Juan led the duo outside the huge metallic door, and a gush of warmth swept through them. Bryan was half expecting to see a small building, but his eyes were enthralled by the sight before him. "So we were in the president's building all along?"

Juan straightened his posture further, clearly taking the question as a heartfelt compliment. "The Spanish Department understands the value of secrecy, and what is more cryptic and safe than detaining two officers inside the president's building?"

Bryan couldn't help but marvel at the huge, colossal building. The high ceilings were adorned with holographic displays showcasing Spain's achievements in science, technology, and the arts. As his eyes lunged forward to take in every detail, he saw that Juan had stopped short and was looking at something rather incredulously.

"Eh, what do you think your friend's doing?"

Bryan looked behind him and saw that Ethan was jumping around a huge, ornate door. From afar, anyone would think that he's gone crazy and is in dire need of an asylum. Bryan ran up to him, pulled him by the hand, and lunged him forward. "What are you doing? Don't make us look like lunatics!"

Ethan shoved his hand away and started tracing his hands through the ornate design on the huge door. "You don't understand the value of this door! This is the sanctum library, a haven of knowledge and wisdom. It has years of secrets inside it; some even say that the secrets possess the power to destroy an entire nation."

Juan cleared his throat and gave him a steel-cold look. "Considering the relevancy of the door, you might as well know that it isn't quite easy for anyone to barge in."

Ethan rolled his eyes and took his hands away from the door. Bryan shoved him forward, and the trio began to walk in what seemed like an endless hallway. Juan motioned them to a dead end and gave a reverent bow towards what seemed like an old, black wall. "You are now about to enter the president's office. Decorum is key. Speak only when you're spoken to; answer only what is required."

Ethan thought that his brain was malfunctioning as he looked at Juan bowing down and straightening his blazer. "Eh? I see no office; all I see is a stupid old black wall."

Bryan couldn't help but agree with Ethan. Unless my eyes have a deficiency, I too can't see a single thing.

Juan didn't seem to hear the duo as he waved his hand over the wall. A tiny section of it was illuminated, which made Ethan take a step back. Juan leaned forward and whispered softly, making sure that not even a single soul should hear what he said. "Arriba o abajo, España lo domina todo." Up or down, Spain dominates everything.

Bryan felt the static sound of machines and thought that the cube was the source of the sound, but suddenly something enthralling happened that made him step backwards. The huge black wall pixelated itself to reveal a giant ornate door that resembled the sanctum library. The door was heavily embedded with priceless gems, ornated in such a way that it resembled a famous scenario.

Ethan felt like his soul crossed the seven heavens as his eyes took in the marvelous sight. "The judgment day!"

Juan gave a proud smile and made the sign of the cross. "We Spanish are highly faithful, and thus we do believe that there's a judgment day where the good will be revered while the wrong will be punished."

Ethan gave a low grunt and rolled his eyes. Trust me, horseface, you will be in front of the line leading to hell, and Bryan will be second.

Juan pushed the door ajar to reveal a frail yet stern man seated across a large, polished desk. President Diego Ramírez motioned the boys before him to the seats in front of the desk. Bryan hesitantly took the seat, his eyes clearly capturing the look on the president's face, expressing clear distaste. Juan stood behind the president, his face as expressionless as a rock.

Ramírez cleared his throat and tried to speak, his words refusing to spit out. "I don't need to remind you of the repercussions your country has caused."

Bryan shook his head, his mind reminding him that sometimes emotions win over diplomacy. He placed his hand on the president's, his eyes not leaving his. Ethan raised his eyebrows and gaped his mouth wide. Is he going to propose to this old man?

Juan gulped at the sudden confrontation and moved forward, but Ramírez stopped him. Bryan gave a small nod of appreciation and tried to find the right words. "I know that I'm not of equal power as you to sit before you, knowing the fate at hand. Though HydraHepA was indeed created by our nation, it wasn't intended to destroy anyone but rather to save our people, but unfortunately it was tampered with, and instead of fighting over borders, we have to unite and trust me-" His eyes glimmered with a trace of hope. "All it takes is a little leap of faith."

Ramírez felt an alluring aura emanating from the boy before him, his anger subsiding with each and every word the boy spoke. "Young man, you speak wiser than many of your age, but the pain of losing a loved one is far more than you think. Imagine losing an entire nation of people who have placed their trust in you."

Bryan felt his lips quiver, his eyes fighting back to restrain the pool of tears from welling up in his eyes. "I-I lost my parents at a young age. I lived like an orphan for 17 years, like a soul without an identity, and trust me, my dad died fighting for HydraHepA. I might not have lost an entire army of people whom I love because I didn't have any, but I'm not ready to lose one either. Give us some time, and we'll fix this."

Ethan felt like his body had gone numb. Juan heaved a small sigh and whispered something that sounded like a prayer. Ramírez didn't know how to comfort the boy. He put his frail hand on Bryan's and gave a feeble smile. "I trust you, niño. After all, we Spanish are revered for humility and not for iron-fist rules."

Ethan shot a shocked look as his sub-conscious mind registered something very familiar. A ruler's iron grasp withheld progress tight. He got up and ran towards Ramírez, and he pulled the man into a huge hug. Bryan's eyes shot wide, and he gulped back his saliva. I smell chopped Americans coated with salsa for dinner.

Juan pulled back on Ethan and gave him a bloodshot look. Ethan pushed him with an irritated look on his face. "What? No one hugs here in Spain?"

Ramírez gave a huge chuckle that eased the tension between Bryan and Juan. "It's been a while since someone gave me a hug. Are you that happy to know that you're free?"

Ethan gave a huge grin and took out the cube from his pocket. "No, it's because I know who the despot is!"

Bryan moved towards Ethan and took the cube, his eyes yearning for an explanation. Ethan gave a wide grin and looked towards Ramírez. "The ruler's iron grasp has two literal meanings. One is brutality, and the other effortlessly points to one despot infamous for using the iron fist rule: Dong Zhuo!"

Bryan felt a sense of exhilaration as he typed in the letters. The machine gave the same static noise, and a piece of its cube fell to the ground. Juan peered inside the hole made by the fallen piece and saw an illuminated flower. "A rose?"

Ethan's face transformed from happiness to gloominess. "A rose? What does a rose represent? Love?"

Bryan looked towards Ethan, his mind trying to restrain the small tint of hope from leaving his body. "Is there any love story connected with Dong Zhuo and Spain?"

Ethan gave an exhausted look and slumped back in his chair. "There's no love tale! The only connection between the two was when it was rumored that a Spanish merchant who visited the palace of Dong Zhuo transported a tapestry rumored to possess immense power. He smuggled it through the silk road, which was the only connection between China and the west, and hid it underneath a church named Iglesias de San Pedro in Teruel."

"Who said there's no love?"

Bryan and Ethan turned back to find Ramírez sipping a cup of café con leche. "Let's hear a story, shall we?" He motioned for the trio to sit before him. Juan showed a sense of hesitancy, but Ramírez motioned for him to sit. The anticipating look on Bryan and Ethan's faces made Ramírez think about two children waiting to hear their midnight story.

Ramírez got up and cleared his throat. "In the city of Teruel, there were two important and wealthy families, Marcilla and Segura. Diego de Marcilla and Isabella, a Segura, were their children. The two were in love as childhood playmates, but when they were both at an eligible age to wed, Diego's family had fallen on hard times."

Ethan raised his hand with the exact look on the class's face when they wanted to question the teacher. "What hard times?"

Bryan felt as if he had just been awakened from a sweet dream. He turned towards Ethan and gave him a bloodshot look. "Shut up!"

Ramírez chuckled and continued. "Isabel's father, being the most wealthy in all of Teruel, forbade the marriage. Diego, however, was able to make an agreement with the father in which he would leave Teruel for five years to try to build his fortune. If Diego was able to gain wealth within those five years, he would be able to marry his love, Isabel. During those five years, Isabel's father pestered her to marry someone. She replied to him by saying that God wished her to remain a virgin until she turned twenty, saying that women should learn how to manage the household before getting married. Because her father loved her dearly and wished for her happiness, he agreed, and for five years they waited for Diego's return."

"And did he return?"

Bryan and Juan shouted in unison, patience losing its ball in the court. "Shut up!"

Ramírez shook his head and took a sip of his coffee. "Diego was not heard from in those five years, and so on the day of the five years' close, Isabel's father married her to Don Pedro de Azagra from Albarracin. Right after the wedding ceremony, there was a commotion at the Zaragoza gate. The watchmen informed the village that Diego Marcilla had returned with great riches and with the intent of marrying Isabel. Diego had not counted the days in which he petitioned Isabel's father, whereas the Seguras had."

Ramírez let out a dramatic pause, clearly enjoying the rising anticipation. "That night, Diego sneaked into the bedroom of Isabel and her husband and gently awoke her. He pleaded with her, saying to kiss him because he was dying, but she refused, saying that God would not wish her to deceive her husband. She begged him for the love of Christ to find another and forget about her."

This time, it was Bryan who had a question to ask. "But all that he asked for was a kiss!"

Juan shook his head and looked with an emotional eye. "Adultery is strictly forbidden in Christianity."

Ramírez nodded in agreement and continued. "He begged her one last time, saying that he was dying and wishing for a final kiss. But still, she refused. Upon hearing this, Diego could not bear the separation between himself and his love, and with a sigh, he died at the feet of his beloved Isabel. When she realized that he had died, she shivered. She woke her husband, telling him that his snoring scared her and that she wished to hear a story. And he did, and in return, she told him her own story. She told him of Diego and how he lay dead beside the bed."

Ramírez looked towards Bryan and sipped the final portion of his coffee. "Her husband asked her the same question as you asked Bryan. But she replied that she was a woman of virtue, and in turn, her husband embraced her. They agreed on secretly burying him in the local church because the husband feared that he would be blamed for his death. The next day, during the funeral for Diego Marcilla, Isabel showed up dressed in her wedding dress. She proceeded to walk to the front of the church and place a kiss on the man whom she had refused, but in doing so, Isabel died, falling prostrate on the body of the man whom she loved."

As expected, he saw the gaping faces of the trio before him. Ethan raised his hand and asked with an expression of disbelief washed across his face. "But how did she die?"

Ramírez sat back down and heaved a huge sigh. "People say that she was stricken by the wrath of God for committing adultery."

Bryan couldn't believe what he was hearing. "And where are they?"

Ramírez smiled and looked towards Ethan. "The two deaths caused by love inspired the citizens of Teruel, and they demanded that the two be buried side by side so that at least in death they could be together. This request was granted by the church. The fame of the couple soon spread through Spain, and in 1560, their mummies were exhumed and placed in the tombs where they now rest."

Ethan tried his best to control the excitement that was now welling up in him. "They're buried in the Iglesia de San Pedro, Teruel!"

Juan was filled with memorization. True love, indeed.

Bryan looked towards a map hanging behind Ramírez and rolled his eyes. "Teruel is at least four hours from here!"

Ramírez chuckled and gave a small wink. "I can help with that."