NEOMA sipped her tea while observing Lady Sera Wisteria who was sitting on the couch across from her.

Right now, only the two of them were in the drawing room.

She initially wanted to talk to the Mages that Lady Sera Wisteria brought along. But in the end, she talked to the boss first.

"Your Royal Highness, my people and I aren't aware that there's a person trapped inside the Mother Hisa Tree," Lady Sera Wisteria said in a calm voice. Even her appearance showed that she wasn't bothered, despite being in a predicament. This showed the elegance and the audacity of a true noblewoman. "I swear that on my honor as a Wisteria."

Neoma put the teacup on the table quietly before she spoke. "Lady Wisteria, I am asking because I lack the knowledge regarding the origins of the Hisa Tree," she said carefully. "I've read in the History books that the Hisa Tree seeds were a gift by an unknown family to the Royal Family back when the empire was just built." She paused before she continued. "Was it, perhaps, the Avery Clan that gave the Hisa Tree seeds to the Royal Family?"

"They named the Hisa Trees after the family that created it, Your Royal Highness."

"Oh," she said, surprised. "There used to be a Hisa Clan in the empire?"

"Yes, but they eventually disappeared. The only proof of their existence that remained is the Hisa Tree they left behind," the older noblewoman said. "The Royal Family had a complete monopoly of the Hisa Tree and the magical ointments produced from it until the time of the late Emperor Nicholas– Your Royal Highness's paternal grandfather."

Ah, so it was during her crazy grandfather's reign that the Royal Family began sharing the Hisa Tree with the Wisterias and the Hammocks.

"Back when the late Emperor Nicholas was still a Crown Prince, he worked with a clan known as the Jeweled-heart Mages."

"The Avery clan."

"That's correct, Your Royal Highness," the older noblewoman confirmed. "The then-Crown Prince Nicholas discovered that the magic power of the Avery Clan could make the Hisa Trees bear jewel flowers. But the price is too high."

"The heart of a Mage from the Avery Clan?"

Lady Sera Wisteria nodded solemnly. "The Avery Clan cut off their ties with the then-Crown Prince Nicholas. But as soon as the Crown Prince became Emperor Nicholas, he ordered his men to capture the entire Avery Clan."

She clenched her hands because she already knew what her crazy grandfather might have done after that.

"The late Emperor Nicholas ripped the hearts out of the entire Avery Clan," Lady Sera Wisteria said. "He crushed their jeweled hearts and used it as a fertilizer for the branches of the Hisa Tree they planted in order to create artificial Hisa Trees."

She thumped her hand against her chest out of frustration. Her heart was heavy while listening to the atrocities committed by her crazy grandfather.

[No wonder Papa Boss had usurped the throne from the previous emperor.]

"How about the Mother Hisa Tree that they planted roughly fifty years ago?" she asked the older noblewoman. "There's a human trapped in there. How do you think that kind of thing happened, Lady Wisteria?"

Lady Sera Wisteria fell silent for a while before she spoke again. "This is just a rumor that I heard when Father entrusted me with the Hisa business in the past," she said carefully. "According to my father, the prodigy from the Avery Clan rejected the late Emperor Nicholas and turned down his offer to be his Royal Concubine. Father thought it was the main reason the late emperor threw a fit and ordered the extinction of the Avery Clan."

"What a scumbag."

The older noblewoman just sipped her tea as if she was pretending that she didn't hear the Crown Prince call the previous emperor a scumbag.

"Lady Wisteria, do you know anything about that prodigy from the Avery Clan?"

"All I heard is this prodigy is supposed to be the first Archmage produced by the Avery Clan," Lady Sera Wisteria said. "But the interesting thing I've heard is the day this prodigy disappeared, the late emperor personally planted the Mother Hisa Tree in the Golden Field. People in the past talked about it because it was the first time the late emperor dirtied his hand just to plant a tree."

[Why do I have a feeling that the prodigy we're talking about is Paige Avery?]

"Lady Wisteria, are you implying that my crazy grandfather abducted the prodigy and somehow trapped her inside the Hisa Tree that he planted?"

"That's my hunch, Your Royal Highness," the older noblewoman said. "Is it a bit of a stretch to think that way?"

"Nah, it's something that my crazy grandfather could do."

"I see."

"I saved the Mage trapped inside the Hisa Tree," she confessed to the older noblewoman. "She didn't know that she's been trapped inside for over fifty years. I'll ask her about what happened to her once she gets enough rest."

Lady Sera Wisteria looked surprised, but she kept her expression calm again. "Are you going to use the Mages's existence to expose the crime of the Wisterias, Your Royal Highness?"

"Maybe, maybe not," she said with a shrug. "But Lady Wisteria, tell me. How do you harvest the jewels inside the Hisa Tree? What do your Mages do to harvest them?"

"First, the Mages collect the emerald leaves," the older noblewoman said. "Then we chop up the tree, and the Mages would use a device to suck out the gems inside the trunk. The artificial Hisa Trees also produce mid-tier gems. To be honest, this is the first time I'm supposed to harvest a Mother Hisa Tree since they only bloom every fifty years."

"What did your predecessors do with the jewels they harvested before?"

"According to the ledgers that our family keep, the number of jewels we harvested from the Mother Hisa Tree in the past is enough to last for at least three decades," she explained. "The ladies in the family turn those jewels into ornaments and weapons. After all, the jewels produced by the Mother Hisa Tree aren't only beautiful– they're also useful since we could infuse Mana in them."

"Then what do you do after you create ornaments and weapons from those jewels?"

"We sell them to a Merchant Guild that our family has been working with for a long time now."

Merchant Guild, huh?

[I want to gobble it up.]

"What happens after you sell those to the Merchant Guild?"

"We don't care about that anymore," Lady Sera Wisteria said. "We only produce the ornaments and the weapons, then sell the products to them. The distribution is the Merchant Guild's sole responsibility."

She smirked at that lame excuse. "You do that because you don't want the Royal Family that you embezzle the jewels you harvest from the Hisa Trees, right?"

The older noblewoman just sipped her tea.

"Silence means yes" perfectly applied to that situation.

"Find out where the Merchant Guild sells the ornaments and weapons they get from the Wisterias," she ordered Lady Sera Wisteria. "While you're at it, send me all the information regarding that Merchant Guild as soon as we return to the Royal Capital."

Lady Sera Wisteria fell silent for a while before she opened her mouth again. "The ladies of the Wisteria family will take full responsibility."

"Why only the ladies?"

"Because everything began during my great, great aunt's time," the older noblewoman said. "She was an old maid. As Your Royal Highness know, the ladies in the empire who refuse to get married get kicked out by their family once their brothers or other male relatives inherit their fathers' noble title."

She sipped her tea, suddenly feeling guilty because of the oppressive laws towards women that her ancestors created.

"My great, great aunt thought that the ladies of our family must be self-reliant financially," Lady Sera Wisteria. "But since the ladies in the empire could only own businesses related to beauty and fashion, we have no choice but to be heavily involved with the Hisa Tree business."

Ah, her conscience pricked her.

To be honest, she didn't care that the Royal Family had been robbed off for years. She just hated the idea that the thieves were rich nobles. Had the thieves been the poor, she would have turned a blind eye to it.historical

"I'll inform my father about this first," Neoma said, then she stood up. "We will return to the Royal Capital first thing in the morning."

***

"DION, once we return to the Royal Capital, I want you to contact the church and send some priests at the Golden Field," Neoma said while climbing down to the basement prison. Dion was walking in front of her, while Lewis was walking behind her. "I heard from Lady Wisteria that they planted the Hisa Trees in the Golden Field by sacrificing the lives of the Avery Clan members. I want the priests to bless the Hisa Trees."

Dion turned to her and nodded politely. "I understand, Your Royal Highness."

"Thanks," she said. "We will pay respects to the Avery Clan before we leave."

After saying that, they finally arrived at the prison cell where Xion was locked up.

Jeanne Audley, who was guarding the prison, bowed politely at her.

"Good job, Jeanne," she said, then she turned to the prison cell.

Then she got shocked.

Xion, who was sitting on the floor with his hands tied behind him and his ankles chained to the wall, was bleeding from head to toe. The assassin was conscious though. He was even smiling brightly at her.

[Did Jeanne torture him?]

"The assassin tried to escape earlier, so I subdued him, Your Royal Highness," Jeanne said as if she was shy.

But it didn't look like the female Paladin simply "subdued" the assassin.

[She definitely tortured him.]

These Paladins were quite scary, huh?

"Crown Prince, did you kill that monster?" Xion asked while smirking. "I can't feel his presence anymore."

"It's a god and not a monster, dummy."

The assassin looked shocked by her revelation. "What kind of god continues to punish an entire clan up to the newest generation that has nothing to do with the sin of their ancestors? Even my grandfather doesn't remember what kind of sin our ancestors have committed against that damned monster."

"He said he lost someone precious because of your ancestors," she said casually. "Gods live for a long time, and their sense of time differs from the rest of us. Perhaps what happened a few centuries ago only felt like yesterday to him. Thus, his grudge remained strong all these years."

"Are you on his side?" he snarled at her. "We suffered for years because of his curse. Do you know how awful it is to be forgotten by everyone we hold dear–"

"Xion," she said, cutting her off. "I will never forget you or your face." She gave him a thumbs up. "Your visual is totally my style."

She heard Dion, Jeanne, and Lewis let out a deep sigh behind her.

Of course, she ignored the three.

"Is that supposed to make me feel better?" Xion asked with furrowed brows. Then, a moment later, he burst out in laughter. "Well, it worked."

"The curse of your clan has been lifted already," she informed the assassin. "That means your family's business is in danger now that people won't forget about you anymore."

The assassin looked shocked, as if he just realized it now.

"Plus, you have to pay the price for attempting to kill me," she said casually. "I'm the Crown Prince, after all."

"You can't kill me."

"What's with the confidence?"

Xion smirked haughtily. "Your Royal Highness, the damned monster told me an interesting fact before he disappeared," he said, then he looked at her from head to toe. "You're a girl, aren't you?"

Suddenly, Jeanne, Dion, and Lewis were in front of her as if they were ready to kill the assassin.

[Omo.]

"You can't kill me," Xion repeated, more confidently this time. "Using my family's special communication device, I prepared a message telling them that the Crown Prince is a girl pretending to be a boy. If I die, that message will be sent automatically to every single member of my guild."

"Dion, Jeanne, Lewis, step aside," she ordered sternly.

The three instantly moved out of her way.

"Do you think that kind of threat will work on me?" she asked, then she grabbed the bars of the prison cell that separated her from the assassin. "The fact that you didn't expose my secret to your family yet only means one thing. You want to negotiate with me, don't you?"

"Wow, the Crown Princess is smart."

[What a douche.]

"I only have one wish, Crown Princess."

She raised an eyebrow at her. "Alright, I'll at least listen to it."

"My wish is simple," Xion said, then he smiled brightly at her. "Let me be one of your people working for you, our dear Crown Prince."

To be honest, she needed an assassin for her dream team.

Since Redgrave assured her that Xion, despite being an assassin for a profession, hadn't killed innocent people, she was thinking of hiring him to fill the spot.

But Xion still attempted to kill her.

[I need information– who wants to kill the Crown Prince of the empire? Xion is still useful, so it will be a shame to kill him right away.]

But she didn't want it to be easy for Xion to join her dream team.

"You want to be my son?" she asked Xion.

The assassin looked confused. "Excuse me?"

She jabbed a thumb in Lewis' direction. "This is Lewis, my personal knight. He's also my oldest son," she said. Lewis wasn't the oldest among her children, but he was still the first child that she adopted. But since Lewis had lived as a fox for a thousand year before he became a human, maybe she could count it as him being the oldest. "This time, I'll let my children decide whether they want you to be their new sibling or not."

"No," Lewis said promptly. "Don't need that."

"Hey," Xion complained to Lewis right away. "I'm not a thing, and I'm older than you!"

Neoma smiled in satisfaction. [This is going to be fun.]

Jasper Hawthorne's information guild.

The Wisteria Ladies' merchant guild.

And now, Xion's assassin guild.

[I will gobble them up.]

***

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***

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