As much as he hated it, he had to watch the ascension of the future lord of the Primo's bloodline. Rena didn't like it either, but she remained silent on why. So they sat down with her scrying mirror to watch the farce from afar.
The two watched with disgust about the pomp and circumstance as the young heir of the Sawada line walk up to the podium and only barely keep his facade of being a "proper lord". In reality the teen was little more than a copy of his father, and in some ways was even worse.
The brat was an arrogant little shit through and through.
Xanxus noticed how tense Rena was, and then he saw why. She could see Iemitsu in the mirror.
"Why haven't you ever used your spells against him? I mean it's not like they could retaliate with how powerful you are, little godling."
"In some ways, I'm still terrified of him. However it's mostly because I already have a trap waiting for him once they start looking. Frankly I think it would be pointless to do anything this early until he understands why I hate him so much."
They went silent and Xanxus barely paid any mind to the twins appearing in a silent show of support.
The brat put on the ring that would bestow him the power of a Duke should something happen to his father.
Xanxus was about ready to have Rena cut off the feed when he felt an uncharacteristic sensation of unbridled rage and fury.
The moment that happened, Xanxus was in complete shock as to what happened next.
The brat suddenly screamed in agony as the ring utterly rejected him as a potential Duke. His hand was burned, his magic unable to protect him from the backlash.
The ring that he had put on was shattered completely.
The uproar was barely contained, and the entire matter was hushed for the moment.
The scrying mirror shut off abruptly, and the entire thing was over. But the aftermath was another story. Within hours, Squalo managed to send a mist-message to his boss via Mammon about the entire thing, as he had made a general guess of the time zone from some of Xanxus' cryptic letters.
It was going to be hectic in the Vongola kingdom, but he was glad he didn't have to deal with it. He was still under suspicion of being a traitor, though Ottabio had been dealt with as the 'mystery caster' had failed to bring up a shield in time during a critical battle.
It was fairly obvious that it was deliberate, but as no one could exactly go after them for it.
In the Vongola kingdom...
Daniela was already quite unhappy with her son. First Xanxus was kidnapped by an unknown force that either had royal blood or had an equally powerful ability.
And now this mess involving the Duke estate of Sawada. There was only one real reason the ring would reject the heir.
And that was if his claim was false.
Add in the mystery caster of royal blood, and it was starting to become clear that whoever this person was they were likely of Iemitsu's bloodline.
With that clear goal in mind, Daniela started looking into Iemitsu's history...and found something very telling.
He had been married once before, and a child had been registered. Even more importantly was something that a skill that no one had been able to make heads or tails of at the time.
This "Serenity Sawada" had something called a "divine seed" attached to her soul.
Daniela was not a fool like her son or that idiot Iemitsu. A newly fledged godling would find it child's play to overpower the royal family's magic and learn enough control to use it from a distance without a focus.
The thing was, Daniela couldn't find any sign of the girl after the age of five...and the records indicated she was still very much alive.
Which begged the question...who was Serenity Sawada and where was she now? Asking Iemitsu was pointless...he had clammed up after the ceremony and refused to say anything. And most of the servants were hired after his daughter was born.
It was going to take time to track down the people who had been let go after that point.
Some time later...
Of all the things she could have expected, a lonely tower with zero interaction with people and only two guards to protect it was not it.
Daniela could sense there was a spell on the tower.
"Queen Daniela!" said the guards, straightening up at the sight of her.
"Would you mind explaining what exactly you're guarding?" asked Daniela.
"Ma'am! We are unaware of the contents, only that there's a standing order to guard the tower at all costs!" said the first guard.
"I see. So there is no information as to why we're wasting your time guarding a tower with no strategic value whatsoever?" said Daniela frowning.
She used a basic unlocking spell, which bounced back. Frowning, she used a higher level spell restricted for important areas of the royal family. This time it unlocked without a problem, though the door creaked and moaned as it had been a considerable amount of time since it was used.
Nearby, a less than happy Iemitsu was with her as she fully suspected he was the cause of this mess. He wasn't given a choice in the matter.
Scaling the tower took too much time, so they used a transport circle that would do it for them, though it still took about fifteen minutes. It was quite high up after all.
The second door opened with less noise...it had seen frequent use. What she found inside had her infuriated beyond belief.
Inside was clearly a set of rooms that were to serve as a 'home' for whomever was placed here. And it was abundantly clear someone had lived her.
The moment Iemitsu stepped beyond the doorway, he cried out in agony as a spell activated with a vengeance. Daniela and her guards tensed, but it seemed only aimed towards him.
Her right hand broke the concealment on the room and it only served to piss her off further.
"Iemitsu...what in the name of the gods did you do?" demanded Daniela.
It was clear to her that whoever had lived her had left behind a 'surprise' for Iemitsu in particular. They were also long gone, if the makeshift rope and the fact there was a spell to open and close the window was starting to fray. The rope also held a clue...it was worn down from the window being forcibly closed on it repeatedly and the part that laid outside the window was weather-worn.
There were many, many signs someone had packed up essentials for travel. Clothes were laying about, there was food left behind, and the water in the bath was stone cold.
It looked like someone had been living her for quite some time before they made a successful escape attempt. There was even a book she knew for a fact had been missing for a few years in the royal library that lay half-open thanks to the wind on the dresser.
Daniela was beyond livid...it was fairly obvious who had been trapped in this tower. Her right hand noticed a note pinned the dresser mirror with a blunt knife. The handwriting was neat, but it had been worn by the weather. The moment she read it, her anger became stone cold fury.
"When we return I am stripping you of all titles and posts in the kingdom and placing you under permanent house arrest. You will not have any access to the outside world, even peripherally," she snarled.
The guards took the unspoken command and grabbed him from both sides. They honestly had no idea who was even up here, outside of being ordered to leave food in the box meant for deliveries.
Iemitsu was in for a rough time and if Daniela had any say about it, he would be suffering even worse.
In another country...
Rena felt a dark satisfaction, seeing the effects of her curse hit that man. Xanxus however felt only horror and disgust...because Daniela had to pay Mammon a massive fine to find the servants who would have been around the time of Iemitsu's first wife. And they remembered Serenity alright.
A delightful little girl who made everyone smile and was a good hearted child. She had been so hurt when her mother died unexpectedly, then one morning she vanished without a trace. None of the servants had known where she went, all Iemitsu would say on the matter was that she was 'safe'.
It didn't take long for them to translate to mean she was "out of the way".
Xanxus finally knew why Rena both despised Iemitsu and was afraid of him. He was her father, and he had locked her up in that tower for what could only be ten years simply because he had wanted a son instead and didn't want to name a girl his heir.
And Rena was terrified that if she saw him again, he would somehow lock her back up in that tower. It was a childish fear, but it scared her all the same.
Xanxus hugged his sister tightly that night, realizing the full scope of how badly Iemitsu had traumatized an innocent child for no other reason than vanity and ego.
Which was why he sent a letter specifically to Daniela via the twins. He had been training Rena as a way to pay her back for all the times she had helped him and his men.
He wasn't doing it to fix the relationship with Iemitsu. He hated the man and honestly this was his own damn fault. He was doing it because if she went back to the Vongola kingdom now, the only thing the king would do for her would be to marry her off.
She deserved her freedom, and frankly Timoteo could go to hell at this point.
Besides, the chaos she got into was too entertaining for him to want to return just yet.
Xanxus hated that he had to return to the kingdom. He preferred being around Rena and the demon twins. Besides, the chaos that happened in her wake was highly entertaining to watch so long as you weren't in the thick of it.
And if that wasn't enough, the being known as Veldora (whom Rena had based his cover name off of) had disappeared recently. Which meant the kingdom was guaranteed to be in an uproar, making it easier for him to slip back in. Daniela had cleared him of any traitorous actions upon confirming Serenity was the mystery caster and the kidnapper of Xanxus.
Since he had trained her into proper Quality, that meant he could rest a little easier since she wouldn't go down without a fight. Besides, he had seen her take on an ogre pack and barely break a sweat over it...she could handle herself.
Did not stop Xanxus from carrying a small compact mirror, as it turned out that Rena's special skill allowed her to communicate through them if she put enough magic into it. Something about distorting space-time... neither of them could fully understand the logic of it, just that it worked.
(In this case Rena's experience with "cell phones" came in handy...all she had to do was visualize the mirror as a smart phone and her unique skill Omnipotent Sage created a spell to serve the same function. Did not stop her from being slightly weirded out that the skill in question sounded and spoke exactly like Reborn in his adult form. Right down to his arrogant attitude.)
He knew the moment he stepped foot in the kingdom he was in for a migraine. He was not happy, and went straight for the Varia's small castle that he had claimed shortly after becoming leader.
Squalo looked thrilled to see him, even if he started yelling at ear-shattering levels over the 'puppy' he had dumped on them via Rena's teleportation magic.
Takeshi was some kid who had taken to following their odd band of adventurers after Rena had healed his mother without asking for payment. He had annoyed Xanxus with his carefree attitude and lack of actual combat experience that he had all but begged Rena to dump him in Varia territory complete with a note that basically dumped him on Squalo for training.
Squalo, once he got over the annoyance over being forced to take an unknown as an apprentice for a time, found the kid to be a scarily good fit with their group. However he made no mistake to the kid's loyalty...he didn't give one shit to the kingdom or anyone in it, he was only there to become a proper paladin for the little godling his boss had claimed as a little sister.
Once Xanxus was brought up to speed (and spent a much needed reunion with his most loyal men for two days) he was 'politely' asked to meet with the former Queen.
Daniela was still seething over what Iemitsu had done, but at least thanks to Xanxus there was some form of damage control. While the missing duchess...with Iemitsu stripped of his position and all power he previously had, the title and everything attributed to it defaulted straight to Rena...refused to be in the same kingdom as her biological donor, she didn't outright hate the royal family. All of her rage and anger was aimed towards the actual guilty party, something Daniela was grateful for.
Though the woman did coo over how adorable Serenity was now that she had a proper picture of what the girl looked like. It was clear she had taken strongly after her deceased mother.
There was one meeting he wished he could have avoided. As it was, it lead to the inevitable separation that he had tried to avert for years now.
On the plus side, Rena was about to get some proper acolytes out of the deal, since Daniela wasn't stupid enough to piss off a literal godling over not having enough worshipers, and Rena would treat them infinitely better than Timoteo had in years.