The voice of the Queen of Arafell faded from outside the barrier, and a few moments later, the sounds of sobbing reached them where they stood.
The loud sound had been her futile attempt to break through the barrier, but that was impossible because it was being powered by the G.o.dnet.
Taking a step back, the Emperor turned his head in the direction from where the voice had come and sighed.
Turning around to Daneel, again, he said, "By your leave, may I go a.s.suage an old friend? She is right. Even though I was lost in my own mind, I could still hear. When she told me about everything going on in my beloved home, I was listening. That is how I know about you. We have a lot to talk about… But is it possible for us to do so in a few hours?"
Daneel couldn"t believe what he was hearing.
The man who had commanded the entire continent, once… Was now requesting to be given leave?
It all felt new to him, and in fact, this was the first time he was feeling so since those days so many years ago when he had first taken the throne of Lanthanor.
Seeing that the Emperor was waiting for an answer, he quickly nodded and said, "Of course. Just come back here when you"re done."
He said so on the outside, but in his mind, he spoke to system.
"Place a tracker on him using the G.o.dnet, discreetly. Monitor him closely - don"t let up even if he is speaking privately with the Queen. I cannot take any chances, not now, not with the war so close. Only tell me about what they speak in case it is relevant to the security of the continent - and if it seems as if he is not who he is supposed to be."
[Acknowledged. Tracker has been placed. G.o.dnet will be actively used to survey the target.]
This was what gave him relief as he opened a hole in the barrier which exposed the Queen, who could be seen collapsed in the air, while sobs still wracked her entire body.
A moment later, though, the Emperor stood in front of her.
Like Daneel had done to him, he raised Arafell by her shoulders, and hugged her fully.
This hug was stronger and fiercer, and as Daneel watched, the Queen was completely frozen with shock, at first, following which she melted into his arms and continued to cry, although the tears were of an entirely different sort, now.
A few seconds later, they teleported away. His eyes lingered on the spot for a few moments after they were gone, as his mind could still not let go of the image of the Emperor and his erstwhile follower in each other"s arms.
He knew the history between the two, but because he had his memories, he also knew of the one who had actually taken the heart of the Emperor right before they had prepared to go to their deaths.
That woman was dead now. What would the emperor do? What was he feeling, now? He had lamented on that day for not acting on his feelings in the case of the Empress of Torture, but was this also the case in the case of the Queen? Or was she in for a rude awakening?
Daneel knew that he would find out the answer sooner or later, and at the same time, he was also reminded of his own relations.h.i.+p with the two women he deeply cared for.
He might be called a greedy, perverted man back on earth, but he couldn"t help it: he was equally indebted to both, and even though his feelings were not tied to this debt, what he felt for them both rang equally true and pure in his heart.
"Em…ahem."
Hearing the reptilian clear her throat loudly, Daneel turned back to the three a.s.sa.s.sins who had been watching everything with bemused expressions on their faces.
They must have been briefed about the ident.i.ty of the one they had revived, so Daneel guessed that their bemus.e.m.e.nt must be because they found the notion of an Emperor kneeling strange.
"You may leave, for now. I have some things to take care of. We shall speak again soon."
The idea of waiting just to be dismissed like they were mere servants rankled all three a.s.sa.s.sins, and they made no effort to hide their feelings.
They disappeared right after, and finding himself alone, Daneel suddenly felt overwhelmed.
The Emperor was back! He was finally back!
Once, this would have seemed crazy to even imagine, but now that it had happened, he didn"t know how he was supposed to feel about it.
He now saw that he should have thought about the change in power structure that might have happened due to his survival, but by kneeling to him, the Emperor had shown, without doubt, that he would defer to Daneel in this age which was not his.
First, though, before he got ahead of itself, he had to be sure.
The moment the Emperor returned, he would carry out both the tests that the system had suggested.
But what was he supposed to do until then?
First, he checked once again for notifications that might have been put on hold during this adventure, and sure enough, he had received two.
One was from his sovereigns, and as he studied the proposal sent by them, he couldn"t help but smile from ear to ear.
They were growing into their positions, and Daneel felt happy seeing this. Right away, he sent them his approval and his wishes, before turning to the second one.
This one was definitely more startling, as something that he possessed which had not done anything for a long time… Had finally moved.
More specifically, according to the system, it had vibrated and even begun jumping up and down where he had placed it.
It was the object given to him by the Vault of the G.o.dbeasts, and as soon as he saw the message, an even wider grin came to his face, which remained there while he told the system to tell him the moment the Emperor returned, before teleporting away to go to that secret, priceless spot on the Endless Sea.
…
At the same time, in the strategy room of the Kingdom of Lanthanor.
Seven individuals had been avidly engrossed in a discussion, but suddenly, one of them raised her hand, seeing which the rest stopped.
After receiving the message, a small smile came to Eloise"s lips, before she said, "We have the go-ahead. Let us finish the plan… And rid Angaria of the last traitors still roaming free on its soil."