Eos & Selene

As Lina, Skayla, and Leonora climbed the marble staircase to meet Zenos, ominous clouds gathered over the Royal Castle, where the remaining members of the Royal Family had begun a secret meeting. A sudden downpour swept across the capital, and thunder cracked just as Edgar hit the throne room’s blue carpet with a loud THUD!, clutching his stomach after his mother struck him several times.

“You’ve gotten fatter, haven’t you?” Seraphine commented. “How dare you call yourself a ‘Captain’ when the only thing you’ve accomplished is turning yourself into a pig?”

Seraphine turned away and climbed the marble dais to her throne, then looked down at Edgar with complete disappointment.

“MOTHER! WHAT DID I DO TO DESERVE THIS?!” Edgar shouted. “I already accepted my punishment for burning down the apothecary! My personal assets are to be forfeited and sold to compensate Skayla for her losses. On top of that, my Order must take over all the duties previously handled by the Order of Scarlet!”

“I struck you because that was your punishment from me as your mother,” Seraphine answered. “The loss of your assets and your Order’s new duties were punishments handed down by me as your Queen. Don’t confuse the two, son.”

Seraphine leaned back in her throne and noticed the rage still burning in Edgar’s eyes.

“Still not happy with the answer I gave you?” she asked with a smirk. “Are you going to demand that I be executed as well for striking a member of the Royal Family?”

She dragged her thumb across her throat before bursting into laughter.

Edgar bit his swollen lip and forced himself to remain silent out of fear of angering his mother even further. Images of Lina and Skayla appeared in his mind as he began devising plans for revenge.

“You truly are a fool, my son,” Ernest said, resting his cheek in his right hand.

“What is that supposed to mean?” Edgar shouted, his swollen lip causing him to speak with a slight lisp.

“Instead of acknowledging your mistakes, you’re allowing your rage to fill your mind with thoughts of revenge,” Ernest said. “Anything you attempt against those two will surely bring about the end of the Royal Family.”

“What do you mean by the end of the Royal Family?” Edgar asked.

“Do you know what the commoners call Lina and Skayla?” Ernest asked.

“N-No,” Edgar answered.

“The Twin Goddesses: Eos and Selene,” Edwin answered as thunder roared outside the castle.

“Goddesses?” Edgar’s eye twitched. “HOW CAN A PAIR OF COMMONERS BE CALLED GODDESSES?! GODDESSES ARE SACRED BEINGS WORSHIPPED BY THE TEMPLE, YET THE COMMONERS DARE ADDRESS THOSE TWO THAT WAY?! ARE THEY BLIND?!”

Edwin let out a deep sigh and slowly approached his little brother.

“Do you know what a Goddess is supposed to represent?” Edwin asked.

Edgar shook his head.

“Salvation,” Edwin answered. “Unlike the Goddess, who ignores the commoners’ prayers when they need her most, Skayla and Lina have brought them salvation.”

The room fell silent, leaving only the roar of thunder outside.

“THAT’S NOT POSSIBLE!” Edgar shouted. “What do you mean they brought salvation to the commoners?”

“What do you think happens when you become ill or injured?” Edwin asked.

“W-Well, you can go to the Temple,” Edgar answered with the first thing that came to mind.

“Ah, yes... the Temple,” Edwin chuckled. “I’m sure you don’t know this, but the Temple demands hefty donations before providing treatment. Commoners who cannot afford those donations are turned away at the door. Now, I must ask you, little brother: how much does a visit cost at that fancy clinic you sponsored on the main road?”

“I-I d-don’t know,” Edgar admitted.

Edgar had never cared about boring business details. The clinic’s owners had earned his sponsorship by giving him several expensive gifts in exchange for operating under his name.

“A single visit can cost at least six silver coins,” Edwin revealed as Hendrick handed Edgar a cost report. “That price doesn’t include the medication needed to treat the illness.”

Edgar stared blankly at the report, unable to believe how expensive a single visit could become.

“That is exactly why the commoners worship Skayla,” Edwin continued. “She has never refused to help someone simply because they couldn’t afford the medicine. She would even give it away for free if it meant helping them recover.”

Edgar remained silent, unable to understand how Skayla had kept her shop open while giving away so much medicine.

“Don’t forget Lina’s role in all of this,” Edwin added. “Because Skayla’s shop was in the Slum District, Lina spent much of her free time there. Those unexpected visits, combined with the regular patrols she ordered the Order of Scarlet to conduct, kept criminals from gathering in the area. Crime fell dramatically compared to seven years ago, before the Order was created.”

Hendrick handed Edgar another report containing the district’s crime statistics.

“Whenever Lina noticed several people showing the same unusual symptoms during her patrols, she alerted Skayla,” Edwin continued. “For the past four years, their quick actions have prevented dangerous illnesses from spreading throughout the Kingdom.”

Hendrick placed a thick stack of reports into Edgar’s hands.

“What is this?” Edgar asked, skimming through pages filled with medical terms he did not understand.

“Seven outbreaks,” Edwin proudly announced. “Lina and Skayla caught each one before it could become an epidemic. The same illnesses killed thousands in neighboring kingdoms, yet Eldoria did not lose a single person.”

“THAT’S IMPOSSIBLE!” Edgar shouted, throwing the reports onto the floor. “IT WAS ALL JUST A COINCIDENCE!”

“If it had only happened once or twice, I might agree,” Edwin conceded. “But seven times is far too many to dismiss as coincidence. It’s more like a miracle—as if the Goddess herself had descended upon the Kingdom to save us.”

Edgar fell silent, beginning to understand why the commoners called them the Twin Goddesses.

“Let’s not forget the time Lina saved the Kingdom from a rebellion,” Ernest added. “A few years ago, floods and a severe heatwave ruined our harvests. Food grew scarce, and she began seeing more and more people in the Slum District showing signs of malnutrition.”

Edgar slowly turned toward his father.

“She immediately gathered the Order of Scarlet and went hunting,” Ernest continued. “She didn’t wait for permission or reinforcements.”

“Do you remember that strange festival where we served free meat to everyone?” Seraphine asked.

“Yes,” Edgar answered, beginning to drool at the memory of the feast. “What about it?”

“The meat came from an SS-Rank Named Monster called the King Goliath Tusk Boar,” Seraphine said. “It was slightly larger than this castle, and with fewer than one hundred knights, brought it down without a single casualty.”

Edgar froze. Even with nearly five hundred knights, his Order had struggled to hunt a single S-Rank Earth Dragon.

Seraphine took a parchment scroll from her item box, its red ribbon secured by a wax seal bearing the Royal Family’s crest.

“As you know, every Order Captain has one of these for sending life-or-death messages directly to us,” she explained, struggling to keep a straight face. “L-Lina used hers after the hunt to request help carrying all the meat!”

Seraphine burst out laughing at the memory of Lina’s message.

“Lina’s hunt gave us enough meat to feed our people when the harvests couldn’t, sparing Eldoria a rebellion,” Ernest said. “Our neighboring kingdoms were facing famine too, so we offered to share the meat if they transported it home themselves. If we had hoarded it, they might have invaded out of desperation. Instead, sharing it prevented a war and strengthened our alliances.”

Edwin stepped forward and knelt in front of his younger brother.

“Do you understand the positive impact Lina and Skayla have had on this Kingdom?” Edwin asked, staring directly into Edgar’s eyes. “You’re the reason the Twin Goddesses are leaving Eldoria and Aetheria. Their responsibilities now fall to you and your Order. I highly suggest you start by lowering that clinic’s prices before the next outbreak.”

Edgar looked down at the report and began to wail, finally realizing that driving Lina and Skayla away could cost countless lives and perhaps even destroy Eldoria.