Against the Shadows|| A Zodiac Story

Ten

"What did you find?" Scorpio asks the raven standing by the window of his study as soon as he enters the room and closes the door behind him.

"Nothing," Libra replied nonchalantly gaining a frown from her king.

"Nothing?" He repeats with a raised brow as he walks further into the room and sits on the chair behind his desk.

"Nothing. There is low security. No weapons, spells, potions, traps— No anything." The raven shrugged as she pushed herself off the wall and started pacing back and forth. "It's completely clean, your majesty."

Scorpio narrows his eyes leaning back in his seat and seemingly in a deep thought. 

"But there is something. I am not sure if they are connected to the princess but we found a man from the same kingdom entered the gates a day after the princess." She stopped pacing and turned to the king, who only raised a brow at her.

"It wasn't odd at first but he's been snooping around." She added, getting the attention of Scorpio. He tilted his head a little, urging her to continue.

"A night guard saw him by the archer towers last night. And this morning, he was seen close by one of the arsenals. Should we bring him in?" Libra turns silent as the king thinks about the new information she has given him. After a moment, he sighed and stood up from his seat, walking towards the window.

"No." He paused, turning to look at the raven. "Tail him." Libra looked at the king with an unreadable gaze for a moment before lowering her head.

"Understood, Your Majesty." Scorpio gave her a curt nod signaling her dismissal before she quickly moved to the open window, jumping down the 4th floor with ease and leaving the castle grounds in a breeze.

'Now let's find him.' Libra thinks to herself as she steps out of the castle gates, only to pause for a moment when she feels a presence nearby.

'Well, that was easy.' She hid her presence instinctively and observed the man from a distance as he walked awkwardly by the castle gates.

'Is he... trying to act casually while walking suspiciously close to the castle? Is he an idiot—' Libra's thoughts were cut short when the man finally turned around and walked away from the castle gates, heading towards the town. Libra steps out of her hiding spot and follows him from a distance.

The town is busier than usual with the betrothal of the king of Calaestia and the first princess of Novael and Libra has to follow the man in the crowded streets full of locals and foreigners.

"Come on and join the Duelers Supreme Bowl!" She stops in front of a man shouting around a crowd of people, cursing under her breath after realizing that she lost him. "Are you ready to be crowned the strongest of all Calaestia?! Join now and earn a hefty price of fifty thousand gold—"

"Excuse me, miss..." Libra sharply turned her head after hearing a man's voice behind him. Her eyes widened upon seeing the man's face. "Do you know what that whole thing is about?" He points at the commotion.

'He was able to sneak up behind me.' She thought to herself, eyeing him critically from head to toe. 'This man is no ordinary. Maybe, I was wrong to judge him poorly. I have to keep a very close eye on him—'

"Umm... Miss?" He becomes flustered, shifting nervously on his feet from Libra's intense gaze. His face is slightly pink from noticing that Libra was checking him out. She blinked, seemingly brought back to reality by his voice, and cleared her throat, not noticing his curious gaze on her.

"Sorry. What were you saying?" She frowns a little, tearing her gaze away from him and acting casually.

"The Dwellers Supreme Bowl? Do you know it?" He looks away from Libra and turns to the man in front instead.

"It's Duelers Supreme Bowl." She corrected as she looked back at him. "It's an event in line with the celebration of the whole royal marriage thing." Libra shrugged as she turned back at the crowd, eyeing him closely in her peripheral vision.

"I see..." He nods as he slowly turns his head again to her direction and looks down at her for a moment before catching himself and quickly looking away. "Are there any requirements for joining?" He asks hoping that she didn't notice his gaze.

"Not really. Anyone can join." She replied nonchalantly making him sigh in relief at her reaction, thinking that she didn't notice. "You just need to pay the fee," Libra added and he nodded.

'He is looking at me suspiciously. Does he know that I was following him?' The raven's jaw tightened at the thought of failing her spying mission and moved a little further from him.

"The champion will also have one hell of a price of invitation to the royal banquet of the welcoming of the princess Pisces of Novael kingdom in the castle! Join now and sign up!" Libra watched as the man's ears perked up at what the man in front of them just shouted, her gaze narrowing as he tried to figure him out.

"Thank you, miss..." He turned back to Libra and held the word long, looking at her expectantly.

'He is asking for my name. This man is dangerous. I have to tail him from a long distance.' Libra thought to herself as she looked at him in her peripheral vision. "Welcome." Libra only replied in a blank tone before walking away, leaving the man in a confused and disappointed state. 

He sighed as he looked at the registration area behind the man shouting where some muscular men and men with weapons were already signing up for. He glanced at where Libra disappeared before walking toward the registration area and paying his entry fee.

"Name?" The woman behind the desk asks as she takes his payment.

"Sagittarius."

Unbeknownst to him, he was being watched from the shadows as he walked away from the registration booths.

After the crowd had dispersed around the shouting man, she pulled her hood up over her head and put on the mask that was hanging on her waistband, looking at her reflection on a glass window, dressed in all black. Nodding in satisfaction, she walks up to the registration area, where they are starting to pack up, and hands the woman a bag of money.

Before the woman behind the desk could even say another word, she spoke up.

"Libra."

~xxx~

WC: 1072

We have a new chapter! You all are pressuring me to make more of this story so, I am giving in to the cyberbullying and made another new chapter.

JK. You are all amazing for supporting me and I am inspired to make more lore for this story so enjoy!!

Stay tuned for the next happenings in Against the Shadows. Cya~