Teacher by day, Farmer by passion
Chapter 294 - 294: Fairy Pavilion [3]

"Right… so, what was the reason for your visit again?" Luna asked, clearly eager to steer the conversation elsewhere.

Ace, equally grateful for the topic shift, placed the comb carefully back on the table and leaned forward. "I need information. About the war."

Luna let out a small sigh, her lips tugging into a faint frown.

"This is exactly why I told you to pay more attention to the outside world," she said, disappointment threading through her voice. "Looks like you didn't exactly listen."

Ace rubbed his temple. "I've been… busy."

She rolled her eyes. "Fine. Then let me start with something quite simple and well known. You've heard of The Great Disappearance, right?"

Ace blinked. "The what now?"

"The Great Disappearance," Luna repeated, crossing her arms. "It happened five years ago? You don't remember? The Tharz Kingdom was in the middle of a civil war, falling apart from the inside. The nobles of the Falmuth Kingdom saw it as their golden opportunity and so they launched a massive invasion."

Ace nodded slowly. "Oh.. that, I think… I heard something about that. A big force crossing the sea or something?"

Luna stared at him. "A million troops, Ace. It was a million."

Ace placed his teacup down, now fully focused.

"And not one of them made it across the Dark Valley Sea," she said, her voice dropping slightly, as if still chilled by the memory.

"No survivors?" he asked.

"None. There were no signs of conflict nor any wreckage. But you also couldn't find any dead bodies. Just…" She raised a hand and let her fingers spread wide. "Gone. Like smoke in the wind."

She leaned back, eyes narrowing.

"It was an entire army, capable to decapitating a kingdom, erased in a single day by unknown means."

Ace remained quiet for a long moment. Then, with a small exhale, he muttered, "...Yeah. That doesn't sound natural."

"Of course it's not natural," Luna snapped.

"And then, just recently, there was a massive swarm of locusts attacking the borders," Luna said, lifting the ornate comb and sliding it into her silver hair with practiced grace.

She gave her head a light toss, as she continues,"At first, everyone thought it was just a natural disaster and it'll pass in time."

Then, without warning, she added with a sly smile, "Queen Arlen is actually quite beautiful. Would you like to meet her?"

Ace blinked. "Where did that come from?"

Luna laughed, amused by his reaction. "I'm joking, I'm joking. She is a beauty, but not someone you can casually meet."

Ace shook his head with a faint smile. "Right…"

"Anyway, where was I? Ah, yes, the locusts." Her smile faded, replaced by a more somber tone. "At first, we thought it was just a natural disaster. But something about this felt… wrong, very wrong. And then the queen said something that still makes my skin crawl."

Her voice dropped, taking on a ghostly, serious quality.

"Those locusts… they were the soldiers. Someone had refined them all and turned them into blood puppets in locust forms."

Ace narrowed his eyes. "How would she even know that?"

"Oh, Ace…" Luna gave him a knowing look, fingers brushing the rim of her teacup.

"Queen Arlen isn't queen without reason. She has her ways. She also made someone perform a soul search on a few of the locusts. And they found human memories, soldiers' memories."

Ace's expression hardened. He sat still, absorbing every word, the playful air around them now gone.

"The current war is the fallout after a failed peace talk with Tharz Kingdom," Luna continued.

Ace frowned. "That's strange… I thought Soho would've preferred peace."

Luna turned to him slowly, one brow arched. "Soho Verilith? You mean the queen who abdicated the throne and ran away?"

"She did?" Ace asked, eyes wide in disbelief.

His confusion was so genuine that Luna had to pause, then sighed. "Good heavens, Ace. What cave have you been cultivating in?"

Instead of replying, he asked another question.

"Then… is the crown prince, Giyo, the current king?" Ace asked, his voice calm but his mind racing.

He remembered what happened that day. Giyo had staged a coup and killed off his parents, his other siblings were also killed by him in pursuit of the throne.

Luna blinked, surprised. "Huh? No. Wasn't the crown prince declared dead?"

She leaned in a little, lowering her voice playfully. "Rumor has it, even a Bifeng was spotted. Can you imagine? A divine beast in that backwater country?"

She let out a soft giggle, amused by her own exaggeration.

Ace didn't laugh as he knew what was true and what wasn't.

"…So, who's the current king?"

"The second prince, apparently," Luna said, rolling her eyes. "Lucky bastard. Story goes he was humiliated that day and left in a fit. That little tantrum may have saved his life."

She shrugged. "I don't know how much of it is true. You know how royal gossip goes."

Ace stood frozen.

His mind flashed back, drunken voices in a tavern, slurring gossip over cheap wine, whispering of a prince's disgrace and survival… right before the royal guard silenced them permanently.

So the story was true.

"You look like you've got something to add," Luna said, narrowing her eyes with a smirk.

Ace leaned back slightly. "What exactly happened to Soho Verilith?"

Luna tilted her head, curiosity sparking in her eyes. "Why? Is she one of your wives?"

Ace choked on his own breath. "What do you mean wives? I'm clearly not married!"

Luna raised an eyebrow, her mind flicking to the bubble-comb on her hair. "Right… I forgot about that," she said with a knowing nod.

Ace winced slightly. That damn comb again.

Luna continued casually, as if the thought had never left her. "Well, as for Soho Verilith, after the royal massacre, she spent the first year obsessively looking for her brother.

Everyone thought she'd gone mad. But then… they actually found the second prince alive. And suddenly, all those who mocked her looked like fools."

She picked up a teacup and sipped. "Then, just like that, she handed the throne to him and disappeared. No drama.."

Ace let out a quiet laugh. "That's very Soho-like of her."

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