“I’ve seen your faces for quite a few days in a row,” Count Nightfall muttered. “And the third time, you’re telling me that there’s an ugly mug I’m supposed to see, just to reinforce my dread and caution around Limbo…”

“That’s pretty much it.” Nero leaned back on his seat, crossed his legs and took a sip from his cup. “I’m sorry if I sound blunt, but you and Dia never had a chance to take a good look at what happens to those who ignore the final line of defence. I’m going to make up for it right now.”

Risti nodded. “Would be a shame if you gave in to the temptation and created a widow out of Caroline.”

The count winced.

“Right?” Nero chuckled. “It’s for your own good, man!”

Dia examined the reception room as Count Nightfall grappled between the choice of spending a lovey-dovey day with Caroline and witnessing the stuff of nightmares. Pictures of all kinds had been hung up recently, all of them featuring portraits of the count and his fiancée frolicking around in a sea of flowers or other romantic pursuits.

It was a display of love, if nothing else. Rather adorable, but…Dia found the whole process rather embarrassing.

“Alright, you got me convinced,” Nightfall muttered. “How long would it take?”

“An hour at most, in my opinion,” Nero replied. “Unless, of course, you want to dissect the target and see the true extent of changes made to its body. I’m told that doing so is the standard operating procedure for newbies, but the Dark just descended and we have nasty news to tell Caroline.”

“Nasty news?” Nightfall asked. “Should I also call Daybreak in too, then? It seems rather important.”

“Daybreak…” Risti looked at him. “I forgot about that guy.”

“He’s been pigging out at my kitchen the whole day,” Nightfall replied. “It’s like he’s an impoverished fellow who hasn’t eaten good food for a very long time.”

“He’s been broke for quite some time, so I think that’s an accurate description, yes.” Risti grinned. “Anyway, might as well get the hard bits over and done with first. Can’t hold back bad news from Caroline, since we’re all friends. Where’s she?”

“Practicing archery, I think. I’ll get her,” Count Nightfall replied. “Be right back.”

He got up from his seat and left the reception room, which was immediately the cue for Risti to start speaking.

“Lots of portraits about him and Caroline flirting and making out,” Risti noted. “I’m surprised there aren’t more risqué portraits about them yet…I bet the only reason why no such portraits exist is due to the need for a third party to paint all this.”

“Why would the count make a risqué painting about him and Caroline?” Dia asked, perplexed. “The mere thought of it is embarrassing.”

“Shame and embarrassment are just tools used to constrain and limit people in society,” Nero replied. “If there exists a society where being naked and making records of your love-making isn’t treated as shameful, the very people within that society won’t feel embarrassed at the thought.”

“I thought the Coloured Churches are all about morals and purity—”

“Which are largely defined by the people,” Nero replied gently. “The Coloured Gods do not care whether you’re naked, this much I know. After all, their eyes can see through all; you’re transparent to them in the first place. What matters to the Coloured Churches is that they propagate the beliefs and morals endorsed by their respective gods. Of course, some of them naturally add their own beliefs into the mix…”

“Laws are made by people to constrain people,” Risti added. “Shame and embarrassment are just feelings that society exploits to create informal restraints and bindings. Shame from eating one chocolate bar too many can be no different from being caught nude. And as the paramount rulers of this territory, Nightfall and Caroline can define such laws.”

“Uhh…”

The two bombarded Dia with theories about society or whatever until Nightfall and Caroline returned, but her head was already spinning by then. Thankfully, however, neither Risti nor Nero brought up anything about risqué paintings, but the alternative wasn’t that good either.

“What bad news do you bring for me?” Caroline asked, her voice quiet.

“…You’re already aware?” Risti asked, her eyes slightly narrowed.

“Sudden Inspiration,” Caroline replied. “I had a hunch that someone would bring me bad news today.”

“Okay.” Nero took a deep breath. “As you know, the great Dark descended last night. What quite a lot of us overlooked is the fact that a being of immense strength descended on Lostfon last night, at the same time.”

Caroline froze.

“In Nihila,” Nero added. “Yes, Lostfon County.”

“I see.” Caroline took a deep breath. “My father should be fine, at least. After all, there shouldn’t be much of a difference. He was already hosting a Dark Herald. Nothing much should change, all things considered.”

She paused. “But do tell me if there are any new developments. Thank you for telling me all this. It’s something I really needed to know.”

“You’re welcome,” Nero and Risti replied, and Dia had to hide a smile. Those two were rather alike, in Dia’s humble little opinion, and they made quite a nice pair…that was, of course, her thoughts only. Maybe the others would have their own ideas, and more importantly, these two fellows had their own target of fanatical devotion.

In fact, just about everyone from the Seekers of Life had a mad obsession. Dia was a bit proud of the fact that she was not obsessed with anything, and she looked down on the others with some superiority as she stroked her sword.

Extreme devotion to anything was quite creepy, in her opinion, but Dia knew that they wouldn’t get it if she told them about such a thing. The Dia-fanatics would just brush her off, Claud and Schwarz would probably just shrug, and Nero would definitely get offended.

It was best to zip up and feel superior from the sides.

Caroline let out a sigh. “I suppose I somewhat saw this day coming. Right now, the Nihila Sovereignty has been divided into three areas. The Moons control the entire Liquet Dukedom and from Cava County to Lacuna, while the Dark controls Quies Dukedom and Lostfon. It’s natural for the Dark to dispatch one of their strongest to Lostfon, which is the closest supply base to the warfront at Lacuna.”

She heaved a depressed sigh. “I’m sure my father will be fine, though. He’s on the stronger side right now, and with some luck, the frontlines would shift away from Lostfon.”

Risti nodded. “That’s probably what’s going to happen.”

“Don’t worry too much,” Nero added.

Dia felt compelled to add some words too, so she said, “Your family will be fine. Who knows? They might even have some talented personnel joining them because of this incident.”

Caroline laughed. “I can actually see that. Thanks to Lostfon, the Nihila Sovereignty is quite…profit-oriented. There’s probably a few talents already hugging my father’s thigh or something, hehe. I just hope my mother won’t accept every single talent…”

Nightfall held her hand. “They’ll be fine.”

“I know, Aran.” Caroline got up. “Thank you, everyone. I’ll take my leave first. I have a few things to do. Thank you for telling me all this news. I really appreciate it.”

She got up and left.

“…Will she be alright?” Risti muttered. “Sure did leave in a hurry, her.”

“She’s probably mobilising her own contacts and network. I’ve given her the authority to use my own contacts too; she’ll put that to better use than me when it comes to Nihila,” Nightfall replied. “I’m a greenhorn in that sovereignty.”

“Good choice,” Dia noted.

“I’m a genius, I know.” Count Nightfall sighed. “So, about this execution thing…”

“Yeah, I suppose we can go there now.” Nero paused. “You two…should bring some bags to vomit in. Newbies like you guys will definitely throw up from the smell and the visuals combined, and I would rather not dirty a perfectly serviceable warehouse.”

“Warehouse?” Count Nightfall zeroed in on that word. “How many of us are in Licencia right now?”

“There are, not including you two, eight of us in Grandis overall,” Nero replied. “We’re a bit understaffed, as you might have realised, which means that the seniors actually are forced to set up a support network. Fortunately, the enemy is equally understaffed, but they’re more than capable of stirring up shit for us to clean up.”

“Ooh, Nero used a crass word,” Risti noted.

“Yeah, well, it should have been your problem, but I just happen to be the highest ranked folder here, so it’s now my problem.” Nero sighed. “Well, whatever. Come on, let’s get this execution going.”

He got up. “Like I said, brace yourself and get some bags. It’s not a pleasant sight, but it’s a very good teaching material. I remember that I cried at night for a whole week after I saw…that thing. How about you, Risti?”

“Me? Hmm, it was a bit scary. Think I stayed up for a night after seeing that thing,” Risti muttered. “But it’s more of an insect phobia than anything else…I hope you two don’t develop a fear of insects after this.”

Dia didn’t like the sound of that.