“Amaryllis, please stop doing this!” Livia protested.

Amaryllis was trying to sneak into the meeting against her parents’ advice. 

It had been days. What exactly were they talking about in the meeting that was taking so long? If it weren’t for the fact that her parents returned to their temporary housing every evening, she might have been convinced that they were secretly killed and their deaths kept undercover by their enemies for nefarious purposes.

Her parents have summarized what happened in the meetings with her every night, and that was how she heard about the terms for Pyralis and Ardustan, but she couldn’t understand how the kingdoms weren’t able to come to an agreement on peace negotiation in a single meeting. How were there more meetings after the discussion on the fate of the Eastern Alliance kingdoms were over? Shouldn’t the peace talk be the easiest? Surely no one still wants the war to continue!

That was why, on the seventh day, Amaryllis could no longer restrain herself and tried sneaking into the meeting. With her ability to read emotions, she could read the room and figure out everyone’s intentions. If there was someone there who was trying to make things more difficult for everyone else, she would know right away. 

Also, this meeting was the biggest thing in history for the past several decades. It might very well be the most important historical event in her lifetime! She will not miss the chance to be able to contribute to world peace somehow!

She started wondering if she should infiltrate the meeting room before the meeting starts and hide behind some furniture. She might get some terrible cramping at the end of the day, but the moment a break was called, she would sneak out.

However, she found out that there was hardly any furniture in that room besides the table and chairs. It was done that way to avoid any potential hiding places for a secret weapon. 

Then, she started contemplating on the thought of disguising herself as a maid or servant, or even a priest, but before she could act on this or come up with a better idea, Livia caught her snooping around.

Livia had traveled to Elysara as part of her parents’ entourage. From what Livia had told her, now that the war was at a standstill, the lack of new patients meant that most of the nurses had less work to do. Therefore, Livia chose to leave the nursing program to stay by Amaryllis’s side as a maid.

And as Amaryllis’s maid, she was tasked by the queen and king consort to keep Amaryllis out of trouble. Which was what she was doing right now as she dragged Amaryllis away from the area of the Temple where the meeting was being conducted and back to a more private area.

Amaryllis sighed and dropped the priest’s outfit into Livia’s waiting hands. She had chosen the priest disguise because she felt that it would be more successful for her endeavors. “How did you know I was going to do something?”

“You forget that we’ve been working side by side for years.”

Amaryllis suppressed a grin. “No wonder why my parents chose you to watch over me.”

Livia flinched ever so slightly, then raised an eyebrow and lifted the clothes Amaryllis had handed to her. “Do I want to know how you got your hand on this priest outfit?”

Amaryllis only smirked in response. “I have my ways.”

Livia made a noise of exasperation. “Maybe you’re just feeling bored right now? This is the first time you’ve gone more than a few weeks without working on anything. Maybe you’re sick of being idle.”

“Yes, I am, Livia. But I also have a burning curiosity to see what’s going on inside that meeting! History is being made without me to witness it!” Amaryllis groaned. “If only my parents weren’t so protective of me.”

“At least you still have parents,” Livia pointed out.

Amaryllis flinched out of guilt. Livia was right. Many people have lost a family member of some sort to the war, Livia included. It was mostly the nobles who had the privilege of a mostly-intact family.

“I’m sorry, Livia,” she apologized.

Livia squeezed Amaryllis’s shoulders. “Why do you keep apologizing for things out of your control? For the last time, you didn’t kill my father nor all those people who died in the war.”

When Amaryllis didn’t lighten back up, Livia started to regret bringing up such a morbid topic. “Let’s go around the city, then. Elysara is the only kingdom still maintaining peace, so why don’t we go and see what it’s like living in a peaceful kingdom?”

Amaryllis finally nodded. “Sure, let’s do that.” And if the meeting doesn’t conclude today, she’ll find another way to sneak in tomorrow.

She allowed Livia to guide her away from the Temple and out to the more public parts of the capital. For the first time during her visit, Amaryllis finally got to see the lush gardens that Elysara was famous for. She also remembered them from her first visit to Elysara, but seeing them as an adult was so much more impressive.

All seven kingdoms lived in harmony with nature. Terravale with its numerous forests, Etheria with its fertile plains, Aquanis with its seas, Cartia with its mountains, Pyralis with its volcanoes, and Ardustan with its deserts. Elysara, on the other hand, is well known for its beautiful gardens, appearing like a paradise given by the gods.

Etheria, while also fertile and boasted many lovely gardens of its own, was also quite hot. As a result, there were flowers here in Elysara’s garden that Amaryllis had never seen before. The climate in Elysara was just mild enough to grow almost any plant.

Then, after a while, the two of them got hungry and decided to visit the commercial district of the city. They decided against going to a restaurant for lunch and chose to eat street food instead so they can enjoy the weather.

They sat in the public square, watching all the civillians around them carry on with their daily lives, most likely unaware of the interrealm meeting going on inside the Temple of Elysara. One of the more common topics of conversation was about the newly named god, Wylien. Even though his name and domain was officially announced to the world only several weeks ago, people are already creating works of arts based off of him. Of course, the conversation also touched upon the three remaining unnamed gods: the twelfth goddesss, the thirteenth god, and the fifteenth god.

Amaryllis relished being outside, basked in the peaceful emotions of everyone around her. When was the last time a crowd had peaceful emotions? She often disliked being around people because more often than not, they were carrying a lot of intense emotions like fear and worry, and feeling everyone’s pain also negatively impacted Amaryllis’s state of mind. It made being around others so much more difficult.

“I miss my veil,” Amaryllis complained when the sun was high in the sky. “It may be kind of stuffy, but it provided me with shade.”

She had left her veil behind due to the unexpected change of plan from infiltrating the meeting to exploring the capital of Elysara. It might be for the best, as the Elysarans don’t wear veils out in public and it would have attracted more attention than having her beauty exposed.

“Is it just me, or are there more soldiers around than usual?” Livia asked.

She was right. Mingling among the crowds of Elysarans were a group of soldiers wearing full armor and red cloaks. They weren’t being hostile to anyone around them, but rather, talking and joking amongst themselves. Amaryllis could sense a cloud of contentment and cheerfulness over them, showing that they weren’t here to fight. It was comforting to her to know that. This was one of the ways her ability was useful to her—determining someone's intentions.

What surprised Amaryllis more than anything is the lack of attention the Elysarans paid them. If this was in any other kingdom, the civillians would be eyeing the foreign soldiers with caution. Indeed, there was no war in Elysara.

“I believe they are part of the entourage that one of the representatives at the meeting brought with them.” Amaryllis noted. “Let me see. Judging by the cloak they wear, I think they are Terravalens.”

Seeing the Terravalen soldiers reminded Amaryllis of Evan. They seemed to be of the same generation as him too. She was carrying around his dagger at the moment, hidden in her satchel, and she could feel its weight when she became aware of it once more. She wasn’t sure why she still carried it around, considering that it was a Terravalen weapon. 

What are the chances that she’ll encounter Evan’s friends anyway? She highly doubted that he was important enough for everyone in Terravale to agree to help her out because of him. Probably only his closest friends are willing to return the favor.

“Livia, why don’t we go shop—” Amaryllis’s voice suddenly trailed off, her composure stiffening.

“What’s wrong?” Livia turned to her. When she saw how disturbed her friend looked, Livia’s expression turned from unperturbed to worried. “What is it?”

“I… I sensed an intense feeling of fear.” Amaryllis whipped around, her eyes scanning the scene for the source of the fear. She barely caught a glimpse of a small, dirty child with black hair just before they darted into a nearby alleyway.

“Did you see that?” Amaryllis asked.

“See what?” Livia asked. 

“There was a small child…”

So Livia hadn’t seen it. Suddenly, another cloud of emotions washed over Amaryllis, so thick that she sucked in a breath. These weren’t the simple joys or pains of everyday life. They were focused, sharp, and almost malicious in intent.

Her stomach dropped in dread.

“Livia,” Amaryllis gasped out. “Danger.”