A JOURNEY TO NOWHERE

Sweat dropped down from Lumiere's temples, being wiped immediately to not get the letter that he was writing to be wet.

He was in his room, preparing for a journey that, he knows, will lead him to nowhere. He lifted a map showing some marks, telling where the last places Muhammed, The Prophet was last seen.

The Prophet had become famous because of his foretelling on what will happen next when the previous emperor asked him on the birthday banquet of Leopold, his son. Muhammed moved on different places since then, taking different faces, even disguising himself into a dwarf, a solitary race that the Regulus Empire took control of when Leopold was crowned.

Now, Lumiere has no idea what he looks like, where he is, or if he is even alive. Lumiere put down the map on his table to finish the letter that he was writing.

When he finished signing his letter, he looked at it's contents then put it inside a white bottle and filled it with sand. The bottle has the seal of the Holy See, a white dove with one big eye.

Lumiere put the bottle on his storage ring together with his other equipments, except his sword and monocle.

A knock then sounded at his door, then he heard a voice of a maid.

"White Minister, your breakfast is ready. Can I open the door and serve it to you?"

Lumiere stood up without his monocle, the normal look that he always wears when he comes back to Vider, the capital territory of the Holy See to report to the new Pope. His long pale cream hair swayed as he walked towards the door to open it.

"I'll do it myself, thank you... What?", Lumiere said after he opened the door but, found the maid speechless while looking at his shirtless body.

"I'm sorry! I didn't mean to look, White Minister!"

The maid kneeled while covering her flushed face. In one look, Lumiere knew she was a new maid here. He always open the door by himself in the morning to not let the maids inside his room, he even told them that he will personally clean his room.

"It's okay, don't worry about it. You're new here, right?"

Lumiere pulled the cart inside his room gently.

"Yes! I extremely apologize! I'm sorry, White Minister.", the maid while sobbing.

"Hey, it's okay. I'm not mad, see. Just leave it at my door next time you do it, okay. But, knock first so that I can."

Lumiere pulled the maid up, and calmed her down. Someone must be doing this to the new maids on purpose.

"Now, ,why don't you go back and wait in the kitchen. I'll bring the tray there after I finished my meal."

"Yes, White Minister."

The meal was superb, for Lumiere's standards. His guess about the food of the Imperial Palace being good had been confirmed the first time he tasted the food here. He then put on normal travelling clothes, a white shirt and a leather pants, and a black boots to pair with it.

He also borrowed a black hooded cloak from the chef of the kitchen when he brought back his tray with cleaned plates. The other maids looked at him in a weird way as he passed by them, heading towards the courtroom of the imperial palace.

When Lumiere got there, he heard the usual voices that rings out every morning court. The imperial guards are securing the entrance and saluted to him as he passed by.

"Your Majesty, please, having a consort in this time of crisis is not a smart move.", the minister of affairs, Marquis Plammel pleaded the emperor.

"So you're saying that I'm not wise then, minister of affairs?"

The emperor was a little irritated by what the minister said.

"No, Your Majesty! How could this lowly servant of yours dare?", the minister of affairs deeply bowed, trembling.

"Oh so you are saying that the emperor is now wise because he chose a lowly servant like you?", the minister of commerce, Viscount Lent added fuel to the fire.

"You're saying that when you are beaten by him in terms of mind games. How shameless of you, Viscount Lent."

Lumiere barged inside the heated discussion, helping his only friend in all of the ministers, Marquis Plammel to get up. He used his speed to get in without the ministers knowing that he was there.

The look on Viscount Lent's face was sacred gold for Lumiere as he hated him the most. A commoner becoming a deputy minister in one night was a smack on face of the aristocracy, so they tried to do countless acts just to get Lumiere out of that position.

"Lumiere, it seems like you will be heading out quite faster than I expected.", Leopold smiled as he greeted Lumiere.

"I was just doing my best to satisfy the Emperor's order to me. I have little time left to find someone as elusive as the Prophet, so I thought of heading out earlier than you expected."

Lumiere bowed to the emperor behind a wooden cover. Lumiere felt that there's another behind the cover together with Leopold but, he didn't pondered about it as he heard the discussion earlier.

"Very good. I hope that you find him faster than I will expect."

The shade of the emperor behind the cover becoming brighter because of the sunlight behind him. It turns out, there's someone who lifted the windows in the emperor's room.

'Just as I thought.', Lumiere confirmed his suspicions.

"Ah yes, before you leave, give your opinion in me taking a consort in this times of crisis.", Leopold said.

Lumiere, before answering him, looked back towards Marquis Plammel and saw him shaking his head while the right ministers smiles at him to get Lumiere to agree.

'The aristocrats, that was lead by Cleo's family, controls the funds of the empire while the left minister are nobles that helped building this giant nation to where it is now. The Empress, the former Saintess will definitely be saddened when she hears that the emperor took a consort when she recuperates from birthing a child.'

Lumiere pondered for a moment, then stood up.

"I think it will be better if the Emperor is kept happy in times like this. We can't have him be killed while having no fun at all with other women.", Lumiere said.

Then all the ministers in his right stood up and bowed to the emperor. All their faces are happy by what Lumiere had said.

"I agree to this, Your Majesty.", Viscount Lent said.

"We also agree, Your Majesty", the right ministers echoed.

Lumiere glanced at the left ministers and Marquis Plammel and saw their saddened faces. The father of the empress, Duke De'arc will definitely be angry about this sudden news.

"Haha! Then, I will make a decree now! Cleo Patra has an amazing beauty and grace that caught my eyes. She is now eligible to be the Imperial Consort, Lady Solar, retaining her title as the 'Enchantress' and 'Virgo of the Zodiacs'!"

"We will do as you command, Your Majesty!"

Lumiere, together with all the ministers said in sync.

"I shall take my leave then, Your Majesty."

Lumiere bowed again before looking up to see Cleo embracing Leopold behind the back. The right ministers were not present when Cleo and Leopold did their lustful deeds yesterday, so they're now all endulging the scene.

Lumiere left the courtroom with a apologetic face towards the left ministers who were now looking down. He felt sorry for them as they have to watch the emperor cheat on his wife that they were all supporting.

When he exited the Imperial Palace, Lumiere turned towards the northern side of the continent and released one of his black star cores.

'I should look for clues from the latest place that the Prophet went.', he thought while taking a deep breath.

[FIFTH STAR CORE - SILVER ROAD]

Lumiere then run towards the northern border of the empire where the coldest country can be found leaving a silver path along the way that he ran through.

With nothing to look at and search, Lumiere will start his journey to the country that will give him more clues until he finds the man he was looking for.

The start of his journey to nowhere that will lead him everywhere.