Quietly, the Kaxarene followed Nox's lead deeper into the farmhouse, trying to find the mysterious scent that caught Nox's attention outside. Nox's presence was proving to be incredibly useful to Varen, allowing him to walk past the oblivious Kaxarenes unseen, thanks to Nox's incredible ability.
Varen was almost back to normal now thanks to his abilities and Nox's contribution. His body was only capable of healing itself if he was on the brink of death, a small nuisance that he had to endure for being one of the strongest Kaxarenes to ever live. It wasn't hard to convince the shadow creature to do what it was told, which made the entire process smoother and less painful for Varen.
"This way." Nox said before it turned left into a narrow corridor.
"It smells horrible in here." Varen commented as a strong whiff of something rotting unfurled from behind the door he opened.
The room was small but was filled with the same mysterious baggage that they had seen the two Kaxarenes carry into the farmhouse. The horrid smell only got worse as they got closer to the bag and Varen was almost certain that these were all corpses.
'Don't tell me they're using dead humans as fertilizers.' He thought, hoping that it wasn't the case.
Unfortunately for him however, what he was about to witness was something much worse.
"This appears to be a hidden morgue." Nox stated before it went in to investigate further. "It smells exactly like those flowers outside the farm."
"... What?" Varen questioned the shadow's words, not yet comprehending what it meant.
Nox got closer to investigate and Varen followed suit, opening up on of the bags to see what was inside.
"This... This is a Kaxarene." He said, recognizing the dent on the corpse's left shoulder where their element jewel was meant to be, but it was missing.
"It can't be..." He tried to deny it, searching some other corpse hoping that it was anything but a Kaxarene but it shared the same fate as the first body.
Again and again, he searched almost half of the room, and it was the same result for all of them. His people were being extorted of their most precious parts right under his nose.
"Varen..." Nox called out to the stunned Kaxarene but he could not hear anything.
"Who's there?!" A man's voice yelled from the door, signifying that they've been caught by the workers there.
"It-It can't be..." The man stuttered in fear and surprise when he realized who Varen was. "Your-Your Majesty!"
He instantly went on his knees to show his respect and the two others followed immediately, too scared to look at the menacing emperor in the eyes.
"Do not think that your sentences will be lighter just because of the fact that you're a Kaxarene." He warned with a deathly temper. "Are you the ones behind this all?"
"N-No, Your Majesty, we swear that it's untrue!" The first man strongly denied his claims, shaking his head passionately. "We-We just did what we were told to do by the higher-ups."
"... All those Kaxarenes were missing their jewels." He said far too calmly despite the fury dancing in his crimson red eyes. "Tell me, were you the ones responsible for ripping it out of their bodies?"
"I... I..." The Kaxarene stammered, unable to answer Varen's question.
"Forgive us for our sins, Your Majesty!" One of the Kaxarenes at the back began to beg, until all three of them were singing it. Oddly enough however, their begging only made Varen angrier, the little mercy that he wanted to show dissipating with each chant.
"Alright then." He finally spoke up, having enough of all the pathetic begging and pleas. "I'll spare you, but under one condition."
"Tell me who your leader is." His eyes glowed demonically as he said that. "And don't you even dare try to lie to me, or you'll meet a fate far worse than death."
=================
"You look horrible, Your Majesty." Zeya's voice brought Varen's exhausted mind back to reality as he and Nox finally made it back to their little cottage.
Zeya's voice was unusually cheery despite the dire situation. Fresh crimson blood covered her entire body from the liquid dripping from the corners of her raised mouth to her grimy, red hands.
"Likewise, to you my dear." Varen seemed slightly concerned but he decided against sharing his thoughts when he realized how, pleased she looked. "You seem like you had some fun while I was away."
"Calling it fun would be ridiculous." She said with a humorless laugh, remembering how horrific the entire day was because of that puny man. "That human, Phantom, tried to trick me into sleeping with him thinking I was a human."
"So, I ate him."
Roseabelles were prone to being intoxicated with unexplained joy when they feast after a long period of abstinence. This was more common in Roseabelles like Zeya, who only feed to regain some of their depleted strength instead of survival like her brother. This explained why she was being far friendlier than her normal self. However, she was still sober enough to have some self-awareness and realize that Varen was not his usual self.
"Varen?" Zeya's voice dragged in his ear as his vision began to blur.
"Hey... are you actually alright?" Zeya's demeanor slightly changed when Zeya didn't retort back like she usually would. She crouched next to him as the shadow creatures and Nox loomed over Varen, clearly curious. "Come on, open your eyes."
"I'm fine." He managed a stained whisper while Zeya tried to look into his eyes, forcing him to look at her in order to do so.
"Your eyes wouldn't be this unfocused if you were just tired." She said, clearly not buying his words. She held onto him as a means of supporting his body because Varen had clearly gotten weaker.
"Looks like you got poisoned pretty badly." She stated, noticing that his magic has depleted a lot more than she had thought.
He had a high fever that didn't seem like it was going down anytime soon. She knew that there wasn't much she could do to help Varen. Kaxarenes were creatures that didn't adapt well to sudden changes in their environments, nor do they take well to any medication or antidotes. It got worse the stronger the Kaxarenes get. They were hardy creatures but were incredibly susceptible to natural poison like these flowers.
"Come on, Nox." She ordered the shadow, who immediately got up at the mention of its name. "Let's get him in here before he passes out."
=================
"Did you manage to find out who was behind this entire operation?" Zeya tried to start up a conversation, unable to contain her curiosity. The two were inside the main bedroom with Zeya helping Varen get seated on the bed while Nox was in the living room, fast asleep.
"Unfortunately..." He answered, his face darkened with anger. "Our suspicions were right all along."
"They were extracting the gems from dead Kaxarenes to enhance the flower's yield." He muttered, still horrified by the shocking discovery. "They had the bodies piled up in a room like it was some kind of butcher house."
'All of this happened right under my nose...'
"It'll be difficult to travel when you're this ill, so I suggest we leave once you're better. In the meantime, I can have Nox travel back by itself to inform the others while you recover." She said as she got ready to leave the room, hoping to give him some space.
"Wait." Varen clasped onto her hand, his face turning into a grimace from the pain he was experiencing. "Could you just... stay here with me for a while?"
It took him a moment to realize how desperate he sounded before he immediately tried to rephrase everything he had just said.
"W-What I meant was... the contract!" He stuttered out of nervousness, as Zeya remained silent. "The contract between us can help me heal better so just... stay with me."
"... Alright." She surprisingly accepted his request, sitting down on the other side of the bed with her hand still in his. "But do anything I dislike and I'm leaving."
"... Are you doing this out of pity for me, Zeya?"
"Why should I pity you?" Her voice was cold when she said that, but she remained still.
"I'm merely giving back the favor." She continued, her back facing him as she spoke. "You were there the entire time I was in pain, were you not?"
"And even though I hate you beyond belief, I believe a favor should always be repaid, no matter who it is."
"You haven't changed one bit." Varen whispered to himself, her words sitting with him longer than he wanted it to.
As if to test how far he could go with her mercy, Varen brought her hand closer to his face and once again, Zeya did not resist. She was well aware of everything that he was doing and hated every single moment of it, but she knew how scary it was like to be sick all alone, especially after you witness something as harrowing.
As much as she wished she could just ignore it, Zeya had grown up with Varen her entire childhood, and she knew that look on his face far too well to just leave him alone. Her father always used to damn her for this and for once in that moment, she couldn't have agreed more with him.
"You're going to devour my entire arm at this point." She said, clearly annoyed by Varen's unreasonable clinginess. "Has the poison finally gotten into that dense head of yours? If that's the case, you should just die instead doing all this unnecessary bullshit-"
"I really wish you would just shut up, my love." He spoke between heavy breaths, his grip around her hand tightening as a wave of pain pierced through his entire body. "Let me heal in peace, please."
"At least loosen your grip, will you?" She turned uncomfortably until she finally faced the emperor in order to adjust her arm so that it wasn't crooked.
"You should eat humans more often, Zeya." He stated, nuzzling his head onto the softness of her palm. "You're much more likeable when you're nicer to me."
For once, there was no bickering or ill intentions between the two despite their close proximity and perhaps this was the start of the belief that maybe, the chances of reconciliation were more plausible that not despite the horrible things that had happened in the past...