3
In the middle of the living area, Alice nodded, looking grave, perched on the sofa. She appeared to be a different person—no traces of her adorably sleepy self. Her eyes housed a regal air Iska knew well.
“I’d like to formally ask you to rescue my sister…”
“We’ve already agreed to it—ever since we took the job as her guards and came to the Sovereignty,” Jhin replied. He sat in a chair beside the table and leaned forward. “But we’re not volunteers. We decided to be a witch’s escort for our own reasons. We won’t back out till you pay us.”
“Because of your commander. Is that right?”
“We told you at the villa,” Jhin continued. “We can’t go home empty-handed after coming this far.”
“…Um, Jhin. I—” Mismis started to say.
“Shut it, boss,” Jhin stopped Commander Mismis.
As Sisbell’s guards, they had been prepared for ups and downs, but Iska had never expected they would be pulled into an actual war in the Sovereignty.
“Commander Mismis, let me take a guess: You weren’t born with the astral crest on your shoulder, right?”
“To thank you for being my guards, I will give you information on how to properly conceal an astral crest.”
With Mismis’s personality, it meant she would feel guilty for pulling her subordinates into this mess because she’d become a witch.
…That’s why Jhin told her to not say anything.
…He was telling her to not feel bad—that we’ve already decided on this.
She didn’t need to feel guilty. This was Jhin’s way of respecting his commander. Nene nodded next to Iska, expressing the same sentiment.
“Plus, it was our fault that Sisbell was taken away—even if it was beyond our wildest expectations. We can’t do our job half-assed…” Jhin shrugged. “But we’re Imperial subjects—which means we have no clue where she could have been taken. So tell us if you have any leads.”
“As far as that’s concerned, I spoke to my moth…to Her Majesty.”
“The queen?” Jhin switched from aloof to actively listening.
Nene and Commander Mismis widened their eyes. Even Iska couldn’t stop himself from holding his breath. This was a big deal.
…The current queen.
…Alice’s mother. Now the queen herself is involved.
She was the sworn enemy—the greatest and most powerful one—of the Imperial army.
That being said…Sisbell Lou Nebulis IX was a princess. It was natural for the queen to act in the interest of her daughter.
“I’ll speak in concrete terms. Rin—and Yumilecia, Ashe, Noel, Sistia, and Nami. Please listen closely. I would like to hear your thoughts.” Alice looked at the family servants. “I do not think Sisbell is in the palace. At the top of my list is the Solar Spire, but I believe that Lord Talisman would move her to a different location, seeing how he can be so cunning.”
“…Because it’s a public location?”
“Yes. There will be guests from other nations and the press. If someone witnesses my sister, it would be bad for them.”
“Could she be in a nearby hotel or a warehouse? Just like us?”
“ ” Alice shook her head in silence. “Possibilities are low. The buildings in the central state can be searched under the queen’s command. She’s already started sweeping the hotels, warehouses, and normal residences.”
“Just give it to us straight,” Jhin urged.
“What?”
“You’re not trying to find Sisbell. You’re looking for Imperial soldiers still hiding out in the central state after the raid. Tell me I’m wrong.”
“……”
“This is the perfect time to redefine how we stand as Imperial soldiers.” Jhin looked at Rin and Alice—the two astral mages, normally enemies. “Like I said, we came to your country as Sisbell’s guards. We promised to protect her. You do want us to keep her safe, don’t you?”
“Let me explain,” Rin said in a hushed tone. “You should know you’re in a precarious place as Imperial soldiers. And you’re right: We’re looking for your troops in hiding.”
“I knew it.”
“Many were injured in the raid. And since the Queen’s Palace was under attack, any Imperial soldiers will pay for their crimes with their life. Naturally, that includes you.”
This was why Alice had cried during her fight with Iska. Regardless if the Hydra were planning this or not, the Empire had sent an assassin to harm the queen, and members of the royal family had gone missing. It was no longer an option for the two superpowers to just glare at each other across the globe.
“I cannot forgive a single Imperial soldier. Even ones appointed by Lady Sisbell as guards.”
“In the public eye.”
“In the name of justice. But…I guess you’re right. We can’t just be focused on justice.” Rin sighed, dissatisfied, tone hesitant. “This is an exception. We need to apprehend and execute any and all Imperial soldiers, but we grant you immunity in exchange for Lady Sisbell’s search.”
“Until we get past the border.”
“Of course. Would you be fine with that, Lady Alice?” Rin asked.
“Yes. We’ll keep our promise.” Alice nodded and looked at Commander Mismis. “And are you fine, Commander?”
“…Yes. That’s what we’d expected. Right, Iska?”
“Of course.” He didn’t turn to the commander, but instead made eye contact with Alice, who had turned toward him. “Talisman got us, too. We want to exact our revenge if we can.”
The Nebulis palace. Great hall.
Gathering here were the most powerful members of the Sovereignty—the current queen, her guards, and cabinet, as well as representatives of the Zoa and Hydra. They sat around a circular table. The cabinet members were behind the queen, including former members of the cabinet. Roughly thirty of them in total. Fifty, including the guards on standby in a corner of the hall.
“Your Majesty, I apologize if this comes off the wrong way, but it must be said that you have made a grave blunder.”
Bouncing off the walls was a man’s voice—sharp and resonant.
All eyes were on the temporary representative of the Zoa—a tall man clothed in black and wearing a metal mask to conceal his face.
“You allowed the Imperial forces to invade the palace. We’ve never seen anything like this since the founding of this nation. I don’t think I have to tell you that our brethren paid the price for it.”
“……” The queen pressed her lips together and remained silent. Bandages were wrapped around her arm, but seeing her in visible pain wasn’t enough to convince Lord Mask to go easy on her.
“We’ve lost all contact with our head of household, Growley, for over seventy-two hours. The Empire hasn’t announced anything, but they must have taken him.”
“……”
“Those gifted with exceptional astral powers are our national treasures. It is a great tragedy that one of them was abducted—to be used for human experiments.”
The queen was silent. There was nothing to refute. If she couldn’t prove the Hydra were involved, no one would believe the queen ever again.
“Please wait, Lord On!” said one of the secretaries working for the Lou, unable to stand the tension in the air. “Her Majesty is just as upset as anyone. Two of her daughters, Lady Elletear and Lady Sisbell, are missing. It’s pointless to assign blame when we should be trying to rescue the—”
“It’s simple,” Lord Mask interrupted. “We must launch an attack on Imperial territory. We must reduce their city to ash—just like we did a century ago. That is the best way to save the hostages.”
“…What?!”
“You think a civil conversation will give us Lord Growley back? …No need to answer. To the Empire, the purebreds aren’t hostages, but guinea pigs.”
The captured purebreds were fated to something worse than death. And these inhumane experiments would never see the public eye. They would keep close tabs on the results, so other countries would not fall out of their favor.
“I’m sure the Empire will feign ignorance, claiming nothing inhumane has been done. So, how do you plan to negotiate with them?”
“We… We can…”
“See? That’s why I want to attack them.” Lord Mask spread his arms toward the queen before posing a question to ministers and military officers behind her. “If anyone has a method of recovering our brethren, by all means, please raise your hand.”
“Lord Mask.”
The queen had spoken.
“As the queen, I cannot approve any proposals that would result in more casualties.”
“I’m sure we could manage without those—if we have a strong leader.”
The room stirred. The people were alarmed. A strong leader? This seemed to imply that the Zoa was unsatisfied with the queen.
“Hmm. You have a point.”
Only a single man spoke up, smiling. The leader of the Hydra, Talisman.
“Then we must hold the conclave early and choose a new queen. I’m not opposed to it. It makes perfect sense for us to select a new ruler when the country is in a state of turmoil.”
And if they were to select a new queen now?
The Lou would be in last place, seeing how no one had a favorable opinion of the queen.
The Zoa had been influential, but with Growley’s absence, they had a headwind to work against.
The Hydra had the biggest advantage.
“Isn’t that right?” Talisman asked.
“No, no,” Lord Mask corrected him.
“…Hmm?”
“Lord Talisman, you misunderstand. I know I said we need a strong leader, but I wasn’t asking for a conclave.” The leader of the Zoa grinned under his cold, hard mask.
“I would like to awaken our Revered Founder.”
“What?”
“Excuse me?!”
Talisman and the queen realized they were shouting at him. Several of the ministers jumped to their feet without thinking, and the royal guards standing by the walls exchanged shocked looks.
The Founder Nebulis.
Isolated deep underground in the Sovereignty, she continued to slumber.
“I didn’t even think of that. I’m sure the Revered Founder could…!” excitedly murmured a middle-aged minister. Those around him seemed surprised, but none disagreed.
“What do you say? What about you, Minister Brutal?” Lord Mask asked.
“I—I…believe it’s worth considering.”
“And former minister, Sir Veistro?”
“I’m in agreement. She’s a leader and the necessary firepower, as you’ve said.”
A century ago, the Founder had turned the Imperial capital to ash. If they were to awaken the oldest astral mage—
“Please, wait.”
The hall stirred when the queen spoke.
“We cannot make this decision now. We do not have a method of awakening the Revered Founder. And doing so would be dangerous. I am sure you remember the damage that befell the neutral city Ain.”
Of those in attendance, only the queen had been an eyewitness. The Founder had not shown a shred of mercy to Alice, a distant relative. There was a fundamental dissonance between the Zoa’s proposal to lay waste to the Empire and save the hostages. The Founder would be willing to sacrifice her brethren to destroy the Empire. She was on another level—as far as her astral powers were concerned.
Most importantly, Alice had said the Founder’s hatred of the Empire did not even compare to that of the present-day people.
“If the Revered Founder attacks others outside the Empire, the Sovereignty would be hated by the world.”
“A great opportunity to show off your abilities as the queen. Oh, it’s time.” Lord Mask stood up. “During the next meeting, I’d like you all to present some methods to wake up the Revered Founder. Now, if you’ll excuse me.”
He bowed before taking the others from the Zoa with him, leaving the hall.
The palace. Midair corridor, Sun Path.
A man and a woman walked down the glass corridor that connected the Queen’s Palace to the Solar Spire. Both of them were as tall and beautiful as models.
“Oh my. I’m at a loss.” Talisman stopped and looked up at the heavens through the glass ceiling. “I guess I should have expected this from Lord Mask. He’s played the best card.”
“You mean the thing with the Revered Founder?”
“Yes. I’m interested in hearing your opinion, Mizy.”
“…Oh? That’s rare, Uncle.” She tittered. The mature-looking girl paused, turning behind her to meet his gaze with her beautiful eyes.
Mizerhyby Hydra Nebulis IX. A girl with chiseled features and hair the color of lapis lazuli—a shocking hue. Her hair used to be the same color gold as Talisman, but when her powers activated, it had deepened it blue.
“It makes me nervous when you ask for my opinion, Uncle.”
“No need to hold back. Please speak—as the next head of household.”
“In that case…it’ll mess with our plans if the Revered Founder wakes up.”
Talisman’s niece—the princess promised to be the next head of the Hydra—was the candidate for the throne, receiving the backing of her family.
“If we hold the conclave now, the Hydra would win. Considering the queen is in an indisposed state and the head of the Zoa is missing, neither of them can focus on the conclave right now. Neither of them would be able to prepare for the election, I’m sure.”
The House of Hydra wanted to host the conclave.
The House of Zoa preferred to avoid it while they were missing their head of household.
The House of Lou wanted to postpone it to maintain their current administration.
It was perfect.
If they held the conclave right now, the new queen would be from the House of Hydra. However…
“I’m afraid awakening the Revered Founder would change all of that.”
“Hmm. In what way?” Talisman asked.
“The Founder’s shoes are far too great. Even if I won the conclave, the country would cease caring about the queen—if the Revered Founder is back in the game. Obviously, they would obey her.”
The Founder was above the queen. It would mean nothing, even if they did snatch the throne, if she was in the picture.
“And we don’t know what she’ll do when she’s awake. After all, we still do not understand her astral powers.”
“You’re right. All signs point to her having multiple powers.”
Each person only had one astral power—except the Founder, who didn’t follow such conventions.
“What’s the worst-case scenario?” Talisman asked.
“I think there’s a possibility that the Revered Founder may have a power similar to Sisbell’s—something like mind reading or hypnosis, possibly even reviving the past.”
Then, the Hydra’s scheme would be exposed.
If the Founder were to reveal they had ushered in the Imperial forces—the enemy she’d once turned to ash—the Hydra would become the target of her wrath. They needed to avoid that scenario.
“An accurate breakdown.” Talisman clapped like this was all a joke. “Oh, Mizy. You figured it out just minutes after the conference. I would have no objections to you becoming queen immediately.”
“You’re too kind.”
“Upon further reflection, that means Lord Mask’s plan was perfectly on point. In fact, he chose the best countermeasure against us. Lord Growley might be missing, but we must be cautious of the Zoa.”
If the Founder awakened, that would give her more authority and power than the queen. She might be the only one who could make the Sovereignty more powerful than ever.
“Elletear may have left from the country because she realized what the Zoa had planned. In which case…”
“Uncle?”
“Nothing.” Talisman smiled and shook his head when his niece looked up at him. “In any case, the Founder symbolizes the past. There’s no place for her in the modern era.”
Clack. Talisman started down the glass corridor again, accompanied by the beautiful girl.
“We cannot wake the Founder. Mizy, prepare to be busy—as a candidate vying for the throne and as an astral mage.”
“I’m looking forward to it.”
“I suppose that leaves Vichyssoise.” He looked out the glass wall.
Talisman murmured, as though to himself. “I do not know if it was caused by her transformation into a witch, but it seems she has become somewhat unstable. I hope she is not roughing up the princess from the Lou.”
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