose her chance to break the curse.
“I think we should help them out. Having East under the tower’s control would be too big of a liability. We can also use east to traffic in some resources for our academy.”
Natasha seemed to be on board with the plan. She had reached the same conclusion Aurora had before.
The main problem was going to be Rita. Aurora could already see the signs of a frown appearing on her face and her temper rising.
“No way. Why should we give up this chance to cure Aurora? Won’t it make our future smoother if Aurora is cured?”
Rita sounded bitter but justified when she spoke. Her concern was touching but not needed. (Not that Aurora was going to say it out loud)
“No, I agree with Natasha. East will be an invaluable ally for us in the future. Besides, I have you both to keep my curse in check for now. I am sure I can manage the corruption just fine.”
Rita fell quiet at Aurora’s words. There was a silent blush on her cheeks but her words did not come out of her mouth.
She had been rendered speechless by Aurora’s faith in her.
“I-If you believe in me s-so much, then I guess I c-can’t say anything else to you.”
Rita seemed to have given her approval to Aurora as well which was nice to have but not needed.
However, their exchange seemed to be of interest to the man in front of them. Aurora could see the interest flash in his eyes when the trio discussed their options.
“If you are dealing with corruption, then I might have a solution for you. We have a Nymph in our court who can help you out. She is skilled but it’ll be up to you to convenience her to help you out.”
What a coincidence. The man in front of them had single-handedly solved one of the major problems Aurora was facing currently.
It almost felt like fate for the group to have met each other. A little too much of a ‘coincidence’ to make Aurora not feel suspicious.
“By the way, why did you come to this auction today? Did you already know that there will be a tear on display?”
Natasha’s question showed that she felt the same as Aurora had.
“No way. The news about auction items is a strict secret. It was just, a man who told me to come here tonight. He said that I would get what I wanted if I came here tonight and looks like he was right.”
“He introduced himself as prophet Huges but I brushed him off then. But looks like he was a real prophet after all.”
The Duke laughed but Aurora felt her throat get blocked by emotions. It was the overlooker who was meddling in her business.
But why? Why was she helping Aurora out like this?
Read latest chapters at f(r)eewebnov𝒆l Only