She really didn’t understand it. People grilled her on her relationship with the emperor, but what was there to know? Throughout her life, there was never a time when she experienced the emotion known as love, save for the incessant acts of the bored gods above. The same went for the strange mental state of arousal.

“I agree. Still, I think we should find a way to disprove the claims against me.”

“Assassinating the Fourth Prince won’t help. It’ll just cause a diplomatic nightmare.”

“To be fair, killing him is the last resort I have. Try to get more information, Haein.”

“Fine. Just try to make your way either back up here, or out.”

Iris nodded. Meanwhile, the coast was clear. In the break between guard patrols, they slipped through.

“Out, or up?”

“You decide. You’re the one being hunted down.”

“Let’s leave this place.”

“Sure thing.”

“Haein, Hye-Sung, they aren’t harassing you, right?”

“They seem to have left both the empress and I alone.”

“If they dared to touch me over something like this, they would know that peace won’t be an option.”

“Alright. Iris, let’s go to the temple.”

Although the kingdom was highly religious, they still had several temples around. Those were rare, however. Much of the state and people’s religions aligned, and they believed in the Ashraiin. If Iris was honest though, the religions were the same, just with different names and flavours.

They made their way over to a window. In the still warm air, Iris looked down. There was quite a distance between the ground and them. Fortunately for her, there was no glass in between.

“You planning to jump down?”

“Yes. Any objections?”

“Just your legs.”

“I’ve jumped from much higher and survived without so much as a scratch.”

“Then get ready to jump.”

“Don’t bite your tongue off.”

Iris scooped him up. She stepped onto the window’s ledge, and eyed the ground. The orange light of standing torches illuminated the grey stone bricks that paved the way. Jumping out from the window’s ledge, they soared.

They landed with ease. His lack of significant weight helped. With the weight of a feather, she easily made her way across the city.

The nightlife of Khandria was nothing to scoff at. Men and women of all walks of life enjoyed their time here. Oftentimes, a man could be caught with a mug of frothy beer on the street.

“The temple, right? Why?”

“It's the safest place until we get more information. Depending on what they do, a holy war could start. Well, if you want, you could make a stop at a bar if you like.”

“But you’re the one being hunted down.”

“And yet I’m the one in a bridal carry, without any agency. You could opt to throw me down a cliff and I would be helpless to stop it.”

“Should I?”

“Rather not. If you do go to a bar however, I would quite like a drink.”

Iris shoved a glass in his hand. The yellowish-green liquid sloshed around as he sipped it. Salt crystals touched the rim. As for hers, she had a simple brown bourbon. It burned slightly on the way down, but within a single gulp, it disappeared from the glass. It was a nice break, and no one seemed to know who they were. Just some high class women enjoying the nightlife.

They attracted looks, of course. Varexian women weren’t all too common here, especially high class ones. A group of men always hovered near them, in orbit around the sun. Some stayed and some went, but no matter what, there were always a few.

With his drink finished, he stood back up. Did he notice them? Or was he just preparing to go? Either way, Iris motioned for him to get close. A foreign city was no place to die.

“To the temple.”

“So this is where you are. Look at you, how pathetic. First you screw a man and now you’re sleeping with another woman. How loose your asshole must be.”

That man’s voice was annoyingly nasal. The crowd muttered as the Fourth Prince pushed his way through. Thoroughly drunk and stumbling, it was likely that he was kicked out from the palace for the time being. His own entourage kept up their stoic faces, though one wasn’t quite up to standards. His eyes wandered to Iris and Francis, before looking back down at the ground. The Fourth Prince probably didn’t even realise his own words were slurred.

“Please don’t make a bigger fool of yourself,” Francis said.

“Misfahem!” The Fourth Prince stumbled forwards, towards the emperor.

But before any contact, Iris pulled him away. She held him close as she shot a glare at the collapsed prince. After the revelation, she had to be extra protective. After all, he was the only chance she had to end this damn cycle.

“Just go. Ignore this buffoon,” Francis embraced Iris.

His warmth seeped into her clothes. The imperial personal guard’s uniform wasn’t too thick. A white undershirt, followed by a layer of the uniform. During winter times and colder assignments, they had an additional layer of fur above that. But she was wearing the summer uniform, perfect for the warm tropical climate of Khandria.

The city itself was close to something called an equator. Apparently, that was a line running across the entire planet. Invisible and imaginary. Still, the places close to that line were hot, even at night.

“Alright. Should we do anything?”

“Leave him. There are more than enough witnesses to see that he’s a drunk guy who harassed two women.”

Iris nodded, and took the lead. She grasped his hand and pulled him through the crowd. Occasionally, she looked up at the roofs, and the thought did intrude. She glanced at the trailing Rayleigh, and back above. There were no pursuers, at least none that she could see. Still, they made their way through the crowd before ending up in front of the marble walls of the temple.

Needlessly majestic as always. Even more so in enemy territory. Despite the time, sweeper boys stayed up late and continued their work. The straw brooms rubbing against the stone floors of the temple created a pleasant rustling noise.

“It’s likely that the Fourth Prince wasn’t raised well. He’s relegated to useless roles, and because of that, wasn’t given much of an education at all,” Francis explained.

“What does that have to do with name calling?”

“Nothing. Just that he probably struggles with getting someone to love him, or even like him. Women often flock to the other princes because they have power. But it's common knowledge that the Fourth Prince doesn’t hold any power at all.”

“Bad prospects, horrible personality. What else?”

“I don’t know. Wouldn’t be surprised if it was revealed that he was corrupt and have slaves in his basement.”