CHAPTER 20, THE TRUTH UNSEALED

I was owken up by Storm because of Stella-sama, who wished to see me. When I had come down. Stella-sama was in tears as she sat down on a chair.

"W-what exactly is the matter?" I asked her.

"My... my father... something has been wrong with him lately... he was acting strangely ever since... men... all wearing black cloaks attacked the mansion... and last night... I... I saw him... he... he tried to... he tried to... to kill me...!" She's trembling from fear, I instinctively hug her.

"Can you tell us what happened before this?" I asked her.

"It started roughly a few nights ago, when a handful of men attacked the Duke's mansion." A woman with black hair, golden eyes and light brown skin says, she's wearing a boat with black shirt and long black skirt. "I'm Scarlet Von Regulus, one of the Noble Paladins of the nation."

"But why did you come here, wouldn't going to somewhere else be better?" I asked her.

"The Duke has given orders to prevent the young miss from leaving the city, so she said it would be best to seek help with her friend." Scarlet answered.

"I see. Can you explain what happened?" I asked her.

"A few nights ago, when the Duke was walking around in the garden he was attacked by unknown assailants, he wasn't hurt nor was anything stolen but there was one thing that had changed, his behavior. He was acting differently as if he was a completely different person and he had began to gather information on something called the Star Gate..." Scarlet answered.

"Star Gate... what else has he been doing?" Master asked. "Do you have any idea what could be the cause of this? People who might have a grudge against him?"

"None... my father... he was well loved by the people..." Stella answered drying her tears. "It all... stared when he was attacked..."

"He changed after being attacked..." I muttered, and just then I realize something. "Master, isn't there mind control magic?"

"Yes, there is!" Master exclaimed. "But the person must be injured in order to do so."

"I see... the Duke wasn't injured when he was attacked... was there anything strange when he was attacked?" I asked them.

"There wasn't anything there, but I recall them saying there was a feather in the Duke's hand when he was found." Scarlet answered.

"A father... that doesn't give us much." Rose said.

"No, it gives me all the things I need to know." I answered as I pieced the puzzle together. "The Star Gate, it's the gate that connects the ground to the Aerial Isles, the Gate is somewhere here in the Royal Capital, they used the Duke to find our where in the Royal Capital the Gate is."

"The Shadow's Order." Aria said and nodded.

"They attacked the Duke and used him to gather all the info they could get but when the Stella saw them they were worried she would be a thorn in their pan and tried to get rid of her." Storm added after he pieced the story together. "But there is one thing I don't get, how'd they control the Duke?"

"The feather..." I answered him.

"What about it?" Scarlet asked.

"That feather was most likely from the Peacock Spirit, Pavo. Pavo has the power to control others as long as a single emotion rises above the other." I told everyone.

"But what is the point any way? There is no way they could open the gate right? Could there be another way?" Neph asked.

"I know someone who might be able to tell us." I said, Virgo should know about it. "Come, the Princess Familiar, Andromeda!"

"How may I help you?" Andromeda asked as she appeared beside me.

I then explained everything to her and she took some time to process all that I told her and began to use her power. She suddenly gave a silent gasp and whispered something in my ear. "The room is bugged, there's a spirit inside the room listening to our conversations. It's on the wall." She said and looked and saw a fly... Muska the Fly.

"Haru?" Aria looked at me.

"Come, The Chisel Familiar, Caelum." I spoke and Caelum in his weapon form appeared. "Form Three, Assault!"

"Oi! What do you think your doing?" Neph asked, just then the fly tried to attack us. "What's with this fly?"

"Yue, trap it in a barrier." I ordered Yue and she created a small barrier trapping the fly inside it.

" Haru, what's going on, the wall was damaged." Master scolded me.

"Sorry, but this isn't a normal fly, it's the Fly Familiar, Muska." I told them. "No need to be hostile, I won't harm you, if you want we cam overwrite your current contract."

"Can you really?" It asked and just then it changed, from a fly to a girl with long black hair, blue eyes and brown skin and a sleeveless dress, with a scepter in her right hand.

"Yeah, Yue put down the barrier." I told her and she did. The woman then approached me and took a kiss and just then, a light shined from within her and something like a collar appeared around her neck. "What is that?"

"The chain of the agreement." Andromeda told me. "Place your hand on it and crush it."

"Kay." I said and placed my hand to the collar and after some of my own magical power into it and shattered the collar. "There, will that do?"

"Yes! Thank you!" She exclaimed and stole a kiss from my mouth. "I've been searching for someone who could break my forced contract with that horrible man." She said and sat down on a chair. "As thanks, I'll tell you all I know."

After that She told all she knew, apparently Shadow's Order plans to use the Star Gate and enter the Aerial Isles to get the Etoiles. To do so, they needed the Duke who was partially Aerial Blooded, then use a Familair to open the Gate by sacrificung their Medium. Unforgivable, I'll put ab end to their wicked plots! "There is something I was able to take from my father's study before running away. Here." Stella said and handed me a book, on it is the family crest!

"What is this?" Yue asked.

" A book not even the most skilled locksmith nor lock picker, even the most skilled magician in our nation could open." Stella answered. "It was something my father had be fixated on."

"What are these writings?" Jade asked.

"No clue, no one could read it." Stella answered.

"It's the writings of my family. Meaning this is something from my family." I told them seeing the writings on the book, the memories from Virgo taught me about the secret language of our family. I read the writings aloud. "Descendant of my Bloodline, if thou wishes to open thy book, offer to it the Blood of the Moon and Flesh of the Sky."

"What does that mean?" Storm asked. "We have to get Blood of the Moon and Flesh of the Sky?"

"It means I need to pour my blood into the keyhole along with some of my own skin." I said as I decoded the riddle.

"What are you going on about?" Rogue asked.

"The Blood of the Moon literally means Blood of the Moon, in other words Blood of the Hero, the last name Tsuki means mooon in Aerial Language, the blood which currently flows within me, and Flesh of the Sky means the skin of one born from Aerial Isle's kin." I told them.

"I see, want a knife?" Dia asked.

"Thanks." I told her taking the small knife and cutting of some of the skin from the tip of my finger and cutting a small wound on the tip of my index finger.

I let the blood bleed into the keyhole and dropped the skin which was excess skin that forms in the fingers down into it as well. After that a small light shined a small key appeared. I turned it and the book shined before it unlocked itself and I opened the book. Everything in the book is written in the family text. "Haru, can you translate it?" Master asked me and I nod and began to read and when I read the text I dropped the book out of fear for what I had learned.

"Haru?" Aria held my hand. "Can you... tell is what's written?"

"It's a record, a catalogue of every single thing that has happened within the Tsuki Family." I answered her.