Amelia and Ophelia: The Former Grand Duchess and Saintess.

In Olertin City, the main H.I.S.S. Headquarters is located in a simple restaurant known as the "Casa de la Carne" located in downtown Olertin City. The restaurant, while being a great place to get some cheap but amazing meals, serves as the front of the H.I.S.S. who use a secret door near the employee entrance, it also helps that all of the staff of the restaurant are H.I.S.S. agents. 

Sitting in a private booth on the second floor of the restaurant which had been closed off for today to everyone, was Amelia and Ophelia who had come here to enjoy some food while also meeting with H.I.S.S. field agents who were ordered to debrief them on what they had experienced and found out in their missions far south. 

"So do you want our Special Beef Soup with or without rice?" A kitsune waitress asked as she held up her pen and notepad 

"Does the Special Beef Soup come in single servings or group servings?" Amelia asked as she looked at the menu 

"It is a group serving, good for six people Your Majesty" The waitress answered 

"Hmmm, I will take that and two orders of single-cup rice" Amelia stated 

"Alright, and what about you Your Majesty" The waitress asked as she finished writing down Amelia's order and then turned to Ophelia 

"Hmm....I will take the 4-piece chicken meal with rice, but can I make all of the pieces be wings?" Ophelia asked as she looked at the waitress

"Yes Your Majesty. We can do that, would you like the chicken mild or spicy?" The kitsune asked 

"Hmmm, feeling mild today" 

"Alright...lastly, do you wish to order some drinks??" 

"We will take the bottomless iced tea" Amelia stated, with Ophelia nodding 

"Alright. So I shall just repeat your order Your Majesties...one order of the Special Beef Soup, one order of the 4-piece chicken bundle, all wings, three orders of rice, and a pair of bottomless iced tea. Your order will be out in fifteen to twenty minutes" 

"Oh! Can you add one order of a slice of chocolate cake?" Amelia asked

"Yes Your majesty we can do that" 

"Alright, thank you" Ophelia thanked the waitress who nodded at them and walked away 

As the waitress walked away, the dual monarchs looked at one another and smiled as they held onto one another's hands and then just silently enjoyed their private time as they just patiently waited for the food and a certain someone to arrive. They were both sitting on the same side of the booth as they were awaiting someone who Percy had told them had intimate knowledge of the Dukedom, although they had read and heard the reports from Percy personally, they never actually met this agent, that was what this lunch out was for. 

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Just then, a young kitsune woman wearing a simple single-piece beige dress walked up to the second floor of the restaurant and looked around, upon spotting the dual monarchs, she bowed her head and sat before them. She had long black hair and the fur upon her ears was of the same color, her body frame while hidden underneath her beige dress was well-built but also voluptuous, alluring, and curvaceous. Her amber eyes gave off the feeling of her seeing a lot of stuff that could make others puke while also showing some innocence and joy in them as she nervously looked at the dual monarchs. 

"Hello there...I take it you are Agent Takawa?" Ophelia asked as she locked eyes with the kitsune agent 

"Y..yes Your Majesty. Agent Takawa Hazumo at your ever-lasting service" Takawa replied as she bowed her head 

"Calm down Miss Takawa, we are not here to grill you, but rather to ask you to do something for us" Amelia chimed in as she flashed a reassuring warm smile to the kitsune 

"Uhhhh, and what would that be Your Majesty?" Takawa asked as she looked a bit nervous at the statement 

"Simple. We want you to head back into the Dukedom and start a revolution!" Ophelia stated with a broad smile that made Takana's shoulders drop the moment the statement finished 

"Wha....huh...excuse me Your Majesties?" Takana asked as she tilted her head, trying to believe she didn't hear what she thought she just heard 

"You heard us right. We want you to head back into the Dukedom of Abernath and gather the slaves for a revolution while we march southward with the army, picking up clans along the way before we crush the Dukedom" Amelia told her as she took a sip from the ice cold glass of water that had just arrived at the table 

"But...Your Majesties...I just made it out of the Dukedom a few months ago, I helped a lot of slaves free themselves from their clutches" The kitsune stated as she was thinking of a way to dodge this duty 

"Which is exactly why you are the best pick for this assignment Takana. No one in the H.I.S.S. has the knowledge you possess on the Dukedom, you know parol schedules, the types of people there, and the slaves personally since you spent some time undercover there. We are asking you to do all of that again, but this time also organize a revolt. We have heard from Percy that you are one of the best field agents in the entire organization. So, what do you say?" Ophelia asked her 

Takana stuttered as she looked at her monarchs before looking down at the table and then twiddling her thumbs. She wanted to deny the request so bad, and if it were anyone else, she would. But a part of her gnawed at her conscience in the back of her mind, telling her that her duty to the empire was important, and the monarchs she served were the ones to have asked her to do this no less. She couldn't back out now, she had put a lot on the line on the orders of many of her superiors, but this was entirely different. She could feel it. 

Takana took a deep breath as she relaxed her body, her posture, and her expression before turning back up to face her monarchs to whom she had pledged allegiance when the empire was first born, she had a duty to do and she was damned sure to do it, no matter the cost. 

"What would you have me do Your Majesties?" She replied with a professional tone that she normally hid unless to a bare few 

"That is what we are going to discuss today" The dual monarchs answered her with smiles on their faces at her acceptance of the task 

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A few moments later, their food arrived, wi

"Right....so....we want you to head back to the Dukedom....and organize the slaves into a revolution" Ophelia began, drinking her iced tea in between words, 

"Yep. We want you to go in there and tear up the place from the inside while we continue to unite more tribes" Amelia added before drinking some of her soup 

"May I ask why Your Majesties?" Takawa asked as she ate some of her chocolate cake

"What do you mean?" The raven-haired empress shot back 

"I mean why now Your Majesties?" The kitsune replied 

"Ah that, well, to be honest, we are now closer to the Dukedom than we were before in terms of land distance. Were we to do this long before we even made it halfway across the continent, the other tribes of the south would try to expand their reach and then we would be forced to fight another Hinterlands Confederacy. If we do it now, we have a good chance of unity in the continent under our banner against one enemy. The Dukedom is a threat to all and we will use that threat to drive the independent clans and the freed slaves into our arms. Plus, if you are the one leading the revolt, then there is no way that those slaves can go on any path other than ours" Ophelia answered her, with Takawa nodding as the information made sense 

"I see...so come at them from inside and out while also guiding them towards our banner....smart indeed" Takawa commented with a nod as she fully understood the larger picture of the plan 

"Good that you are in agreement. Now, the specifics of the plan are going to depend on the information you can tell us about the Dukedom that we don't already know. You were posing as a slave there for some time so I know it may be a bit much, but if you could recall important details then that would be wonderful" Ophelia stated as she looked at the kitsune agent 

Takawa nodded as she took a deep breath and then pulled out a notebook from her bag of holding that was inside a pocket on her dress and placed it onto the table, flipping it open and then looking at the notes she had scribbled onto the pages. 

"Right. So I am assuming that you know by now Your Majesties that the Dukedom has several houses that work together under one major house right?" Takawa asked them, with both of them nodding in return 

"That's great but I will just run it down for some explanation just to cover all the bases" The kitsune added 

"Oh of course, please, go on" Amelia replied with a smile 

"These houses, House Baro, House Theodorus, House Malintara, and House Fluchet all serve the main house currently in power, House Abernath. They elect a house to become duke or duchess until that person elected bites the dust, for the last 18 years now, Duke Rals Paderborn Abernath is the current duke who was elected 18 years ago and has been the one calling the shots across that damnable nation"

"I served as a slave for each of these houses for at least a month as they have a process called "Product Testing" in which they send new slaves around to serve as either cleaners, cheap labor, servants, and the like around the Dukedom, the treatment is as harsh as it can get, no sleep, little food, and daily beatings if you fail to do even the most menial of tasks or if you make a simple mistake. Then the process continues with the houses choosing those whom they see as acceptable to their standards while others are sent to the other houses for their own "Product Testing" process"   Takawa added, unconsciously placing her hand on her neck and rubbing it, mentally checking to make sure the magi-collar that she had long broken was no longer there 

"And what of those who do not live up to the standards of the main Houses?" Amelia asked, a bit of anger in her voice this time around

"If they do not meet the standard, there are several paths for a slave not chosen by the Houses, one is that they are auctioned off and sold to work as free labor for a small family that can buy them from the government, another is to be sent into places called 'Slave Pools', others, myself included, were sent to work on the massive wall that stretched across the border of the Dukedom known simply as the 'Wall' which is made up of stone and wood" The kitsune agent added as she showed them a sketch of the 'Wall' she had in her notebook 

"Hmmm....assessment?" Ophelia asked as they looked at the well-drawn sketch of a towering stone wall that was about the size of a three-story house  

"Mostly made of stone and wood, tightly packed together without any form of cement or mortar like the ones we use in the empire. They are sturdy and can hold up against attacks from clans but I doubt they will be strong enough to survive a blast from a mage within our ranks or even an 8-pounder magi-cannon"  Takawa answered her with full confidence 

"Hmmm...a good assessment. Now, care to explain more what these 'Slave Pools' are?" Amelia nodded before asking her next question 

"Ah. The 'Slave Pools' are a common term across the Dukedom regarding a set of warehouses in or near a city or town that houses slaves for requisition use by the government. If they need manpower, they pull from the nearest Slave Pool to augment it. Slaves are rotated and scattered around into different Slave Pools once every two weeks to ensure that there is no growing sentiment of cohesion formed and to always ensure that there is new, fresh strength in each pool if there are those too old to work" Takawa answered her monarch's question 

"Surveillance?" The blond empress asked 

"Guards are around the slaves at all times to ensure that there is no organizing" The kitsune agent answered 

"How about breaks such as for food?" Ophelia asked 

"There are, but like everything else, all are watched by the guards" Takawa added 

The dual monarchs shared a glance as they were both thinking on how to properly plan for this, if they were going to ensure the success of this plan, they needed every detail available but the more they learned the more problems arose. This was perhaps seen on their faces as they were thinking as Takawa noticed their expressions and then cleared her throat once more which got their attention. 

"However, there is a gap in their defenses" 

{!} 

The dual monarchs raised an eyebrow each at the kitsune agent, their expressions of curiosity. 

"The Dukedom has a habit of relying on the magi-collars like you may have read in the earlier reports. These magi-collars have a habit of malfunctioning during a new moon thanks to a correction timer on the runes inscribed onto the collar which short-circuits the collar and the magic crystal powering it. The magi-collar can also be overpowered by someone who has an A-Rank in power or higher" Takawa told them, with the dual monarchs sharing a glance once more and then smiling at one another before facing the kitsune agent once more 

"Hmmm...I see. Well, I think I know what the plan is going forward" Ophelia stated, with Takawa nodding as she understood what was about to be said 

"Agent Takawa, your new mission. Is to infiltrate the Dukedom of Abernath once more and begin organizing a revolution. With your S-Rank capabilities as an H.I.S.S. agent, you will have no problem against the magi-collars. But before you are to head out, you are to spend a month training to master telepathic magic. You have a blank check for what supplies you need, and your launching time for this operation is two months from now. Understood?" Ophelia asked, with Takawa straightening up 

"I understand these orders Your Majesties. I will not fail you" Takawa replied with a nod 

"We know you won't and thank you for coming today" Amelia chimed in with a nod of her own

"It was a pleasure Your Majesties. Glory to the Empire and Glory to Your Majesties" Takawa stated with a determined glint in her eyes and fire in her expression

The kitsune agent then did one more small bow before standing up, performing a full bow and then leaving the second floor. Leaving the dual monarchs alone with one another as they finished up their meal. 

Operation Chain Breaker Is A Go.

A/N: And here we go! A simple chapter to show off some future plans that shall bear fruit. Hope you all enjoyed the chapter and if you have questions or comments leave em below! As always, Stay Safe and Enjoy Your Day!