Unnamed Memory - Volume 4 - Chapter 9

9. Invisible Face

Four men had met in a room in the dimly lit castle.

Three of them had suntanned skin and well-built bodies, indicating that they drilled for battle day in, day out. The other was middle-aged, his hair just beginning to thin, and his attire was luxurious.

He looked to the little assembly. “The princess is in the way. We have to do something to stop her coronation.”

“But will things still work if something happens to her?” offered one of the other men.

The elder man fell into thought. After a moment of indecision, he made up his mind. “It doesn’t matter. They’re only crowning a figurehead anyway. The times have changed.”

His three constituents inhaled sharply at that. They were all determined to make a difference.

The man continued heatedly. “From now on, stable domestic affairs and foreign diplomacy are going to drive this country, as well as military strength. If the royal family doesn’t have the power to adapt, then we have no choice but to take their place. You can think of this as a revolution.”

Fierce determination oozed from him. The other three breathed in this ambition, won over by the words.

“All right, which of these rings do you think is the magic one?” Tinasha questioned, sitting in a patch of shade on the training grounds during a break from her regular practice. A silver ring wrought in an antique style lay atop each of her palms.

After gazing at them for a while, Oscar pointed. “That one.”

“Why do you think that?”

“Intuition,” he replied immediately.

Tinasha dismissed the rings and crossed her arms. Her shapely brows knit. “You do have very good intuition, but I don’t think that’s what guides your selection. Did you actually sense the magic coming from one of them?”

“If I had, I wasn’t consciously aware of it. All I felt was that something was different,” he said.

“Hmm… I’d like you to be a little more attuned than that,” admitted Tinasha, turning her right palm up and casting a spell there instantaneously. She infused it with magic and made the array visible. A three-dimensional sigil formed of intertwined red threads floated in her hand. “You see it, don’t you?”

“Yeah.”

“Okay. I’m going to make it fade, little by little,” she said, starting to adjust the magic. Very slowly, the red threads faded away until they disappeared.

But to those who could see magic, the spell was still visible right where it was.

Oscar stared at it. Once it was fully invisible, Tinasha asked, “Can you see it?”

“I can see some warping. It’s like that spot has water on it,” he answered.

“Hmm.”

She recited a short incantation, this time camouflaging it. The spell gradually faded away, cloaked to the point that an ordinary mage wouldn’t be able to see it. “What about now?”

“It feels weird.”

“You really do have good intuition…,” Tinasha commented, shaking her head somewhat exasperatedly as she made the spell vanish. Hugging her knees to her chest, she glanced up at the leaves of the big tree they were under. “Through repeated practice, someone like you might be able to see spells.”

“Then how about you give me some of that practice?”

“Hmm… Okay, just a little bit,” she agreed.

The two stood and moved a distance away from each other, like they often did for sword practice.

Tinasha gave a light swing of her practice sword. “Don’t move. I’ll create a spell that can be undone if you block its core with a normal sword. But it won’t come undone if you don’t touch the core, even if you hit the rest of the spell. Got it?”

“Got it,” Oscar said.

Weapon in hand, Tinasha spread her hands wide. Ten palm-size balls of light appeared before her chest. He narrowed his eyes at them.

“Go.”

With her soft but pointed order, the balls of light took to the air at varying speeds. They spread out, heading for Oscar. He awaited them, sword at the ready, and slashed at the first sphere to reach him. His blade pierced its center, and it winked out of sight. He then held his weapon horizontally and sliced at a sphere coming toward him from the right. Like the first, he punctured the core, but it pushed forward regardless and struck his shoulder. It tapped against him, then bounced off.

“Focus on seeing them. Broaden your senses,” Tinasha instructed.

“Okay,” Oscar replied as the sphere flew at him. Controlling his breathing, he raised his sword.

He concentrated, keeping his nerves taut.

With his eyes fixed on the light sphere, he saw a rippling on the inside of it.

He cut the third one a little to the upper left. It dissipated.

The fourth one slipped past his sword and hit his chest.

I need to hone my concentration better.

Oscar kept his senses sharp and his field of vision broad as he watched his target. The rippling inside the sphere grew a little clearer and more visible. He could tell that two white circles were joined together there.

Holding his breath, Oscar slashed at that meeting point.

Tinasha whipped up more magic spheres, restraining an admiring sigh.

There were still globes Oscar failed to strike in the right place, but he was gradually getting more right than wrong. Eventually, Tinasha began mixing in invisible spheres, yet Oscar succeeded against a fair number of those, too.

Unlike Tinasha’s prowess with a sword, Oscar’s magical vision was something inborn in him. It didn’t take the man long to adjust. Moreover, he possessed a naturally accurate intuition. His reactions were possibly even swifter than a typical mage’s. Tinasha stopped creating new spells and lifted up her hands.

“Let’s stop here for now. If you jump into too much at once, there could be some backlash, and that wouldn’t help at all,” she called.

“Sure. Thank you, I feel like I more or less figured it out. Did you undergo drills like these, too?” asked Oscar.

“I’ve been able to see magic for as long as I can remember. It’s actually harder to suppress my sensitivity when I don’t need to use it.”

Even then, Tinasha couldn’t dismiss her magical vision completely. It wasn’t impossible, but because she never knew what might be there, she always stayed aware to some degree. The world appeared considerably different through her eyes than it did to people without magic. If one pondered that, though, they would realize that everyone saw the world only from their perspective. There were differences in every view.

Oscar glanced up at the clock set into the castle wall. “I’ve taken up a lot of your time. Sorry about that.”

“Not at all. I’m the one who asked you for lessons. Let’s try some magic training for a while, too,” Tinasha suggested.

“Yeah, that would really help.”

Tinasha trotted over and happily nestled close as they set off. Oscar patted her head roughly, thinking her rather like a cat curling around his legs.

For a time, things passed peacefully like this in Farsas Castle.

One day, Doan and Sylvia were in the lounge surrounded by a number of open books on magic when Tinasha entered, and they looked up.

She was carrying a dozen thin volumes, and an unfamiliar male mage followed after her. He had a pile of books in his arms, too, though his were all thick. He set these tomes down on the desk, and Tinasha smiled. “Thank you, Renart.”

“I’m happy to assist anytime,” Renart replied with a bow. Then he lifted a hand in greeting to Doan. “It’s been a while.”

“You look well,” remarked Doan.

Evidently these two knew each other; Tinasha’s and Sylvia’s eyes widened in surprise. Noticing their curious gazes on him, Doan explained that he had met Renart while studying in Tuldarr. Renart introduced himself to Sylvia.

Once everyone was acquainted, Tinasha began to explain what she had brought.

“…So these books are interpretative texts. I came with this pair because it seemed like they might have some related information.”

The Farsasian mages listened intently, while Renart frowned at the last two volumes. “Princess Tinasha, aren’t those reference texts not meant to be taken out of the library?”

“I left the outer covers behind, so no one will know. We’ll make copies, return them, and all will be well,” she replied.

“That should be fine, then,” Renart said.

Sylvia eyed the calm, good-natured duo with concern. Then her eyes landed on the thin books Tinasha was holding. “Princess Tinasha, what are those?”

“Oh, these are my old diaries,” she answered, setting them down on the table. Each of the ten-odd books had a year inscribed on it. “Oscar asked me to look up a word I recalled hearing somewhere before, but these were the only writings of mine that I could find. I can’t show these to anyone, and there’s a lot to go through, so it won’t be easy, but…”

“What? These are your diaries?” a man piped up from behind as he reached out and picked up one of the things.

Tinasha let out a screech and whirled around. “Oscar! Give that back!”

She grabbed for it, but the king held it out of her reach and opened up the journal. He’d happened to be passing by and heard her voice, so he popped in to see if she wanted to do some practicing.

Despite Tinasha’s efforts, she couldn’t overcome her height disparity with the far taller Oscar. The man scanned the contents and found a neatly written account of war progress, domestic affairs, and the magic spells Tinasha had been researching at the time. The script used in Tuldarr had a few quirks to it, but most of it was mutually comprehensible and readable.

He flipped ahead and discovered that this diary seemed to detail the war with Tayiri. It was a matter-of-fact report containing nothing about Tinasha’s feelings on the matter. Finding that uninteresting, Oscar closed it. At the same time, Tinasha floated up into the air and snatched it. “I told you to give that back!”

“Write something more interesting,” Oscar commanded.

“I was busy!” she cried, landing back on the floor and flipping through the diary she had retrieved. Fortunately, there was nothing recorded in it that was too private for other eyes, yet she still felt unsettled.

Oscar eyed the other journals on the desk. “When did you start keeping a diary?”

“Since I was five, I think? It doubled as penmanship practice.”

“I want to see those diaries,” Oscar stated.

“Absolutely not!” Tinasha rebuked, as angry as a cat with its fur standing on end.

Laughing, Oscar patted her head. “Do you keep one now?”

“If I did, it would just be full of insults for you, wouldn’t it? Because you’re so mean to me all the time.”

“Aren’t you a bold one…”

“Ow! Ow!” Tinasha yelped, struggling as Oscar pinched her cheeks.

The king of Farsas looked to be enjoying himself deeply, and Renart muttered to Doan, “Is Farsas always like this?”

“Well… Mostly, yes,” Doan answered.

Renart was quite taken aback at the sight of Tinasha acting her age, something she never did in Tuldarr, and he kept his irreverent appraisal of the situation to himself.

Three days later, a letter arrived from Yarda, a country that bordered Farsas on the east.

Oscar read it in the course of his duties and furrowed his brow. “We’ve gotten an annoying request from Yarda. Internal strife has broken out, and they want the princess to stay here.”

“Princess Nephelli?” asked Lazar.

Farsas had warred with Yarda ten years ago, but after Yarda asked for help rebuilding, Farsas had rendered aid. It was clear they wanted to keep up a good relationship with Farsas; Princess Nephelli, in particular, visited often.

However, she had never stayed long. Oscar had to wonder how dire things had gotten if this had become necessary.

He rested his chin in his hands. “Well, it would be strange to refuse.”

“It certainly would. Your Majesty and Princess Nephelli are on friendly terms, after all,” Lazar replied.

Oscar nodded absently, then asked, “But would it be okay with Tinasha here? I can never predict what she’ll do. I don’t want her getting into any scuffles with Yarda.”

“…I believe that’s all dependent on you, Your Majesty,” Lazar stated wryly.

After Tinasha and Delilah’s altercation, the windows in the lounge had cracked. Tinasha had paid for replacements, but this time, her opponent would be a royal. The situation could devolve beyond repair. However, Lazar and all the other attendants and advisers believed that it was Oscar’s fault whenever Tinasha destroyed something.

Whether the young king was aware of his retinue’s concerns or not, he chuckled. “Just in case, I’ll warn Tinasha before she meets Nephelli, whenever that is. Lately she’s been holed up doing analysis, so it might not matter, but it’s not like they’d never run into each other.”

“There’s also the matter of how exactly you break the news to her, Your Majesty. Please take great care…,” pleaded Lazar.

“I’ll tell her while we’re practicing. If we’re outside, it shouldn’t result in any broken panes.”

“That’s not what I meant! I feel sorry for Princess Tinasha!” Lazar cried. Then his face clouded over. “She doesn’t have much time left in Farsas.”

It was so charming to see her clinging to the king like a kitten, but that wouldn’t be the case for much longer. Tinasha’s coronation was fast approaching, and it was clear upon close observation that she and Oscar were staying mindful of their respective positions. Although that was precisely what troubled Lazar.

Oscar gave his friend a strained smile. “I was joking. She’ll handle it well, too. That’s the type of people we are,” he said with a grin, accepting his duty matter-of-factly.

Once Lazar left the study, he let out another sigh.

The sky was a beautiful, clear blue as far as the eye could see—perfect weather for a wedding.

In the morning, Sylvia dropped by Tinasha’s room to return some books on magic, all happy smiles. “Today one of my fellow mages is getting married. The ceremony will take place in town, and in the evening, there will be a little reception in the castle courtyard.”

“Oh, a wedding. How nice.”

“Would you like to attend? Everyone would be thrilled.”

“Me?” Tinasha asked, eyeing her scrying bowl with the books still in her hands. The spell configuration floating above the basin was as finely wrought and lovely as ever. She was a bit behind schedule but still making progress. A change of pace couldn’t hurt. “I suppose I’ll take you up on your kind offer. Is the mage a man or a woman?”

“A man. His name is Temys,” answered Sylvia.

“I see.”

After Sylvia departed in high spirits, Tinasha teleported herself to Tuldarr to prepare. She quickly returned to Farsas and worked on her analysis for a little longer. Before she knew it, the time for the reception had come.

While things began at dusk, it was still quite light outside. Tables and chairs were set out in the courtyard, the tables laden with celebratory food and drinks. Oscar had provided all of it for the groom, who was a court mage. Many soldiers and mages were among the guests, and once the happy couple appeared, the modest reception got underway. It started with Chief Mage Kumu greeting the guests.

Tinasha made her appearance just as everyone was beginning to unwind and chat. Clad in the formal mage’s robe of Tuldarr, she offered her congratulations to the couple. Then she whispered to the bride, “Are you by any chance a spirit sorcerer?”

“A former one, yes. It’s an honor to meet you, princess of Tuldarr,” the woman replied.

Her happy smile was infectious, and Tinasha grinned back. She opened the box she was carrying. Inside lay a necklace made of a generous string of pearls. “This is actually a magic implement. One I think is perfect for you. Congratulations.”

“Th…thank you so much!” the bride exclaimed, receiving the box from Tinasha’s hands. The groom next to her bowed gratefully.

Well wishes complete, Tinasha made to retreat from them when someone got ahold of her from behind. Surprised, she turned her head back and saw a drunken Sylvia clinging to her.

“Princess Tinasha, do something!” pleaded the intoxicated mage.

“Do what?”

“Hey, Sylvia, whoa.”

Other people rushed to stop Sylvia from acting improperly, but Tinasha waved them off with a smile. With her friend still plastered to her back, Tinasha puzzled over what to do.

“Hmm, yes. In that case…”

She handed Sylvia off to Kav, then obtained permission from the bridal couple before going to stand before the assembled guests.

Oscar, who was working away with his back to the open window, paused when he heard the faint strains of a song floating in from outside.

He knew this voice well, but he had never heard her sing before. Accompanied only by a lyre, the melody she sang was not one from Farsas. Her clear and resonant voice was beautiful enough to enthrall all who heard it.

Lazar looked up, recognizing the voice, too. “Oh, is that Princess Tinasha?”

“Seems so. I guess she’s making an appearance at the wedding reception? She’s so talented,” Oscar remarked, grinning wryly as he listened to her pleasant, reverberant singing.

His work was almost done. Perhaps he would drop by the reception as well. Deciding to do just that, he sped up his work pace.

By the time Oscar made it to the celebration, the party was in full swing.

After stopping the bride and groom from bowing to him numerous times, Oscar congratulated them. Accepting a drink, he left the pair and searched the courtyard. In one corner, facing away from him, was the woman who had been singing earlier.

She was laughing out loud in amusement as she chatted with Sylvia. But as Oscar got closer, he noticed something was off.

From behind, he got ahold of her wrist. She whirled around, grinning. “Oh? Oscar?”

“You know this is alcoholic, right?” he asked.

“What?” she said, sounding surprised. In the hand Oscar had caught, she was holding a glass of fine wine. He released his grip, and Tinasha brought the glass to her mouth, her head tilted thoughtfully. “But it’s sweet.”

“It’s sweet and alcoholic,” Oscar stated.

“Huh…”

It was clear that Tinasha was already drunk. Oscar sat down on her right and kept an eye on her.

Giggling all the while, Tinasha wondered what could be wrong as she drained her glass. She tried to refill it from the carafe on the table, but Oscar stopped her. “Don’t drink any more. Your magic will run amok.”

“Yes, it will. That would be bad.”

“Listen…,” Oscar muttered, holding the carafe itself out of reach. He poured her a glass of water instead. “Drink this.”

“But it’s not sweet…,” Tinasha complained.

“Put sugar in it,” he shot back indifferently, and she pouted.

As Tinasha started to drink her water, Oscar reminded her, “Put on your sealing ornaments. You’re at a party.”

She nodded obediently, set her glass down, and tried to summon the ornaments into her hand. But what appeared instead was a porcelain vase.

Oscar let out a dry huff. “How is that a sealing ornament?”

“Hold on…,” Tinasha said, setting the vase down on the table and trying again. The next thing to appear was a little cat figurine made of stone. Her eyes grew wide. “It’s a cat!”

“Well, that’s obvious!” interjected Sylvia from the opposite side, collapsing into laughter over the table. It looked like she was as inebriated as Tinasha. Doan and Kav stood a fair distance away, watching the two women with fearful eyes but making no moves to get any closer, having apparently decided on a plan of noninvolvement.

Tinasha peered at her hands and moaned, “This is so strange… There’s no sealing ornament.”

“Do more, Princess Tinasha!” called Sylvia.

“Okay,” Tinasha sang, and then a metal helmet and a portion of a suit of armor from who knew where materialized in her hands. Oscar was at his wits’ end. He noticed that her magic must have been affecting the nearby glasses and water pitcher, because they were beginning to float. Tinasha was giving the helmet in her arms a curious look when Oscar plucked it from her and barked, “Don’t use any more magic!”

“Am I doing that…?” she questioned.

“Yes, it’s you,” the young king assured her, placing a sheathed Akashia across her lap. Right away, the levitating glasses landed back on the table. Oscar took Tinasha’s empty glass and filled it with more water.

That was when Lazar came running up from the covered walkway. “Your Majesty, we’ve received an answer from Yarda. The princess will be arriving the day after tomorrow.”

“That was fast,” Oscar replied. For the reply to come so quickly after he sent a response surely meant that Yarda was in dire straits. In any case, welcoming a visiting royal necessitated a fair amount of preparation. Oscar gave Lazar several instructions, remaining calm even as he felt a certain person’s eyes on him.

Once Lazar rushed off, Tinasha asked plaintively, “Oscar, are you getting married?”

Everyone around them froze. Doan casually stood. Aware of his inner circle’s concern, Oscar took a sip from his glass. “Who can say? Why would that be the case?”

“Mrr…,” Tinasha grumbled, pouting and sounding like a small child. Drunk as she was, she could tell from the way Oscar had spoken to Lazar that Nephelli was coming for a long stay.

Oscar pinched her cheek. “What’s with that face? If you’re unhappy about something, just tell me.”

It was all up to Tinasha whether Oscar could get married in the first place. If she didn’t want him marrying someone else, she need only declare herself incapable of breaking the curse. Then she would become the only woman who could bear his child.

As Oscar envisioned that future, Tinasha jerked her head to the side, sulking. “I don’t care. I came to be of use to you. I’m not unhappy about anything, so you should choose whoever you like.”

Despite her claim, Tinasha tried to grab another carafe of wine, but Oscar intercepted. “Fine. I think I’ll take a queen who won’t destroy a suit of armor.”

“Wha—?”

Everyone in the vicinity tensed up when they heard the king’s retort. Oscar watched Tinasha out of the corner of his eye, making sure she didn’t drop the sword resting on her lap.

Tinasha glared at him, her eyes glittering like fire. To him, they appeared as two gems. He was about to lose himself entirely in their light when Tinasha flung Akashia away. He reached out an arm to stop it from happening, which she promptly clutched. “Ugh! I hate you!”

“Got it, got it. I despise mages who are annoying drunks, too. You should go sleep it off.”

“I’m not gonna! Stupid!” Tinasha cried, kicking up a fuss even as she clung to Oscar’s arm. However, her eyes kept fluttering shut, suggesting she was almost totally exhausted. Finally, she collapsed onto Oscar’s lap.

Oscar sipped at his drink, letting Tinasha rest peacefully, but when the magic lights in the courtyard twinkled to life, he took that as his cue to lift her up and carry her.

As he took his leave, he said, “I’ll take her to her room. Sorry she caused a commotion.” His advisers and attendants watched them go with uneasy smiles.

Tinasha’s room had a magical barrier instead of a lock, but Oscar could pass through it, as he was the lord of the castle. He carried Tinasha into the room, put her down on the bed, and pulled the covers over her petite frame. Scanning the room, his eyes landed on her diaries lying on the desk.

“She’s surprisingly meticulous…”

The lines from one journal he’d glimpsed earlier were so coolheaded it was difficult to imagine the Tinasha he knew could write them. They very much indicated a queen who stood at the pinnacle of her country at a young age. The writings had also revealed Tinasha’s life to be quite lonely—and that she was constantly dealing with conflicts both domestic and international.

Undoubtedly, the Traditionalists in Tuldarr had never given her a moment’s peace, constantly seeking to oust her. Oscar couldn’t suppress a sigh at the thought of all that pressure weighing on so tiny a body.

“And yet she’s going to become queen again…even though she was finally allowed to abdicate,” Oscar mused, starting to frown, but then he banished that thought. The circumstances were very different now. Her coronation was expressly requested. And she would be a ruler who commanded the mystical spirits, who had not appeared in a long time. Legis would be there to support her as well. Hopefully, Tinasha wouldn’t be so lonely this time.

Oscar eyed the piles of journals, counting them up in his mind. In total, there were fifteen.

“She said it was just before she became queen, so…around when she was thirteen?”

The ninth diary from the oldest had YEAR 235 on the cover; Oscar fell silent before it.

He did want to know the truth.

Had he truly been the one to save her when she was young? It hadn’t been someone else?

If it was him, then why had he done it?

Perhaps the answer was in those pages.

Thoughts whirled in Oscar’s mind as he touched the cover, but in the end, he didn’t open it.

Looking at it without Tinasha’s permission was wrong. And…even if that had been him, it wasn’t his current self. Snooping didn’t seem like it would reveal anything Oscar needed to know. Should there be anything like that, he trusted Tinasha to tell him.

Oscar returned to the bed and sat down on it. He gazed at Tinasha as she slept soundly. “You’re glad you came to meet me, huh?”

Without a doubt, those words had been meant for him, not the previous Oscar. Still, he had to wonder if he could truly give a woman who had crossed four hundred years into the future what she deserved.

Everything she did struck him like waves. Her childish laughter, her deep affection pouring from her even as she raged at him… It was frightening.

Not because it was overwhelming or that Tinasha was too clingy. Oscar was scared because he couldn’t allow himself to be a prisoner to love.

Turning back, he eyed the scrying bowl set in the center of the room. There lay the spell configuration she was in the middle of analyzing.

“…If not for this curse…”

If she couldn’t break the curse, he could have Tinasha. That was all he needed to justify keeping her.

Oscar did not doubt his ability to talk both Tinasha and Tuldarr into just about anything.

She was a woman out of time, who never should have existed here. Tuldarr would get on without her. What was so wrong with accepting for himself this woman who had come here for him?

After glaring at the spell above the scrying bowl for some time, Oscar glanced over at Tinasha, then back to the spell she was working so hard to decipher. He let out a heavy sigh.

“Maybe this is fate…,” he muttered, a bitter note in his voice, as he slid a hand through her hair, catching one glossy lock and carding his fingers through it slowly and lovingly. He shook his head to dispel the emotions rising inside him and then left the room.

The next day, Tinasha made her way to the training grounds right on time, but she was conspicuously holding a hand to her pounding temple.

Oscar watched her, his eyes narrowed. “Do you have anything to say?”

“My memories are a blur, but first I want to apologize for breaking the suit of armor,” she replied.

“…Don’t drink any more of Farsas’s liquor. You’re banned from it.”

“Okay…,” she agreed lethargically, starting some light stretches and warm-up exercises. As Tinasha bent her knees, she made a face. “The last time I drank, I put a hole in a wall, so I’ve abstained ever since.”

Unbelievable. Compared to that, they got off lucky. Oscar took comfort in that, then picked up his practice sword once he saw Tinasha was ready. “So do you remember the important message I got? If you’ve forgotten, I’ll tell you again.”

“I know that Princess Nephelli of Yarda is coming to stay. You don’t need to worry. I’ll be on my best behavior so I don’t bring shame to Legis.”

“What about my shame?”

“I don’t care about that,” she huffed, glancing away. Remembering what happened yesterday, Oscar’s eyes narrowed. But if he picked a fight here, the same cycle would just repeat. While he was thinking about how to respond, Tinasha faced him again. “That said, I’ll be away starting this afternoon. If anything happens, contact Tuldarr.”

“Is that where you’re going?”

“No, but I’ll be stopping there, so that will be easiest,” she replied.

Oscar wanted to pry further upon hearing that but was aware he couldn’t meddle in another country’s business. He brought his sword up. “Got it. When you’re back, be sure to greet Nephelli.”

“I will. I do have my work to do,” she said, grinning, but Oscar detected some loneliness in the expression. He felt as though he was glimpsing her queenly demeanor in that smile, the part of her he shouldn’t know about, and he frowned.

“…She’s just a guest of Farsas. You can relax. Like you did at the reception yesterday,” he stated wryly.

“Don’t take advantage of the situation to slip in a snide remark. I’m well aware that I drank too much.”

“But your singing was great.”

The truth was that Oscar had gone to the reception hoping to hear her up close.

Tinasha cocked her head, bemused. “Really? I’ll sing for you anytime. Just ask,” she replied with a happy smile.

A handful of men had been loitering in a small tavern in a town not far from the castle city since the afternoon.

An air of degeneracy hung around this drunk, pipe-smoking bunch, but that was common everywhere in these parts. Somewhere along the way, this region had grown saturated with resignation and despondency.

A ray of light suddenly fell on a man who was toying with an empty, upside-down liquor bottle. He squinted.

In the doorway stood a small-statured woman and her male companion. They entered and shut the door, taking seats at a table next to the drunkards. One look at the woman, and they all gasped.

She had lustrous, long hair like black silk and deep inky eyes. She was terrifyingly beautiful, and she winced upon noticing their gazes on her. She turned in her chair to face them. “If it’s all right, I’d like to ask you gentlemen something.”

She wore a bright smile, and the drunkards stared at her, eyeing the woman up and down.

“Renart, don’t you think you went too far?”

“It’s what they deserved,” he replied as he pushed the men, now beaten to a pulp, into a corner of the tavern. This was retribution for how they had tried to abduct Tinasha, giving any excuse they could drum up.

Crouching down next to one man who was still conscious, Tinasha tilted her head to the side. “So can I ask you a question? Do you know what Simila is?”

Simila was the so-called god worshipped by the cult that was operating in the Farsas capital. Tinasha and Renart had come to learn more about it.

The man’s eyes widened, filling with fear. “I—I don’t! I don’t know anything!”

It was obvious he did, and Tinasha pressed him again. “If you talk now, you might end up happier…than if you remain quiet.”

“I’m tellin’ you I don’t know anything!” the man cried.

Tinasha stood and exchanged a glance with Renart. Five taverns they had visited, and each one proved fruitless. They were at a loss.

Giving up on the men who wouldn’t confess no matter how they asked, they took their leave.

“What is going on? I’m positive they all know something,” Tinasha said.

“Where did you hear about Simila in the first place?” Renart inquired.

“From a lady-in-waiting who cared for me when I was little. I believe she was from Cezar.”

Tinasha had scoured her diaries and found the word she was looking for in a passage from when she was six. Then she remembered she had heard the name invoked by that lady-in-waiting. She had told bedtime stories of Simila, describing it as a “very scary monster deep below.”

According to her journal, Tinasha had a nightmare about black hands stretching up from a hole in the ground and chasing her.

“I didn’t think it would be this much trouble. I’m supposed to meet Legis soon, so this is quite annoying,” Tinasha grumbled. In an hour, she had to return to Tuldarr for a conference with Legis about her coronation. Unbeknownst to King Calste, after Legis had woken from his magically induced coma, the two of them had held numerous discussions about a certain course of action.

“Perhaps we should go to the capital in Cezar,” Tinasha mused.

“Princess Tinasha, please be aware of how much you stand out,” advised Renart, who thought privately that her beauty was one reason the interrogations hadn’t gone well.

He happened to glance out at the town and noticed an old woman sitting under the eaves of a house. Motioning to Tinasha not to follow, he went over to the woman alone and crouched down on one knee before her. “Excuse me, I’d like to ask you about something…”

After several attempts to persuade her, the old woman reluctantly began to talk. She finally gave them the information they were looking for.

And once they’d heard the full story, Renart and Tinasha stared at each other in shock.

Two days after Nephelli sent word to Farsas, she arrived via transportation array.

As far as royal visits went, this one was rather hasty but couldn’t be otherwise given the circumstances. She brought with her three military officers, two mages, and two ladies-in-waiting. Oscar was there to formally receive Nephelli, and she gave him an official letter from her father, the king of Yarda. It read, My prime minister Zisis is attempting to oust the crown prince, Savas.

While they had no definitive evidence, the king and the prince were aware he was behaving suspiciously and had decided that Nephelli should go elsewhere until things calmed down, just in case.

She looked worried indeed, and Oscar smiled at her. They had seen each other regularly since they were children, but now that she was nineteen, she was maturing into an adult woman still possessed of sweet, youthful beauty.

“I imagine it won’t be easy being in an unfamiliar country, but I hope you have a relaxing stay here,” Oscar said.

“I regret that this is all so sudden. I’m presuming upon your kindness,” Nephelli replied, curtsying as her pale-pink cheeks reddened.

Oscar left the great hall with her to show the visiting princess to the room where she would be staying. Both of their guard escorts trailed behind them.

Tinasha had come to Farsas alone, insisting she could handle herself, but normally a royal traveled with protectors and servants, as Nephelli did. When Oscar said as much to Tinasha before, she had shocked him by revealing there had been a period of time when she cooked her own meals, too.

Tinasha had left for Tuldarr the day before. With less than a month until her coronation ceremony, there was much to arrange.

Nephelli looked all around the hallway as she and Oscar walked. Then she asked timidly, “The princess of Tuldarr is here, too, I believe…?”

“Yes, although she comes and goes like a phantom. Once she’s back, I’ll have her come greet you,” Oscar replied.

“Prince Legis introduced us once, here in Farsas. She’s very beautiful,” said Nephelli.

That would have been at Oscar’s coronation. He winced at the worry and jealousy in Nephelli’s eyes. “She’s rather unpredictable. Her personality is so intense that her appearance doesn’t really matter.”

A damning appraisal. Nephelli, unsure if Oscar was serious, hesitated before merely offering him a vague smile.

Upon Tinasha’s return to Farsas around sunset, she was informed that there was to be a banquet for Nephelli that evening. This was relayed by Sylvia, who stood happily in front of the door to Tinasha’s quarters with a makeup kit and gown bag.

Holding a heavy stack of books from Tuldarr, Tinasha balked, and her face went stiff. “What…? I have to wear makeup?”

“Of course you do! And you have to wear a gown as well!” insisted Sylvia.

“Urgh… I should have come back a day later…” Tinasha groaned, but she let Sylvia enter.

Right away, she hung the gown on the wall and said excitedly, “There’s no way anyone can beat you when you make an effort, so get serious!”

“Who am I supposed to be fighting with…?” Tinasha muttered in a worn-out voice, drawing a bath as she juggled a stack of papers in her other hand.

“Princess Nephelli, of course!” Sylvia exclaimed.

“Over what?!”

“I want His Majesty to make you his queen.”

“What?!” Tinasha shrieked, so caught off guard by Sylvia’s crazy proclamation that she almost dropped the collection of documents into the bathtub. Hastily, she clutched them tight against her chest. “Th-that would be difficult from both a public and a private standpoint…”

“Really?”

“I mean, I’m going to become queen of Tuldarr soon…,” reminded Tinasha.

“That doesn’t matter! Tuldarr is right next to Farsas, so all you have to do is draw a transportation array. Birth two heirs, and you’ll be fine!”

“…”

Tinasha felt so exhausted that she couldn’t respond immediately. She went to set the papers down so as not to drop them.

While an extreme case, what Sylvia proposed wasn’t strictly impossible.

Still, but no king or queen had ever attempted it before. Two countries ruled by people who had the same parents would only spell trouble.

However, Tinasha had a reason why that would not be a vital concern for her. While it was not her explicit goal, that roadblock would cease to matter along the way.

The true problem was something else.

“Oscar doesn’t see me that way at all.”

“What?” Sylvia evidently found that claim unbelievable.

Tinasha shrugged. “At most, he doesn’t hate me. He treats me exactly like a kid, so there’s no way he would marry me. That much is obvious, even to me.”

Tinasha pushed past a wide-eyed Sylvia to go check on the bath. The water was ready, so she added some perfumed oils to it and slipped out of her clothes. She sank into the tub, soaking as she stretched her slender limbs.

Sylvia entered before long and started to wash Tinasha’s long hair. As the floral scent of the oils permeated the bathroom, Tinasha felt her built-up exhaustion melt away.

While she was always juggling multiple things at once, there were times when she was allowed a reprieve. Now was one of those occasions.

At times, the many responsibilities she handled felt hopeless, even if she knew they were not. Undoubtedly, they took their toll on the young woman’s body. The hot water of the bath and Sylvia’s hands cleaning her locks felt very nice.

Eyes closed, Tinasha pressed on various pressure points on her face. Done washing her hair, Sylvia frowned at Tinasha’s pale body in the tub. “You’re covered in bruises.”

“Ah yes, because of sword practice. I can’t heal bruises… Although, I can disguise their appearance,” Tinasha explained.

“Why are you learning sword fighting? You’re already very strong,” said Sylvia.

“When things happen suddenly, my reactions are slow. There’s someone out there who will come to kill me if I don’t improve.”

“What sort of crazy daredevil would that be…?” Sylvia wondered in a hushed tone.

That would be the demon king, but Tinasha only answered with a vague smile. The two continued to chat throughout the rest of Tinasha’s soak, and when she was done, she climbed out of the tub.

With Tinasha’s bruises concealed, her whole body was white as snow, and though she was a bit too thin, her alluring curves beguiled any who beheld them. Sylvia caught herself staring at Tinasha’s naked form until she snapped back to her senses and flashed her a confident expression. “About what we were discussing earlier—a man doesn’t gift clothes to a woman he doesn’t care about! Especially not our king!”

With that, Sylvia disappeared back into Tinasha’s bedroom and retrieved the gown the king of Farsas had commissioned specifically for Tinasha, throwing her stunned friend a sidelong glance as she did.

With the moon rising into the sky, the banquet got underway.

Dozens of high officials and nobles who served the castle milled about the banquet hall. Nephelli was relieved to receive such a warm welcome. Up until now, every day at court in her home country was tense and nerve-racking. Though it was only for a moment, she was honestly happy to have landed in a safe place.

Still, she worried for her father and brother who remained in Yarda. Her father was already quite old, and her brother could be fainthearted. She couldn’t help feeling anxious over whether the two of them could resolve the situation alone.

If I married into Farsas and gained its support, could I save my father and brother…?

Nephelli looked to the king of Farsas next to her with that question on her mind. He noticed her gaze and opened his mouth to say something.

But just then, the crowd around the entrance to the hall began to buzz. Nephelli and Oscar glanced over, puzzled, and saw the woman who would rule Tuldarr standing in the doorway.

Tinasha hid her discomfort at being the center of attention. She had reminded Sylvia again and again that Nephelli was the guest of honor, so she would prefer to blend in more, but her friend had evidently not listened at all.

However, even if Sylvia had paid attention to that exhortation, she would have only insisted Tinasha be more aware of her own striking appearance. As requested, Sylvia had only applied light makeup in subdued colors. Yet Tinasha’s radiance was so distinctive and rare that it garnered everyone’s attention.

Her navy-blue gown, so dark it seemed almost black, was entirely open at the back. Layers and layers of light, airy fabrics billowed outward from her waist down to the floor. She wore few accessories, but that only enhanced the innate elegance of the woman’s form.

Tinasha approached Nephelli in her seat of honor at the front and curtsied before her. “I apologize for my silence since we first made our acquaintanceship. It is an honor to meet you again.”

Nephelli, who had been in a daze, fascinated by Tinasha’s appearance, leaped to her feet and returned the curtsy. “I must apologize, too, for my sudden appearance. I hope we shall get along here.”

“There is nothing to apologize for. I find myself quite busy as my coronation approaches, so you will have to forgive any impoliteness,” Tinasha said with a bright smile as she rose to her feet. She attempted to bow and retreat, keeping a sociable, soft smile on her lips, but Oscar called to her.

“That looks good on you.”

“Fortunately, yes. Thank you,” she replied, her facade never fading once, and withdrew. Tinasha spent some time by the wall chatting with Meredina, who was there as security, before excusing herself from the hall.

Nephelli watched her go, cutting a vivid picture even as she left, and couldn’t hold back a sigh. She couldn’t believe that such a woman existed, even though she had met her personally. Feeling as if the light cast by her utterly charming existence was too much for her, Nephelli averted her eyes downward.

She did not want to look over and see what kind of expression the man next to her wore as he watched Tinasha go.

Late at night in his bedroom, Oscar lay facedown on his bed, still dressed from the party. He managed to stay awake, though he was on the verge of passing out.

Nark was asleep by his pillow, curled into a ball. The dragon slept most of the time, unless it was needed. Sometimes he wouldn’t find it in his room, but it would come back if he called for it, so he never worried. Idly, he reached out for Nark’s tail but froze when he heard a knock at the door.

Calling out to see who it was, a most unexpected woman’s voice came back.

“What, this time you came by the front door?” Oscar asked, inviting her in.

Tinasha gave a shrug of her bare shoulders. “I wouldn’t want to intrude if you had brought the princess back to your room, so I checked with the guards first before knocking.”

“What kind of beast do you think I am…?”

“Figure it out,” Tinasha flatly. Nark perked up at the sound of her voice. The little dragon flapped its wings and flew happily over to its former master, landing on her shoulder. She giggled and stroked its throat.

This was not a dragon that was friendly to all humans, but it was fond of Oscar and Tinasha and tolerated a few others like Als and Doan. Tinasha made her way over to the table, playing with Nark as she walked, and started to feed it the fruit arranged there.

Oscar watched her, his eyes half lidded. A splash of moonlight poured onto her ivory back, giving it a brilliant shine. “You’re still wearing that dress?”

“Well, you had it made for me. Is it so strange?”

“No…,” the king muttered. The trouble was that it looked much too good on her. While Oscar was the one who had ordered it, the gown drew out and enhanced Tinasha’s charm beautifully.

Tinasha winced as she pushed a round apple into Nark’s mouth. “The back is open, so I can’t quite relax in it.”

“I made it that way because you’ve been so hot lately,” Oscar explained.

“You could have just shortened the skirt, then.”

“Then you’d look like a kid,” he countered. Tinasha was always whining about how hot it was and wearing sleeveless outfits with short hems, but she was so blasé about it that it always appeared childish. The future queen was much more alluring when she wore a gown like she was now.

Deliberately putting space between them, Oscar sat down on his bed. Eyeing the sheaf of papers in her hands, he asked, “So why are you here?”

“I’ve got bad news and bad news. Which one do you want to hear first?”

“…”

“I’m kidding. There’s only one thing,” Tinasha said, showing Oscar a document as he sighed exasperatedly. “It’s about Simila. I’ve finally learned what it is. Simila is an evil god spoken of in Cezar since ancient times.”

“What…?”

“Yes, I’m not surprised you’d react that way. The oldest accounts tell of a town close to the eastern border of Cezar that worshipped this god, five hundred years ago. For the following two centuries, it expanded into a religious group, culminating in the sect founder acting as the king’s adviser. This led to many human sacrifices and wrongful executions of the innocent. This is all only spoken of by word of mouth, and no one wants to discuss it, so obtaining this information was not easy.”

“You went to go question people?!”

“Yes. I kept getting into scuffles wherever I went, so Renart told me to leave,” Tinasha admitted with a sniff.

Oscar could well understand Renart’s feelings, and he let out a sigh. Someone of moderate beauty would be perfect for drawing out information, but Tinasha’s exquisite looks would only garner undue attention and lead to extra trouble.

However, the problem now lay elsewhere. Oscar pondered the twists and turns of this story. “So what you’re saying is: Believers of this evil god have come to Farsas.”

“It appears so. It’s highly likely that this cult has taken control of the Cezar royal court. Almost all of Simila’s faithful suddenly vanished five years ago, but that’s also when the political situation in Cezar went haywire. Mages flocked to the castle, and all the magistrates were replaced. More and more people were drafted as soldiers yet were never heard from again. There’s also been strange disappearances. Cezar’s situation is rough, to say the least, and morale couldn’t be lower.”

“And this decline was brought about by the religion? What are they even doing?” Oscar wondered aloud. He didn’t think worship and politics should excessively intermingle, especially when the object of reverence was a wicked deity. A nation falling to ruin over something like that was the height of foolishness.

Tinasha came up to Oscar and held out the stack of documents. “I’ve summarized all the details here. If there’s anything you want to examine, please do.”

“Thanks, that’s a big help. Sorry for the trouble,” Oscar replied, accepting the papers.

“It’s fine. Sorry I didn’t have better news,” Tinasha said, flashing him a slightly bitter smile, one quite different from her public expression.

“How’s the analysis going?”

“I’m stuck, but I’ll be done once I overcome this block. Just wait a little while longer,” she responded, pulling at her bun. Her hair came undone, cascading down.

As a curtain of black silk fell over Tinasha’s shoulders and back, Oscar closed his eyes for fear of how utterly bewitching it was. “If you can’t manage it, don’t worry.”

There was a short pause. Before the silence grew uncomfortable, Tinasha replied, “I’m fine. If things go well, I’ll break it while I’m still in Farsas. I just need a flash of inspiration.”

Her voice was as clear as still waters. Hearing it reminded Oscar that Tinasha was indeed the ruler of a country, exactly like he was. Mild loneliness was something she was proud to accept as a natural consequence. Personal feelings or hesitation weren’t reason enough to cease. She understood that doing what duty demanded was her responsibility.

Thus, the more placid Tinasha conducted herself outwardly, the more aware Oscar became that the time for the two to part was fast approaching. Even as an uneasy irritation racked Oscar, he maintained his composure, too.

He opened his eyes to find her staring at him with concern. A pale hand touched his cheek. “Are you feeling all right? You look tired.”

“I’m fine,” Oscar assured. The warmth from Tinasha’s soft hand seeped through to his whole body.

The king felt lonelier with her than he did when alone, most likely because the two of them were on separate paths.

A serenity came over Tinasha’s face, backlit by the moon. She regretted nothing—accepted everything as it was. Loneliness was only natural.

Perhaps that was why Oscar desired to take her into his arms so powerfully at that moment.

He wanted to feel her body heat and make sure that her solitude was something she had chosen herself.

Tinasha gazed anxiously into Oscar’s eyes, which held some formless emotion in them. Suddenly, a serious glint appeared in her dark orbs. She took his face gently into her hands and then pressed a kiss to his eyelid.

Left astonished by the softness of her lips, Oscar felt a jolt of something run through him at her kiss.

He desperately wanted to embrace her. He wanted to kiss her deeply and teach her all about carnal desire. He wanted to take control.

Yet the king suppressed those terrifyingly primal, fierce instincts and glared up at the woman, his lips pinched. “What are you doing?”

“I felt this odd pull that I couldn’t resist. Sorry,” Tinasha said without an ounce of shame, gently releasing Oscar. Her breezy answer gave him a headache.

She truly was no better than a child at times. Tinasha simply followed her heart without considering what could come next.

As Oscar rubbed at his temples, Nark hopped onto his lap. Tinasha stroked along the creature’s back.

“Good night, then,” she bid him, giggling impishly, as if oblivious to her own actions.

Oscar eyed her fragile body coldly. “Come during the day next time.”

Despite his request, it seemed unlikely that Tinasha would glean the meaning of his deeply exhausted words.

After the banquet on her first day, Nephelli did not see Tinasha at all.

It was not that she went out of her way to avoid the other royal, rather, Tinasha simply never seemed to be around. When Nephelli asked a mage of Farsas about it, he winced and informed her that Tinasha rarely left her room lately.

“If you’re curious, you can go take a look at the training grounds. She might be there,” he said.

Nephelli wasn’t curious, exactly. Still, she found herself doing as the mage had suggested and often strolled along the walkway that led to the training grounds.

On her tenth day in Farsas, Nephelli found Tinasha there, practicing with a sword. Her opponent was the king of Farsas, and Nephelli took in this unexpected scene with wide eyes.

The sounds of weapons clashing were soft, as if he was matching his strength to hers, but they came at a swift pace.

With a curt exhale, Oscar knocked Tinasha’s sword into the air. Nephelli gasped as the weapon spun overhead. Astonishingly, Tinasha teleported the armament back into her grip before its blade plunged into the ground.

Oscar eyed his adversary with some frustration. “Your physical movements haven’t caught up with your awareness. You need to move more instinctively,” he advised.

“I’ll do my best.”

“You can read what your opponent will do next from their shoulders. But take in the whole picture, too,” instructed Oscar.

Tinasha nodded obediently, then glanced down at her right arm. A reddish-brown bruise was blooming near the shoulder, the result of a blow she had failed to deflect. With a touch from her hand, Tinasha caused it to vanish.

Impressed, Oscar remarked, “That’s handy.”

“I only concealed the appearance. Magic can’t heal bruises,” Tinasha explained, using a cloth to wipe her sweat-slicked sword hilt. Then she grabbed ahold of it again, looked up, and tilted her head to one side in confusion.

Oscar looked thunderstruck. Not knowing why, she tilted her head the other way.

“You, you… Why didn’t you tell me that sooner?! Your body must be covered in bruises!” he exclaimed.

“It is, but they don’t hurt. I can mend the internal part,” Tinasha coolly replied.

“That’s not the problem.”

“What? It’s the same thing as blending makeup into your skin. And I don’t expect to get better without some pain along the way. So please, let’s keep going,” the young woman insisted.

“I feel pretty depressed right about now,” Oscar muttered.

“Why?” Tinasha questioned with irritation, even as she readied her sword. She slashed down at Oscar, not waiting for his acknowledgment.

He parried it quite easily, however. The pair then exchanged another twenty or so moves.

Oscar didn’t miss Tinasha’s movements slowing when he handily fended away her blade, and he took a step in and sent her weapon flying. He drove his sword in toward Tinasha’s neck, now undefended.

Immediately, she threw up her left arm and caught the blow, leaping back. “O-ow.”

“Use your magic!” Oscar snapped at Tinasha irritably. His intention had never been to actually stab her throat, but she had countered on instinct and wound up injured for it. The response had likely been fostered in past life-or-death conflicts. Prioritizing survival, even if it meant certain sacrifices, was a concept that had been ingrained into Tinasha over the years.

Still gripping her sword, she pressed a hand to her left arm. “You still ended up hitting me.”

“You won’t progress without some pain along the way, right? If you don’t like it, use magic to defend yourself.”

“No. That would be cheating,” she dismissed primly.

Oscar thought that an unbelievably stubborn response. He wished to know who raised this obstinate creature.

With an annoyed click of his tongue, Oscar stepped back. Then he felt a gaze upon him and looked to see Nephelli standing close by, accompanied by two guards.

When he caught sight of her concerned expression, he winced and waved her over. Hesitantly, she sauntered onto the training grounds from the end of the covered walkway.

Tinasha noticed her, too, and grinned. “Hello. Out for a walk?”

Nephelli was taken aback by this innocent smile so unlike the one Tinasha had worn during the welcome banquet, but she hid her surprise and bobbed her head respectfully. “Yes… I wanted to stretch my legs a little. Princess Tinasha, whatever are you doing?”

“Training. I have a lot of free time right now,” she replied, her eyes narrowing with her smile. The expression betrayed no emotion. Curiously, Nephelli felt a sense of uneasiness sweep over her. She was a royal, too, and had learned some swordplay as self-defense. Although she kept up regular practice, she had never undergone such intense drills. Oscar and Tinasha were both rulers and yet seemed to believe it a matter of course that they fight in the thick of combat. It was frightening.

Unaware that Nephelli was trembling with fear, Oscar asked Tinasha, “Is it okay that you’re still in Farsas? You’ve got preparations to do for your coronation, don’t you?”

“Legis is handling them for me. I tried to handle things myself, but the castle staff wrested responsibility from me when I slashed the guest list. Don’t worry; I’m doing my job properly.”

That was probably true. Outside of sword practice, Oscar hadn’t seen Tinasha out and about much recently. At times, he detected exhaustion written all over her face. Secretly, he was worried.

Tinasha checked the clock on the outer wall and bowed her head. “Is it about time? Thank you for practicing with me.”

“Hurry up and do something to prevent all that bruising,” Oscar instructed.

“I’ll handle it,” Tinasha replied. Evidently planning to stay, she had just taken Oscar’s sword from him when she stared in the direction of the walkway. Oscar turned around, following her gaze. There stood Nephelli’s guards, a military officer and a mage.

“What is it…?” Oscar inquired. Tinasha looked like a cat sniffing out an unfamiliar human. Unsure of the issue, Oscar made to leave, urging Nephelli along. But immediately after, he whipped around. Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted Tinasha lifting her hands up as she whispered an incantation.

Once he’d made sure of that, he picked up Nephelli. Everything happened so swiftly that there wasn’t time for the Yardan princess to feel discombobulated before a sound like nails scratching on a chalkboard raked the air.

“Scatter.”

With that one word from Tinasha’s lips, the awful noise stopped. Keeping Nephelli in his arms, Oscar asked, “Where did that come from?”

“Wait. Mila!” Tinasha called.

“Mm-hmm, here I am! What do you need?” answered a red-haired girl who popped out of thin air.

Tinasha gave her spirit orders. “Go after the assassin. I want them alive, but if that’s not possible, kill them.”

“Got it, got it!” the girl trilled, letting out a laugh like tinkling bells as she disappeared.

With the spirit gone, Oscar finally set Nephelli down. Pressing her hands to her reddened cheeks, she gazed up at Oscar. “Um, so…what just happened?”

“Ah well… An assassin broke through the castle wards. Looks like they’ve already escaped, but it’d be best to return inside,” he said.

The blood drained from Nephelli’s face. She glanced over at her guard soldier and mage to check their reactions. Oscar smiled awkwardly down at the woman, whose lower lip was trembling. “Well, we don’t know who or what their target was. Could’ve been the explosives behind us.”

“If they think that’s enough to kill me, they’re stupider than I thought. That’s what they get for being so unaware,” Tinasha stated with a shrug, walking over to return the sword Oscar was using to him.

Nothing could reassure Nephelli in the slightest—not the sight of Tinasha looking as composed as if nothing had transpired, nor the equally unperturbed Oscar putting a hand around Nephelli’s shoulders.

After leaving the training grounds, Tinasha retired to the castle’s grand bath, diving into the water and splashing about while washing off her sweat. This had become her custom ever since her plunge in the underground Lake of Silence. Oscar had told Tinasha to learn how to swim, and while she was trying, she had yet to succeed.

As Tinasha sat submerged in the water, she heard her spirit’s voice right above her head and stood, brushing water off her face with her hands. Mila was floating overhead. “Lady Tinasha, you can’t breathe while swimming?”

“I don’t know how. Do you?”

“Demons don’t swim, so no. More importantly, I caught the assassin. Should I send them here?”

“That’s fine, but I am still naked,” Tinasha reminded, squeezing water out of her ponytail and walking over to the shower area. She summoned clothes into her hands. As she was pulling on a pale-blue sundress, a man she didn’t recognize appeared on the floor before her. He seemed to be a mage, and there were cuts covering his body. After arriving, he wriggled around on the floor, looking every which way.

Tinasha arched an eyebrow as she beheld the sight. “Welcome. Sorry we’re meeting here of all places, but I need to ask you some questions.”

When the man looked up, he saw an extremely beautiful and cruel smile on the woman’s lips.

Oscar, who had returned to his study after escorting Nephelli back to her rooms, gave a strained smile to Tinasha and Als when they entered. Eyeing the bound, battered man, the king asked Tinasha, “What did you find out?”

“His target was, in fact, Princess Nephelli. He’s an assassin from Yarda. However, he worked through an intermediary, so he’s oblivious to the one who gave the order. He’s just a hired man,” Tinasha reported, eyes flitting over to the hired killer as she crossed her arms and leaned against the table.

Sweat was pouring down the nervous man’s temples; his magic had been sealed off.

Oscar gazed at him with his head in one hand, as if he could hardly be bothered with this. “An assailant breaking through our wards is concerning.”

“Mmm, I think he just knew what was going on inside. An external entity can’t plow through a magical barrier without permission, but you can be let in on foot.”

“Got it. Als, make him talk.”

“Yes, Your Majesty,” Als responded with a bow, then dragged the assassin out of the room.

What Tinasha was implying was that there was a traitor in the castle. Oscar doubted whether this hired assassin would expose the turncoat’s identity, but it was worth trying.

Oscar lifted his chin off his hand and leaned back in his chair, crossing his legs. “Damn nuisance. Even if he tells us he was hired by Yarda’s prime minister or something, I can’t do a thing about it.”

“You can’t?”

“It’s another country’s affairs. All I can do is inform Yarda,” he answered with a sigh, twirling a pen in his hands as he stared at the ceiling. Tinasha asked Oscar if he wanted tea, and he said yes. The king smiled, feeling as if it had been a very long time since he’d watched her brew tea. Tinasha opened the door and asked the lady-in-waiting beyond for some water, then turned back to face him.

“Oh, but couldn’t you get involved if you got engaged to her?” Tinasha proposed airily.

Oscar’s eyes widened. More surprising than the suggestion itself was the fact that it came from Tinasha. Careful not to let his inner feelings show, Oscar replied, “Get engaged to someone just for that? That’s a big ask.”

“So cold… Do you not think her a suitable candidate?” Tinasha pressed.

The inquiry was not without merit. Yarda, Farsas’s neighbor to the east, had enjoyed a friendly relationship with Farsas in the ten years since the countries warred. If the two nations joined in marriage, relations would be stabilized for quite a while.

However, Yarda wasn’t the only country looking to make a match with Farsas. After all, it was one of the most powerful nations in all the land, rivaled only by Tuldarr and Cezar.

Neither was inclined to seek a marriage alliance with Farsas, though. Cezar, because of its many years of strained relations with Farsas, and Tuldarr, because the peculiar Magic Empire kept to itself.

Glancing over at the woman who would become queen of Tuldarr in twenty short days, Oscar watched her reach out to take a pitcher of water from the lady-in-waiting.

While the air Tinasha had about her typically was anything but regal, she actually kept a rational, levelheaded disposition as a queen. Her suggestion to wed Nephelli was evidence of that.

As she began to pour the water she had heated with magic into the teapot, she said in a crisp voice, “If you become engaged to her, you will have ample justification for interfering in Yardan affairs. It would put her at ease, too… I suspect her intention in coming here had something to do with that anyway.”

Oscar almost nodded but then frowned. “Perhaps that was Yarda’s plan in sending her here. If she dies at home, then any hope of aid from Farsas vanishes.”

“Oh, I see… But if she perishes here, you become obligated to assist,” Tinasha surmised.

“Dammit. How much longer is this going to drag on?”

“Until things in Yarda reach a conclusion, I imagine. And we don’t know how long that will take,” Tinasha stated, keeping an intent gaze fixed on the teapot as she shook it to steam the tea leaves. Her focus likely had nothing to do with Yarda’s problems; she was determined to make tea.

To Tinasha, Yarda’s predicament was a neighbor’s neighbor’s problem. She was even further from it than Oscar. Whether she had an opinion on the matter or not, she possessed no desire or ability to intervene. Such was perfectly normal for a queen of Tuldarr.

Glancing over at her lovely face in profile, Oscar remembered something. “Oh yeah, you were staring hard at Nephelli’s guards earlier. Did you find them suspicious or something?”

“What? You saw that? No, that wasn’t why. I was just startled by how much magic her mage has.”

“Mage?” Oscar repeated, trying to recall his face but failing. The fellow hadn’t made a strong impression.

Tinasha looked guilty. “He’s suppressing his power, but there’s nothing wrong with a royal guard doing that. He’s probably stronger than the mages Princess Nephelli keeps as her closest associates. So I was just wondering if he’d want to come to Tuldarr; that’s all.”

“Don’t try to poach other countries’ mages so casually.”

“I didn’t say anything to him!” Tinasha shouted indignantly, then put a soft smile back on her face. “Setting any poaching aside, I’ll take on anything I can help with. You need only to ask.”

“Thanks. I do want to get this sorted out while you’re still around.”

“By the way, my analysis should take another two weeks. I’m currently waiting on a magic implement,” Tinasha calmly revealed.

Oscar’s eyes widened, reality hitting him all of a sudden that the curse shackling him for fifteen years would soon be lifted. It felt like a fantasy. He should be glad to get rid of it. But at the same time, it meant losing his connection to her.

A little while later, Tinasha placed a steaming teacup on the desk before Oscar. He glanced up at her. Impulsively, he blurted out, “It’s not going to fall through?”

“Don’t say that!” she cried, making a terrible face at him.

“It fell through, hmm? That tramp failed.” Zisis sighed in disappointment upon receiving the report.

Nephelli staying in Farsas had troubled him at first, but now he focused his efforts on using that against the royal faction. If she died in Farsas, no one would blame him for it as long as his link to the assassin remained unknown. This would allow him to take advantage of the opening left by her death.

The king and Savas were aware of Zisis’s shady maneuvers, but without proof, they could only stand and watch.

Zisis found it irritating that their power was that limited. Perhaps he should have delighted in his enemy’s ineptitude, but that adversary was the royal family of his homeland. Had they enough power of their own, he never would have had to do all this. Zisis’s face twisted bitterly with a mix of frustration and patriotism.

Regardless, he had to do something about Nephelli. She had known the king of Farsas since they were children. It would spell trouble for him if they were to get engaged. Unlike the former king of Farsas, who had provided aid to Yarda, the young man on the throne now was shrewd. It was Zisis’s secret fear that he would annex Yarda through marriage with Nephelli.

“…It is imperative that I deal with the princess.”

Zisis faltered at the idea of murdering her, but she was the one who abandoned her duty and fled to another country. As he told himself that, he gave new instructions to make his next move.

Three days after the assassin incident, Als delivered a report to Oscar. Evidently, the hired killer had received instructions via the intermediary about how to infiltrate the castle. He had gone through the eastern gate, which was regularly guarded but had been left momentarily vulnerable upon the outbreak of a small fire.

“So someone let him in. Who do you think it was?” asked Oscar.

“For now, I suspect one of the people who came with the princess, because after what happened before, we thoroughly investigated everyone working in the castle,” answered Als, referring to how the religious cult had plotted Tinasha’s poisoning and sent a woman to break into the treasure vault. After arresting those involved, Oscar had ordered the leaders of the cult all executed, and the lower-ranking members of the organization were sent home under close supervision. At that time, every person working for the castle became a subject of investigation into whether they had ties to any suspicious people.

Oscar pressed the back of his pen against his forehead. “How much should I get involved in this…? For the time being, be wary of anyone from Yarda. Once I’ve decided on a method of approach, I’ll send further instructions.”

“Yes, Your Majesty,” Als replied, retreating from the room.

An unhappy mood settled over Oscar, and his gaze fell onto the papers on his desk. He recalled how Tinasha had acted earlier.

He’d imagined her the jealous type, but she was oddly composed, which was troubling. The night they came back from the Lake of Silence, she had told him that their current relationship was enough. Had she truly given up on her attachment to him already? Putting aside the time when she was drunk, Tinasha’s reaction had been entirely different when speaking to Delilah. Maybe the situation had been different then, Delilah being who she was.

Oscar had led Tinasha to believe he held no interest in her, and the man understood he had no right to be upset. Even so, vague irritation flickered through his mind as he gathered together all the documents he didn’t need and dumped them on Lazar, who had just entered.

At the same time, the seemingly unenvious Tinasha was in her room floating upside down. In a reversal of their usual positions, her spirit was sitting in a chair gazing up at her master. There was an appalled look on her face.

“If it bothers you that much, why don’t you just kill her?”

“I’m not going to kill her!”

The topic of discussion was the recently targeted princess of Yarda.

Annoyed, Tinasha gazed at her hands. She had a sealing ring on every finger.

It wasn’t her place to step in. Therefore, she had given the most logical-sounding opinion.

Yet Tinasha was hopelessly distressed over the idea of Oscar deepening his connection with Nephelli beyond mere diplomatic friendship. She could have admitted to not liking it, but doing so risked forfeiting all ability to keep herself in check. Thus, she was trying very hard not to think about it.

Her magic was still fluctuating in reaction to her emotions, however. After putting up a barrier around the windowpanes that strained under the pressure, Tinasha set herself rotating in midair.

That was when a man’s voice entreated, “Oh, kill her, kill her. It’s so much easier to be wicked.”

“Travis?!” Tinasha yelped, hastily righting herself.

At the table, Mila recoiled in shock. There he was in the seat across from her, having appeared at some point.

“What are you doing here…?” asked Tinasha somewhat nervously.

Mila bowed formally to Travis; he responded with a casual wave. “I had some free time, so I came to tease you. It’s so fun how you keep making one rival after another.”

“She’s not my rival… It has nothing to do with me,” Tinasha declared sulkily.

Travis’s eyes danced as he watched her like one would an amusing toy. He spread his arms wide, acting grand. “The prince of Yarda is so weakhearted. I think you’d see eye to eye much more with the prime minster.”

“Really?”

“Yes, that prime minister is a sly one. Once he realized the prince had no aptitude for royal duties or judging character, he turned on him. He’ll sacrifice one for the good of many and do whatever it takes to settle things quickly. Quite gallant, don’t you think?” said Travis.

It was an open compliment, but coming from the mouth of the demon king, it was impossible to interpret as an honest one. Tinasha landed on the floor and leaned against an empty chair, a sour look on her face. “How do you know all that?”

“Because I’ve been in Gandona. I keep tabs on the neighboring countries,” he replied.

Gandona was a Great Nation to the east that shared a border with Farsas and Yarda. It was not that surprising to learn that Travis was there, though it was unsettling to hear him use such a human turn of phrase.

Suspicious, Tinasha asked, “You’re keeping tabs on them? For what purpose? Other countries shouldn’t have anything to do with you.”

“Oh, but they do. I’m the guardian of an heir to the throne,” Travis idly admitted.

“What?!”

“Eh, you’ll find out soon enough. Eventually, I’m going to take the country and give it to my girl.”

Tinasha didn’t understand what he meant by that at all.

It was clear that Travis was meddling in Gandona’s affairs on behalf of someone he’d taken a fancy to. This was unprecedented, not to mention terrifying. “What are you going to do once you’ve taken the country…?”

“Who knows? I haven’t decided yet. Although I won’t do anything to your country, as a favor to Leonora.”

“Was that not balanced out by the debt I incurred when I lost to you?” Tinasha inquired.

“I’ve lent you your life, which I will take back someday. This is a separate matter,” replied Travis with a cocky grin.

Tinasha was gratified and yet also not. The demon king said he wouldn’t do anything to her country, but Farsas lay between Gandona and Tuldarr. Farsas was the one more in danger, so that was the one she didn’t want him touching.

Saying as much would only invite unwanted interest from Travis, considering how much enjoyment he got out of doing things people hated.

A smile spread across his lips, as if he saw right through her concerns. “So? Do you want to kill her now?”

“No!”

If Tinasha did give in to that temptation, she would undoubtedly become the strongest assassin ever. Unsurprisingly, she grimaced and refused to.

Travis snorted, as if he thought that was no fun. “You have so much power. Haven’t you ever wanted to make better use of it? It’s so boring how you only play the defensive.”

“Power is just one part of a person. I don’t want to be controlled by that single portion,” she countered.

“What’s so bad about exploring what you have? Don’t you want him?”

“You don’t win a person’s heart by killing another,” Tinasha returned, a blank look on her face.

That was a simple fact. Even if she slew a woman Oscar loved, that didn’t mean he would love her. It would only lead to the opposite.

Travis frowned. He opened his mouth to say something but kept silent. Tinasha glanced over at him, wondering about his sudden silence, and found him giving a sardonic smile. “Well, whatever. More importantly, a pesky insect has gotten into your castle. Have you noticed?”

“Do you mean the assassin? I feel awful for the princess of Yarda.”

“Not him. Another insect.”

“What?” asked Tinasha, brow furrowed. If someone else besides the assassin had stolen in, she couldn’t overlook it.

Travis smirked, clearly satisfied with himself. “Do your very best. Trust too much in your own power, and you’ll get tripped up all too easily. That’s the sort of opponent you’re up against.”

“The sort of—What do you mean by that?” Tinasha demanded, wanting more details, but Travis vanished. He had said his piece and then disappeared, leaving her flabbergasted. “Wh-what just happened…?”

“Who knows…?” said Mila, exchanging glances with her mistress over Travis’s inscrutable conduct.

Curiously, when Tinasha had stated that love was not won through murder, Travis had appeared almost hurt. Tinasha was left with an indescribably bad taste in her mouth. “I feel so…disconcerted.”

“That’s usually what happens when you get involved with him. Are you going to search for this ‘insect’?”

“If I can, but I don’t have the slightest idea who it could be,” Tinasha admitted, tapping a finger against her temple. Then she shook her head and reached for her mage’s robe. “For now, I’m going to get some exercise at the training grounds. Maybe I’ll think of something—or at least clear my head. If I can best Oscar, the rules say I can knock him down. I want to.”

“I’ve never seen you get a hit in on the Akashia swordsman, though.”

“That’s because I’m not using magic!” Tinasha shouted back, flying out of the room once she was done changing. Mila smirked as she watched her go.

“I didn’t get to clear my head…”

“Did you say something?”

“No, nothing,” Tinasha replied as she summoned invisible orbs.

She sent them speeding toward Oscar, who sliced all of them down silently. This was only the ninth time they had done these drills, and Oscar had nearly mastered his magical sight.

At first, he had proposed that Tinasha practice this with him during their sword training, but that left her unable to concentrate on meeting his swings. So they did first one and then the other. Oscar had started his magical-sight lessons later than Tinasha’s sword combat, but he was making far more noticeable progress.

As she increased the speed of the orbs, Tinasha asked him about something else. “Ultimately, what do you think you’re going to do?”

“What indeed,” the young king replied, making it sound like somebody else’s problem.

Curling her lip, Tinasha fired three orbs to land at once. But Oscar took half a step back and dispatched them neatly. Tinasha felt irritated at how unaffected the man appeared.

“Well, is the matter already settled or not?” she pressed.

“I haven’t decided. Hmm. Considering what’s best for another country is a different story, however. I’ll go with the flow.”

“…Shouldn’t you just get married and annex her country?”

“Sounds annoying,” he stated flatly, making Tinasha’s eyebrows knit. Oscar went on as he fielded an even more vicious hail of invisible attacks. “Even if I invade and expand Farsas, it’s hard to say what could happen after my death. And in that case, the status quo is perfectly fine.”

Underneath his words lay a confident assertion—that as long as he was alive, he was confident he could handle things, no matter how large the country got. Looking at him acting like this was no big deal shifted Tinasha’s unease into ire. She vented her anger into drawing up a spell.

“Strands of spider silk, go forth and capture.”

Immediately, a gigantic net came down on Oscar. His eyes wide, he slid his blade over the core of the spell.

But the spell, which should have been torn to pieces, repaired itself. Ballooning, it rushed for him. Oscar took a huge leap back, but the spell closed the distance immediately.

The magic net reached him, invisible webbing entangling itself around his entire body until he couldn’t move. Oscar narrowed his eyes at Tinasha. “What the hell is this…?”

“It’s what Travis did to me before. Unless you strike its multiple vital points at the same time, it will reconstitute. The real thing sank through to the bone. It seemed like I could use it, so I crafted an imitation.”

“…I see,” Oscar remarked, perhaps saying nothing more beyond that because he sensed she was taking her vexation out on him. Once she undid the spell, he sighed and walked back over to her. Checking his grip on his sword, he beckoned to her. “Your turn now, then.”

“Go ahead.”

Oscar hated the idea of bruising Tinasha, but once he got into the practice mentality, he struck at her mercilessly.

And though he was going easy on her, he didn’t balk at injuring her.

Someone else may have objected, but Tinasha was grateful for it.

No pain, no gain—she didn’t expect it to be otherwise. And besides, once she sunk into the thrill of battle, it hardly bothered her.

Catching her breath, Tinasha lifted her sword and leaped off the ground toward Oscar. The air around her was imbued with an illusion of crystal-clear awareness.

Nephelli’s personal mage, Gait, pondered what to do next as he guarded her door that evening.

Oscar and Als had alluded to a traitor among the party from Yarda. Other than himself, only three officers, one mage, and two ladies-in-waiting had come to Farsas, but he found all of them to be trustworthy. He wouldn’t know which one to suspect. Nephelli didn’t know about the turncoat, but she tended to stay shut up in her room, perhaps suspecting that something was amiss. Recently, she took all her meals alone there.

“Can Princess Nephelli hold out like this…?”

“What’s wrong?” came a voice to his side, and Gait looked over to see the other mage who had come from Yarda. He had brown hair and a friendly face, and he was eminently capable despite his youth.

Gait, who was on his fifth year working as a court mage, winced at the other man. “Oh, Valt. I was just thinking that if we came all the way to Farsas only to be targeted by an assassin, maybe we should have remained in Yarda…”

If the enemy only had the courage to act because they were somewhere the king of Yarda couldn’t reach, then fleeing abroad had been a mistake. Strange as it was, Princess Nephelli might have been safer in her homeland. As Gait thought on that, Valt shook his head. “We can handle it better in Farsas. They have the royal sword.”

“Akashia, huh…? But we don’t know if we’re up against a mage,” Gait replied.

The one sword in the entire land that could neutralize any magic was indeed mighty, but it was only a sword—one that belonged to the king. He couldn’t stay by Nephelli’s side around the clock.

Valt laughed when he heard Gait’s concern. “If anything, it’s the bearer of Akashia who’s more crucial than the sword itself. I’m positive he’ll be a strong ally to Her Highness. And as for Farsas, they don’t want anything to happen to a foreign royal within their borders. I’m sure they’ll offer whatever assistance they can. Who knows? Perhaps this might forge a bond between our two nations in the days to come.”

The man was referring to a marriage between Farsas and Yarda. Gait frowned on reflex. “Yes, that would certainly be what she also—”

Suddenly, a lady-in-waiting and an officer of Yarda arrived with Nephelli’s meal. Gait accompanied them into the room, where another other lady-in-waiting was arranging the princess’s hair.

“How are you doing, Princess Nephelli?” Gait inquired. In reply, she gave him a weak smile. Mere day-to-day life seemed to exhaust her. He gazed at this lovely princess, feeling his heart go out to her. “Would you care to venture outside your room? You’ll have your guards, and it would be a shame not to see Farsas while you’re here.”

“I suppose…,” Nephelli said with a nod. As Gait’s face fell, the ladies-in-waiting tasted the food for poison and served the princess her meal. She didn’t appear hungry as she turned her attention to it.

Gait urged her, “Try to eat just a little. You’re going to get yourself sick.”

“I know,” Nephelli replied, picking up a cup of tea and pressing it softly to her red lips.

Right after that came a thud as something heavy hit the floor. Gait looked in that direction and saw one of the ladies-in-waiting lying on the ground.

Her eyes were glassy and unfocused. Bloody foam dribbled from her mouth.

Time stood still. The scent of death sucked all sound from the room and wafted into the air.

For several horrible, blank seconds, Nephelli’s scream echoed throughout the entire castle, piercing enough to almost cut through that binding spell.

By the time people came running in, the lady-in-waiting was already dead.

Tinasha did a quick inspection, then shook her head at Kumu and Oscar as they arrived. “It’s a magic potion, though not a rare one. The maker is unknown. Sorry I can’t be more helpful.”

“That’s plenty. What was it put into?” asked Oscar.

“The soup. Apparently, she died after tasting it for poison.”

“We’ll find out who made it,” Oscar declared, already waving over a soldier to issue orders.

However, Tinasha moved to stop him. “I don’t think the potion was added during preparation. I ate the same thing myself.”

Oscar frowned, and Als added, “Many people had that soup besides Princess Tinasha, and they had no problems. Also, no trace of the concoction was found in the pot. The meal was brought in by a lady-in-waiting and officer of Yarda, but the officer has gone missing. According to her, he’s the one who picked up the meal.”

“That’s so suspicious it doesn’t seem real,” Oscar remarked with a snort. Evidently, the dead lady-in-waiting and missing officer had served the princess for many years. The soldier, Eneas, was close with the two ladies-in-waiting, giving him plenty of opportunities to contaminate the food. Such was Gait’s theory. For now, Oscar ordered a search of the castle to discover if Eneas was hiding within.

After Oscar and his close associates moved to a nearby council room, Gait bowed his head deeply before the king. “I’m aware this is an imposition, but would you be willing to lend your assistance to Princess Nephelli?”

“Of course. We’ll tighten her guard and capture whoever did this.”

“Thank you. But I was referring to something more…” Gait trailed off, hesitating. The meaning was obvious. Gait wanted a more fundamental type of aid. Namely, Oscar intervening directly in Yarda’s internal conflict.

Was the crown prince in Yarda so unreliable that his subjects had to beg a foreign king for help? Many in the room held scathing opinions of Gait’s request, but it seemed like there was more to the story.

Gait continued, though there was a keen uncertainty to his tone. “Princess Nephelli has held you in high regard for ten years now. Won’t you…?”

Oscar held up a hand, silencing the other man. Next to him, Tinasha had her eyes closed and a blank look on her face. Oscar scowled internally at the meaning implicit in Gait’s words.

It absolutely would not be worth it. He didn’t hate Nephelli or anything like that, but it would be more trouble than anything to take her as a queen or mistress and intervene in Yarda’s affairs. It certainly wouldn’t be fun.

However, that didn’t mean he wanted to make a clear rejection of the offer. More than likely, the Yardan royal family had been hoping for his involvement all along.

Carefully masking his reluctance behind a calm front, Oscar said, “Understood. I’ll do what I can.”

Visible relief washed over Gait’s face. He bowed deeply. Oscar asked him a few more follow-up questions before dismissing him.

In an even voice, Tinasha inquired, “Have you decided to get involved?”

“Looks like I have no choice.”

“I’ll help you, then.”

“…Sorry about this,” Oscar apologized as Tinasha faced forward, not looking at him.

The king felt somewhat heavyhearted, though he did not know rightly why.

“Prime Minister Zisis and Crown Prince Savas were more or less just as you said, Princess Tinasha.”

Three days had passed since the attempted poisoning, and Eneas was yet to be found. Renart had gone to Yarda on Tinasha’s orders and was now delivering a summarized account.

Originally, Renart worked for Legis, but as of late, he carried out Tinasha’s orders more often than not. The two were in Tinasha’s quarters in Farsas, sipping tea as they went over the report.

“When Savas began to dip his toes into assisting with public affairs, he rejected the prime minister’s reform proposal and other suggestions on the grounds that they were ‘too unconventional.’ At the same time, he appointed his relatives to various posts and stripped Zisis of his power. The king grew ill shortly thereafter.”

“What are these relatives he’s appointed like?” questioned Tinasha.

“Royal blood is all they have, it seems. All they do is waste money on frivolities.”

“Hmm… Saving the royal family doesn’t sound much like saving Yarda.”

“That might be so. But it’s possible that the royal family considers themselves the country itself,” Renart pointed out.

Tinasha had wavered over it considerably, but she only wished to help Oscar, not Yarda. There was no need for her to concern herself with the ethics or future ramifications of the situation.

Just then, there was a light rap at the door. Renart answered it and brought in the guest. Tinasha’s eyes widened at this unexpected visitor.

“You are…”

“My name is Valt, Your Highness.”

The mage smiled brightly and bowed. This was one of Nephelli’s guards; Tinasha had caught a glimpse of him before at the training grounds.

She stared intently at him. “You’re suppressing your magic. In truth, you have more than a nation’s chief mage, don’t you?”

“Oh, certainly not that much. It’s simply that most of that magic is acquired, and I don’t need others knowing about it, so I keep it hidden,” he replied.

Tinasha nodded. How exactly one came to possess more than their natural amount of magical power was a private matter, often concerning unique circumstances. Tinasha herself was the same way, so she pressed that matter no further. Instead, she asked, “Why have you come to see me? Do you have some idea who the assassin is?”

“No, nothing to do with that…,” he admitted, looking uncomfortable as he showed her the books of magic he was holding. “I had a question about a spell. I’m sorry to bother you at this hour.”

Tinasha was taken aback at this but soon broke into a smile. Tuldarr attracted the interest and admiration of mages from other countries. Approving of this young man who made no secret of his passion for study, even under such circumstances, Tinasha offered him a seat.

“Go ahead and ask. I hope it’s something I can answer. Whatever I can’t, Renart can.”

“Princess Tinasha, I’m not sure this is…”

“I’ll take you up on that, thank you,” stated Valt.

Sitting around the table, the three of them debated various topics related to magic. It was a wonderful break for Tinasha, who had been spending all her time and energy on curse analysis and coronation arrangements as of late.

After their third cup of tea, Valt got to his feet. Beaming, he said, “Thank you so much. Now I’ll be at liberty to get back to guarding Princess Nephelli. We’ve obtained the cooperation of the king of Farsas, too, so their engagement should come any day now.”

“What?” Tinasha replied blankly.

Valt went on, matter-of-factly. “That is Yarda’s intention, considering that he’s taken Her Highness into his care. It’s the perfect opportunity, seeing as the pair have been acquainted for so long. I’m positive they’ll make for a loving couple.” After a pause, he added, “Princess Tinasha, that man will be perfectly happy no matter whom he marries.”

Valt broke off there, fixing Tinasha with an incredibly earnest look. “So you should set yourself free as well.”

He flashed her a wry smile, as if sympathizing with her.

What did Valt mean by that? While Tinasha was too stunned to speak, Renart said, “What do you think you’re doing? She is—”

“I am well aware she’s the princess of Tuldarr. Please take very good care of yourself. Thank you for indulging me.”

Before Tinasha could get a word out, Valt bowed smoothly and took his leave.

Tinasha had the distinct sensation of having been left behind. She glanced at the tabletop, where cups full of cooled tea sat.

“Set myself free…?”

Valt had looked at her with the eyes of one who could see through to the truth of almost all he heard. Maybe that explained the keen sense of loss Tinasha felt. She pressed a hand to her aching heart.

“…Who he marries is not my concern.”

Farsas wasn’t her home, nor were she and Oscar mere citizens. Forlorn or not, she couldn’t let her feelings get the better of her. There was no other option. She would just live out the rest of her life with this inexhaustible heat inside her.

Tinasha thought of the day she would leave Farsas. Her coronation was in less than three weeks.

Another week passed, but the missing officer still hadn’t turned up. That night, a despondent Nephelli reluctantly left her room at the personal invitation of Oscar. She made her way to the great hall, ringed by her guard soldiers and lady-in-waiting. A deep-blue carpet covered the floor of the glass-ceilinged chamber; bowls of fruit and cooked dishes were laid out on top of it.

From deeper within, the king of the castle asked her, “How are you feeling?”

“I’m very sorry I made you go to all this trouble…”

“It’s no hassle. I should be apologizing for the lack of progress in our search,” Oscar stated, sitting down directly on the carpet and encouraging Nephelli and her attendants to partake of the food. The princess’s guard contingent consisted of two military officers named Nino and Lucanos, as well as Valt the mage. On Oscar’s side were Als, Kumu, Doan, and Sylvia. The entire group sat in a circle.

Nephelli, seated next to Oscar, gradually began to smile as he urged food and wine on her. For the first time in a while, she began to feel relieved.

A half hour after the modest banquet commenced, a pair of mages appeared at the entrance to the hall. One was the next queen of Tuldarr, and the other was her attendant.

As Tinasha brushed her long black hair back, she surveyed the guests and then waved to the king.

“Pardon the intrusion, but I’ll be going back to Tuldarr for a while.”

“Got it. Is it urgent?” Oscar inquired.

“Not particularly,” she answered, smiling faintly.

Sylvia grinned. “Princess Tinasha, won’t you have a drink before you go?”

“I’ll get yelled at if I drink in Farsas.”

“That’s right. Oh, then sing us a song, if your matter is nothing pressing. You’re here and everything,” said Oscar.

“A song?” Tinasha repeated, acting a little hesitant, but ultimately, she acquiesced to his request.

She sat down between Sylvia and Doan and summoned a small lyre into her hands. After strumming it once to check all the strings, she began to sing in a clear voice.

“You wish for the unseen, and the unseen is a different thing.

No matter how brightly the sun’s rays shine on the earth, some things will never come to light.

Her face is forgotten, but her song goes on and on.

Fragmented memories wander about like traces of a dream long past.”

Her resonant voice had the power to sink deep beneath the skin.

The guests’ eyes fluttered closed naturally as they listened in ecstasy. The lyrics brought to mind scenes from ancient history.

Tinasha’s song melted into the evening air as she sang the verses once more, languidly, before drawing to a close. Her listeners remained enraptured, however, as if they had come to the end of a long story and could not break free from it right away. Save lingering reverberations of the song, silence fell upon the hall.

Tinasha stood and returned to the doorway, where Renart was waiting. She smiled. “I will be on my way, then.”

“Okay. Be careful getting back,” Oscar replied.

“Princess Nephelli, please take good care of yourself, too,” Tinasha appended.

“All right…,” Nephelli muttered.

Tinasha spread her arms wide and said the incantation for a transportation array. She opened a portal large enough to encompass Renart, too. As she watched them wink out of sight, Nephelli let out another deep sigh.

Aware that Nephelli remained in low spirits, Oscar took the opportunity at the end of the banquet to invite her to go outside the castle with him the following day. There was a small lake a little south of the city, and they could do some hunting while they were out.

Nephelli was reluctant to accept, but as it was a special invitation from him, and security would be heavily tightened up, she agreed.

The following morning, she woke up early and began selecting her outfit for the day. There was still plenty of time before they were to meet. After a great deal of indecision, she chose a white dress, as Oscar seemed to favor them.

It had been an exceedingly long time since she had enjoyed something to look forward to like this. She borrowed a horse and rode out to the castle gate, where he was waiting for her. Once close enough, she beamed at him.

After staring at Nephelli, Oscar gave some order to the lady-in-waiting behind her. She ran off, returning quickly with a short veil.

“You might get sunburned,” Oscar explained.

“Th-thank you…,” Nephelli mumbled, unaware how her cheeks were flushing as she put on the veil.

Such keen thoughtfulness was welcome. It made her feel warm and cherished.

Oscar and Nephelli passed through a transportation array along with a party of twenty guards. It took them to a clearing just before a small forest. On closer inspection, a path led deep into the middle of the woods. It appeared to branch off along the way.

“The woods aren’t dense enough for one to lose their way—but don’t leave my side. The lake is on the other side of these woods,” Oscar said, and Nephelli nodded and carefully urged her horse to follow after his. Right behind her were Gait and Valt, as well as Nino and Lucanos, the Yardan officers. Farsasian soldiers rode at the front and rear of the party, while mages were interspersed throughout. It was more than enough to defend against an attack.

As he led his horse with one hand on the reins, Oscar turned to Nephelli. “It’s best you get some fresh air outside every so often.”

“Thank you for thinking of me,” she responded, smiling at him.

While the princess knew there was still an emotional distance between the two, this gave her hope for closing it.

As the party meandered through the forest, they passed many forks in the road.

Suddenly, the light grew dim. Looking up, Nephelli saw that clouds had formed overhead. They were flowing quickly, suggesting swift winds in the sky.

Oscar turned back to gaze at Nephelli. She inhaled sharply, sensing a sharp glint in his dusk-colored eyes. She opened her mouth to say something.

However, Nephelli was quickly silenced as a curious fog rolled in. It grew denser at an unnatural speed until she couldn’t see a thing.

“Wha…?” she gasped, about to break into an instinctive cry of fear, but a man’s hand reached out from the mist to steady her.

When he suddenly couldn’t see in front of him, Gait frantically urged his horse ahead toward his lady.

“Princess Nephelli!”

The vapor was so thick that he couldn’t see his own hands. Desperately, he felt around in the air.

His hand landed on a soft body.

“Gait?” asked a clear and familiar voice. It was his lady. Just as relief swept over the man, the mist thinned as abruptly as it had appeared. Surroundings became visible once more, and light poured in from above.

Now that Gait could see, he was aghast as he realized there was something very wrong. Glancing behind him, he saw Valt and the two officers staring around, just as stunned.

At some point, every single person from Farsas—including the king—had vanished.

“Wh-what in the world…?”

The three men exchanged glances and stayed on guard, but there were no signs of any suspicious presences. Unfortunately, there was nothing to suggest the people from Farsas were around, either.

Gait turned back around and said to a shaken-looking Nephelli, “Princess, let’s go back to the castle for now. I’ll open a transportation array.”

“But…”

“You are our top priority. Once we’ve gotten you to a safe place, we can worry about the others.”

Nephelli hesitated for quite a while before finally giving a little nod. With his lady’s permission, Gait began an incantation. However, he couldn’t transport them directly inside another country’s castle; he could only take them outside its front gate.

Just as the portal was opening, something whizzed toward the group from the trees.

It was an arrow headed straight for Nephelli. Fortunately, it struck a barrier Valt had erected, and then it fell. The party was startled for only a moment before a hail of projectiles rained down from all around.

“Assassins!”

The two officers drew their swords. Arrows were coming from the left-hand side, deep in the foliage. Lucanos shouted, “That way—and hurry!”

In the direction he indicted, something glittered in a gap through the trees—the lake. Everyone made for it, with Nino riding in the lead.

Just before arriving at the lake’s shore, Nino jerked hard on his horse’s reins. Roughly thirty mounted men were barring the way. One glance at their motley attire revealed that they were not soldiers, but some sort of bandit crew. Their weapons already drawn, they smirked at the woman in the center of their group of five.

“That’s the girl. Don’t let her get away.”

When Gait heard that, he sprang into action. If this was all part of a plot, then he had to ensure Nephelli’s escape, at the very least.

He wove a teleportation spell and reached out to the woman in front of him.

As he did, however, the unthinkable happened.

Behind Nephelli, Lucanos slowly lifted his sword to bring it down on his princess.

Gait was momentarily stunned by the cold gaze the other man fixed on Nephelli.

“Princess Nephelli!” he cried, too late.

While Gait shook with dread that he had lost his one chance, Lucanos grinned, confident he would carry out his task.

Astonishingly, both of their expectations were dashed.

Nephelli pulled her own sword out of nowhere and parried Lucanos’s slash away.

The would-be killer stared dumbly at her blade, which was glowing a faint purple.

Amused, she let out a laugh. “It was you?”

She tore off her veil.

Underneath was the face of the frighteningly beautiful mage of Tuldarr.

“Ridiculous! When did you change places?!”

“Before, obviously. You’re so slow,” Tinasha taunted, keeping her eyes on Lucanos as she turned her horse around. A cruel smile split her red lips.

Next to her, Gait was in shock. “That can’t be… How could I mistake the princess…? Where is she…?”

“She’s with Oscar. They’re fine. My curse song made you mix us up. Last night, I altered your awareness, although it evidently didn’t work on everyone,” she admitted, shooting a look at Valt. He gave a guilty smile.

Gait, on the other hand, hadn’t picked up on it in the slightest; his jaw dropped open. He knew of curse songs but would have never expected there to be anyone who could use one.

Lucanos, having revealed himself as the assassin, looked flustered as he backed his horse up. Tinasha directed a mesmeric smile at him. “Did you kill the missing officer? He was close to the lady-in-waiting, so he knew about the poison tasting. I surmised that the real assailant killed him to buy time. So all that was left was to bring whoever remained into the open.”

Tinasha readied her sword, a provocative grin on her face. “You can’t fall back now. You attacked me; that’s undeniable. Now it’s Tuldarr who will deal with you.”

“Damn you…,” Lucanos growled, resentful over his failure. Tinasha kicked at her horse and rode toward the man, thrusting her slender sword at him. He defended with his own blade and struck back at her.

As she dodged his blow, Tinasha cried to the last three men, “Valt, hold the barrier! You two, watch the rear!”

“Yes,” Valt replied immediately. Gait and Nino obeyed in kind.

The bandits were galloping toward them on the thin passage through the forest. Despite his nerves, Gait drew up a spell aimed at them. Seven light blades burst forth and struck the center of the oncoming group.

The conjured things flew through the air and cut down the first ten riders, who fell limp from their horses, spurting blood.

Yet the enemy was only confused for a moment; the other bandits let out a war cry and continued the charge. The awful sound of their horses’ hooves trampling over their fallen comrades filled the woods.

Nino rode out in front of Gait and slashed at the brigands. He inhaled sharply, and his next sword strike brought death upon one ruffian.

The difference in swordplay between a court officer and a bandit was stark, but the enemy had ever more men.

Fortunately, just as the Yardans were losing hope, Farsasian soldiers appeared behind the brigand party.

Als was leading them from the vanguard. “You can kill them all. Don’t let them get away!”

Cries rang out. In an instant, the forest turned into a battlefield.

Tinasha kept her hands on the reins of her steed even as she parried away Lucanos’s fierce slashes.

This was her first time using a sword in a duel to the death. She had guessed that Lucanos might run away once she revealed who she really was, but he seemed intent on slaying her. Perhaps he was too focused to realize the rational decision. Tinasha met his strikes, though her nerves bled into her movements.

Lucanos grinned. “Not used to real combat, huh? If only you hadn’t stuck your nose in another country’s affairs. You could have lived a comfortable life.”

“I’m used to battle. I’m just not accustomed to a sword,” Tinasha asserted. Even so, she had to overcome this. That’s what being a ruler meant.

Lucanos drove his heavy blade at her from head-on, taking advantage of the difference in height between them.

Tinasha flicked it away with a snap of her wrist, which twinged with pain. Tightening her fingers around the hilt of her weapon, she slashed at Lucanos’s neck. She could see him drawing his sword back lightly and moving to drive it toward her left side.

But she didn’t waver. She absolutely had to stand her ground.

Tinasha held her breath.

For a moment, she heard someone scolding her from the back of her mind: Use magic!

However, Tinasha refused with a daring smile.

She wouldn’t cast a spell. Instead, she raised her left elbow to stop her opponent’s blow.

I am faster.

Convinced of that, Tinasha thrust her blade into his neck.

Her hand tingled with a dull, heavy feel. A spray of blood bloomed, and Lucanos’s face twisted.

At the same time, the edge of his sword bit into her elbow.

“Ugh… Ah!”

Tinasha’s mind went blank with the pain, but she pushed through it via force of will. She pulled out her blade. Lucanos’s dropped, his arm hanging slack. He was swaying unsteadily on his horse, and Tinasha eyed him, breathing heavily herself.

“…Tell me the name of the one who sent you.”

His head was bowed, his windpipe pierced through, yet he was still on his horse. As planned, Tinasha hadn’t killed him. She would heal Lucanos and get him to tell her everything he knew. After that, the nations involved could decide his fate.

Unfortunately, the moment Tinasha spoke and lowered her weapon, a blow came rushing toward her at a terrifying speed.

“Wha—?”

The attack came at an unguarded moment. Lucanos should have been on the verge of death, but he still possessed the strength to brandish his sword. Tinasha drew up a defensive spell. Her hastily cast barrier repelled the strike on its downswing…but it smashed the skull of the horse she was riding. The force of impact threw Tinasha from the saddle, and she collided hard with the ground.

“Guh…”

The impact knocked the breath out of the young woman. The pain left her consciousness hazy. A black figure suddenly appeared above her. With blurred vision, she saw his sword bear down upon her again.

For a short moment, Tinasha recalled the dagger that had almost stabbed into her when she was a girl, a very long time ago now.

Like it, this blade did not reach her. Another sword entered the fray to repel Lucanos’s thrust.

“Why aren’t you using magic? Are you stupid?!” someone chided loudly.

Tinasha gasped. Unintentionally, his name slipped from her mouth.

“Oscar…”

The double-edged royal sword sparkled like a mirror. As she gazed up at the man who wielded it…Tinasha felt something hot in her throat.

It was clear from one look that Tinasha was seriously wounded. Her left arm was almost cut off, and the fall from her horse had left her legs unnaturally twisted. Fierce anger rose up in Oscar for a moment when he saw her like that, but he quickly tamped down those emotions that could cloud his judgment.

To Valt behind him, he said, “I’ve embroiled you in some trouble. Thanks for the help.”

“Not at all. I can’t have her dying on me,” he replied with a wincing smile. He had used teleportation to summon Oscar, who was waiting on standby in a separate location. While the unplanned summons came as a shock, the king was nonetheless grateful to Valt. He only felt pure exasperation over how Tinasha could have gotten herself so roughed up in such a short period of time.

Oscar stared up at the assassin, still on his horse. He asked Valt, “Why is he moving? The man looks too wounded to even ride.”

“He’s probably swallowed a seed from a forbidden curse. It activates when the user receives a life-threatening injury, giving them superhuman strength. In exchange, they lose all reason and consciousness… The Yardan prime minister doesn’t have those kinds of connections, so Lucanos must have obtained it elsewhere.”

“Understood. Guess that explains that,” Oscar said, keeping one eye on Lucanos. New skin had stitched together over his blood-smeared throat, and spots pulsed all over his body as it gradually swelled.

Tinasha stood, having used a basic treatment to mend her wounds. “The best method would be to blow him up, since that type of forbidden curse means his injuries will just keep healing forever… But then we can’t get any information out of him.”

“We have to capture him alive, otherwise what we did won’t look justified,” Oscar declared.

“After I went through the effort of fighting only with a sword so I wouldn’t kill him by accident.”

“How about don’t get yourself injured in the first place? If it’s going to get you hurt, blow him up.”

All throughout their matter-of-fact exchange, Oscar and Tinasha kept their eyes fixed on Lucanos. From atop his mount, the man’s eyes had already clouded over with white. His horse whinnied, perhaps aware of its rider’s odd state.

Valt asked Tinasha, “If you don’t know how to deal with this, should I help you?”

“No, it’s all right. I have him,” she replied, looking to the wielder of Akashia next to her with eyes full of pure trust. “Oscar, can you see the magic that’s settled inside him?”

“More or less. I can almost make out some white lines all over his body, like veins of a leaf.”

“There’s a place below the pit of his stomach where magic has conspicuously accumulated. Smash through that with Akashia. That’s the core of the spell.”

The king narrowed his eyes. Sure enough, there was a part of Lucanos’s belly glowing brighter than anywhere else. “I see it, but any normal person would die from a stab wound there.”

“Leave that to me. I’ll keep him alive enough to get testimony out of him,” Tinasha assured.

“Got it. You take care of that… Don’t rack up any more injuries,” Oscar remarked. With his warning given, he directed his attention to Lucanos. The assassin’s gaze remained unfocused—head wobbling unsteadily. Blood dripped onto the horse, which practically shrieked.

Tinasha added with a calm voice, “Don’t touch his blood if at all possible. You’ll get contaminated by the curse. If you do touch it, I will have to give you the most thorough purifying bath of your life, so don’t complain later.”

“Not sure how to respond to that. I can’t decide which option sounds better.”

“Don’t! Touch me! Joke around like that, and I’ll blow you away along with him!”

Before Tinasha finished speaking, Oscar was already dashing forward. He dodged Lucanos’s sword bearing down on him from overhead by a hair, then drove Akashia into the wildly bucking horse’s neck.

The animal collapsed in a huge spray of blood, Lucanos tumbling from its back with a thunk. With oddly distorted limbs, he charged.

His sword came rushing at Oscar, so fast it was invisible to the naked eye.

Fortunately, Oscar parried the weapon away. The impact made his entire arm numb down to his hand.

“That thing’s heavy. Guess that’s his inhuman strength,” Oscar spat wryly, dodging to the right to evade Lucanos’s second strike. He cut in on the man’s left side, but before he could take advantage of that opening, the greatsword swept in sideways toward him.

The movement was so swift it seemed impossible for something so battered and monstrous. Astounded by this wholly unexpected move, Oscar leaped out of the way. Lucanos kicked the dead horse toward him.

With a muffled thump, the beast’s huge frame exploded. Flesh and blood flew at Oscar, but an invisible wall erected by Tinasha prevented it from making contact. However, the crimson plastered on that transparent wall covered up everything else. By the time Oscar thought Shit, he was already jumping to the left.

Lucanos’s broadsword tore through the air and plunged into the ground. Tremors shook the earth, sending up pebbles to pelt Oscar’s body.

Heedless of the light pain, Oscar made his way forward. He swung Akashia at Lucanos’s sword hand, but once again, his opponent’s broadsword barred the way. The clang of metal echoed through the woods.

“This is never-ending,” Oscar muttered.

So long as the king kept his distance to avoid Lucanos’s blood, his only option was to win in a single blow.

Oscar prepared another attack, and the monstrous Lucanos raised his weapon in kind.

And then—he threw it.

“What?”

It was a completely nonstandard move. Shocked, Oscar evaded the flying sword reflexively.

Unfortunately, Lucanos had seemingly anticipated as much, for he reached out and grabbed ahold of the king’s right shoulder—and crushed it from the armor down to the bone with a dull snap. Sharp pain lanced through Oscar’s entire body.

“OSCAR!” Tinasha screamed.

Had the king not been staring down a monster, he might have turned to look at her.

Lucanos’s neck was broken in half. His cloudy-white eyes stared at him.

Despite the severe pain from his crushed shoulder…Oscar laughed. “You think that’s going to keep you from talking?”

A forbidden curse that ate into the flesh and stole all reason. That was nothing to fear. It wouldn’t stop Oscar. Killing Lucanos would be easy, but if he did, so much would be left in the dark, unknown.

Oscar transferred Akashia to his left hand. “You’ve wronged many women while in my country.” He set his sights on Lucanos’s faintly glowing stomach. “But it ends here.”

Lucanos drove a fist toward Oscar.

Akashia’s blade glinted.

The tip of the royal sword pierced through the core of the forbidden curse.

The misshapen man’s body jerked—and a black-haired mage came floating down behind him.

Still floating, Tinasha placed a hand on Lucanos’s spine and smiled. “Now you’re mine.”

New magic poured into the broken core—an overwhelming power.

Light spilled forth, dispelling the stench of blood. It was the color of beginnings, signifying the end of this battle.

The lack of contact was driving Zisis to the limits of his patience.

If no word had come indicating success or defeat, that meant Lucanos had been captured.

And in that case, Zisis needed to make a swift attack before Savas took action. Most of the magistrates, aside from the nobles Savas appointed, more or less agreed with Zisis’s opinions. A third of the military also viewed him favorably, and he had the advantage when it came to connections in court.

Thus, it was now or never. He would reform his country.

The preparations were already in place. Whether people would speak of him after his death as a traitor who failed or an instigator of reform all depended on this moment.

His mind made up, Zisis opened his door only to find two baffled Yardan magistrates and two men he didn’t recognize right outside. He eyed the pair of strangers suspiciously, and one stepped up to him. “My name is Doan, and I’m a messenger from Farsas. We’ve had an attack within our borders, and we’d like to ask you some questions. Please come with us back to Farsas.”

Zisis sucked in a breath at the unexpected development but remained levelheaded. He replied coldly, “I’m afraid I have no idea what this is about. Also, why should I have to go to Farsas? If this has something to do with the princess you’re hosting, that’s a domestic matter, and we’ll handle it here in Yarda.”

The men exchanged glances. A confident smile bloomed on Zisis’s face.

In the end, these Farsasians held no authority to arrest him concerning the attack on Nephelli. If they pressed the issue, he could object to it on the grounds of interference in another country’s domestic affairs.

Wincing at Zisis’s attitude, Doan took a step back. The other man moved to take his place, however. “What we’d like to ask you about is not related to the princess of Yarda. One of your subordinates has grievously wounded the princess of Tuldarr. Prince Legis is eager to question you on this matter.”

“…What?” Zisis said, briefly paling. He took a moment to digest that.

I don’t know why it would have come to that.

He knew that the princess of Tuldarr was in Farsas, but she should have been entirely unrelated. He had reminded Lucanos that he was not to lay a hand on anyone from Farsas, to the best of his ability.

The other messenger from Tuldarr, a man named Renart, asserted that because this transgression took place on Farsasian soil, Zisis would have to come to Farsas. Zisis caught a flash of murderous intent in his eyes.

“I trust you will come with us?”

The prime minister could not refuse. Recognizing that he was about to tumble from the hill he had painfully clawed his way up, Zisis shuddered.

After Zisis was taken to Farsas via transportation array, he was escorted to a reception room.

The king of Farsas, the prince of Tuldarr, and Nephelli were all waiting there already.

Unlike Nephelli, who looked terribly uneasy, the other two regarded him coldly.

Renart pushed Zisis forward. Prince Legis of Tuldarr got the conversation started. In a sharp tone of voice that belied his gentle appearance, he said, “Now then, I believe you’ve heard what transpired. A military officer assigned to Princess Nephelli attacked Princess Tinasha. He utilized a forbidden curse of his own volition and lost his senses, but we have already healed him. Once we did, he confessed that he was acting on your instructions. Do you have anything you’d like to say?”

“I have done nothing…”

“We have many witnesses. Do you know that Princess Tinasha’s coronation is set for less than ten days from now? We could interpret this as a declaration of war from Yarda to Tuldarr.”

Blood drained from Nephelli’s face. As Zisis saw that out of the corner of his eye, he desperately racked his mind.

Being confronted with the facts of the situation felt like cold water thrown in his face.

Tuldarr was a nation of magic that took no sides. It had never invaded another nation, and except for the war with Tayiri four hundred years ago, it had never been attacked. Everyone understood that engaging in a magical conflict with Tuldarr was foolish. For the past four centuries, Tuldarr had dispatched mages all over the land to handle cases involving forbidden magic and large-scale magical elements. Their power was unquestionable and overwhelming.

No one could wage a war against Tuldarr in any capacity, least of all Yarda. It had only finally stabilized after receiving aid from Farsas. One glance at the stony look on Oscar’s face, and it was obvious that Yarda would be fighting alone and unassisted. Should things come to battle, the Magic Empire would lay them to waste.

That was the one thing the prime minister had to avoid at all costs.

Zisis’s thoughts whirled. He wondered if he could get away by denying culpability.

However, he rejected that notion. The fact that he had been summoned in front of all these people meant they could convict him even without proof.

There was no escape. The conspiratorial ring had closed in around him.

Zisis licked his lips.

It took no time for him to come to a decision. Falling to his knees, he bowed his head low.

“Everything was my decision alone. It has nothing to do with Yarda. Please let my life atone for this crime; I beg you.”

Once Renart arrested Zisis, the door into the reception chamber opened with impeccable timing. A man and woman entered. Zisis turned to look, his mouth agape.

The man was Prince Savas of Yarda, while the woman was someone he had never seen before. She was a peerless beauty, with striking long black hair and eyes the color of darkness.

She looked at Zisis and smiled. “It’s nice to meet you. I am Tinasha.”

“You’re—!” he cried, stunned. “A-are your injuries…?”

“They’re healed. I had broken bones here and there; they hurt…,” she stated carelessly, then took a step to the side.

Savas stepped forward. He wore a pensive look Zisis had never seen on him before, staring down at the kneeling prime minister.

Zisis met the prince’s gaze, faint surprise in his eyes. This fainthearted prince had always given nobles whatever they’d asked, and his dependent nature led him to fob off his responsibilities on others. Zisis found it unexpected that he would regard him not with reproach, but with remorse.

Savas spoke shakily. “Let us hear the full story in Yarda.”

“…Yes, Your Highness.”

The soldiers waiting behind Savas marched Zisis away. As he was led from the room, arms bound, Tinasha said to him, “You’re an interesting one. If you aren’t executed, you’d be welcome to come to my court. You’re the type of person we want.”

Such an astounding remark made Zisis’s eyes widen. In the background, Oscar scowled while Legis gave a pained smile. Nephelli and Savas were astonished.

Overcoming his surprise, Zisis bowed to Tinasha with a self-deprecating smile. “I am honored and grateful to hear that. However…Yarda is my homeland. If I can, I want to die in my own country.”

“I see. That’s too bad,” Tinasha replied with a smile and a wave. Once Zisis vanished outside the room, she sighed. “I got rejected.”

Her indifferent, somewhat cutesy pout drew the exasperated gaze of the others in the room.

After Zisis was sent home to Yarda, the royals and advisers of all three countries discussed how to handle the aftermath.

Everything had gone according to a secret plan arranged after Oscar decided to intervene. It was Tinasha who suggested bringing it to an end by provoking an attack after she and Nephelli changed places.

Oscar exhaled quietly. “I agreed to your scheme because I wanted this wrapped up quick, but it was interesting using the curse song.”

“We didn’t know who the culprit was, so I brought everyone under the curse song’s spell, although I did cast a resistance charm on those from Farsas ahead of time. It’s all undone now, and there should be no lingering effects,” Tinasha explained.

Curious, Legis mused, “You could manipulate their perception to such a degree, even though you and Princess Nephelli look nothing alike.”

“All I did was enhance their subjective impressions. I wore the same clothes she did and had a veil on,” she replied.

Tinasha had caused the fog in the forest. She took advantage of that to switch places with Nephelli, teleporting the princess and the Farsasian troops to a location a short distance away.

Oscar looked down at his cup of tea, brewed by Tinasha. “It took more time than expected at the end because he had a forbidden curse seed. That wasn’t in the plan.”

“Yes, it wasn’t good at all how gruesome the whole scene became once that got thrown into the mix. Purifying it was a pain, too,” Tinasha agreed.

They discussed it so calmly, apparently thinking nothing of how they both had been grievously wounded. Those who happened to be in the room with them were the ones spooked.

Tinasha passed the tea things to a lady-in-waiting and went over to Sylvia’s spot by the window to chat.

Ignoring her capricious action, Oscar, Legis, and Savas all agreed to keep this matter quiet and let Yarda handle the aftermath.

Savas bowed his head to the other two, stammering out his thanks. “Thank you very much for your assistance. Both Nephelli and I are endlessly grateful.”

Oscar and Legis gave him faint smiles in response. Savas got to his feet and headed for the door with his subordinates in tow. As he did, he nodded to Tinasha as well. “I’ve taken your words to heart. Thank you.”

“They were merely the irresponsible words of a foreigner. How you interpret what I said is up to you, and it’s nothing you need thank me for,” she replied, flashing him a roguish grin. Judging by this interaction, she had given him some sort of frank advice when in Yarda. Oscar stifled laughter over how meddlesome she could be, no matter what she said to the contrary.

“I promise to be there at your coronation. And er…” Savas broke off there, faltering. His gaze on Tinasha was heated.

She cocked her head curiously, awaiting what else he had to say, but nothing was forthcoming.

“Tinasha.”

She broke their eye contact upon hearing her name called from the table. With a smile, Legis beckoned her over. She bobbed her head at Savas and trotted back over to Legis.

“I’ll be leaving now,” Legis said.

“Sorry to make you come over even though you’re so busy. I’ll send you off,” she offered.

“As you wish,” he agreed. Over Tinasha’s shoulder, a warning glint flashed in Legis’s eyes. Savas froze, pierced by that gaze. The two of them said their good-byes to Oscar and the others in the room before teleporting away.

The mood in the chamber relaxed now that the people partly responsible for the previous tense atmosphere were gone, and Oscar smiled. “Well, you can’t blame him.”

Tinasha’s coronation was days away. Legis wouldn’t want any undesirable pests buzzing around, whether in her public life or her personal one. Aware that he was the one Legis should be wariest of, Oscar let out a long exhale and stood.

Nephelli was sitting across from him, and he said to her, “You can finally go back home. I imagine you’ll want to after everything that’s happened.”

“I-it hasn’t been all bad. Thank you,” she answered, leaping to her feet and falling into step next to Oscar. They left the room and set off down the corridor.

Facing forward, Nephelli asked in a low voice, “Do you remember our proposal from ten years ago?”

“The one from the truce talks? I do, more or less.”

Nephelli took a deep breath and looked to the man next to her.

Fine features. Blue eyes that stared ahead.

Overcoming her momentary hesitation, Nephelli took the leap. “If I said that I wished to marry you now, would you accept?”

Oscar’s expression stiffened, and his gaze fell upon her.

A silence settled for a few moments, and Oscar seemed to be deliberating over how to respond.

“Hmm… Should that become advantageous for both of us, I will be the one to suggest it.”

Indirect phrasing.

What he meant by that was that he had no personal interest in her—and that they would only marry if it became politically necessary.

Nephelli had expected this bittersweet reply.

She was a royal, too, of course. Falling in love freely was not a luxury she’d ever possessed. Still, she couldn’t deny that a part of her had dared to dream.

Even now that those hopes were dashed, she didn’t feel resentful. This was only natural.

Nephelli blinked slowly, then looked forward again. She walked forth with pride. Even if nothing came of it, her feelings were real. That alone was somewhat satisfying.

The bitter part of her would change in time. Thus, she moved ahead.

She carried more than her own responsibilities on her shoulders.

After Zisis returned to Yarda and his crimes were made public, he received a life sentence in prison.

Following that, Prince Savas gradually grew into a better leader, one not so easily swayed by the opinions of nobles, and garnered the respect of his people.

Often, he visited Zisis in prison, seeking his council and trying to fumble his way to growing into a good ruler. When Tinasha later heard of this, she only gave a little, silent smile.

That was a story that ran separately from hers, on a separate path.

“Still, I ended up troubling you much more than I thought I would this time…,” grumbled Tinasha. She was brewing tea in the king’s study after Nephelli had returned to Yarda.

“You mean what happened with Lucanos? Let me handle situations like that. You taking it on just means I have to come in to clean up your messes.”

“But wasn’t keeping the princess safe your top priority?! She would have been in danger if more enemies had appeared!”

That was why it had been decided, after much deliberation, that Oscar would keep Nephelli safe while Tinasha faced the assassin. The plan had only veered somewhat off course due to the unanticipated curse seed.

Tinasha sighed deeply. “I thought I had gotten a little better with a sword, but I suppose you can’t tell that until you experience real combat…”

“If you want real combat, come down to the training grounds. I’ll get you nice and bruised up.”

“That’s not what I meant! I’m going to repay you for saving me!”

“It suits Farsas perfectly well to have the queen of Tuldarr owe us a favor.”

“This is a personal favor and has nothing to do with politics!” Tinasha huffed, sticking out her tongue before sinking onto the couch.

As he eyed her slender legs, the gears in Oscar’s mind started to turn. “A personal favor, huh…? I can think of lots of ways to get you to pay it back, but they’ll turn into problems later for a queen.”

“What sort of harassment are you thinking of doing?!” she cried very earnestly. In truth, Oscar was in her debt as well.

Oscar laughed loudly. “I’m not thinking of making you do anything. Just… Hmm, yeah.”

He stared straight at her.

Hair and eyes the color of a moonless night. Skin whiter than snow. Her entire existence as brilliant as a fully blossomed flower.

A miraculously beautiful woman from four hundred years ago. Inside, she was a proud queen…and just a lonely little girl.

Oscar cast her a faint smile. “I’ll make you more outfits, so wear them and come visit Farsas. Once a year is enough.”

On their divergent paths, they could only be together for a short time. If he could dress her up however he liked for that brief time, he knew he could feel happy even if he had to let go of her.

Tinasha blinked her dark eyes slowly at his request. “That’s enough?”

“Yeah.”

“I don’t understand you.”

“Just let it go. It’s what I’m into, and it’ll be a nice distraction,” Oscar stated dismissively, holding back from adding more. He started signing documents.

She watched him intently. After some hesitation, she said cautiously, “Oh, right, Oscar. Are you all right with Princess Nephelli leaving?”

“Why do you ask? There’s no point in keeping her here any longer, and she wanted to go home, too.”

“But you and she—” Tinasha broke off there, her shapely eyebrows drawing together. At her pause, Oscar looked up.

As their gazes met, emotions they couldn’t speak swirled between them.

Feelings they wouldn’t admit and love they were unaware of.

With heat flooding her slender body, the queen’s eyelashes trembled as she asked, “So does that mean…I can stay here just a little while longer?”

Tinasha’s heart was in her throat. Her clear voice gave the impression of a finely yet tightly wound thread.

Conscious of the ripples that voice sent through him, Oscar replied calmly, “Do what you want. So long as you’re not queen yet.”

With an end in sight, reality was easy enough to accept.

Visible relief washed over Tinasha’s face when she heard that.

Just then, there was a knock at the door, and Doan came in. He looked so concerned that the king asked, “What is it? Did something happen?”

“Ah, it’s just that something is bothering me a little about Yarda’s handling of the aftermath. You know the other mage who came with Princess Nephelli?”

“Ah, Valt. I invited him to come to Tuldarr, too,” remarked Tinasha.

“I told you to stop trying to just poach people from other countries! No more doing that while you’re in Farsas!” Oscar objected.

“That’s all up to the person, isn’t it? I’m just opening up a conversation,” she countered.

Unchecked, these two would go off topic right away, so Doan interjected, a very serious look on his face. “About him… His name isn’t in the Yardan royal court records.”

“What?” replied Oscar, and Tinasha’s eyes widened.

Doan continued, consulting the papers he was carrying. “By all accounts, he doesn’t exist. The princess and Gait seem to think he’s been working for the court for five years, but that’s a memory he planted in them temporarily. Over the course of our correspondence, I realized that Gait was missing memories he should have ordinarily possessed.”

“So you’re saying…”

Valt was a spirit sorcerer. That he had altered Nephelli’s memories, to say nothing of those of a court mage like Gait, was no small feat.

Tinasha was at a loss. Oscar asked, “Did something happen with this Valt guy?”

“He’s gone missing. At some point, he just disappeared. I looked into him because the mage who Delilah described in her testimony sounded a lot like him,” answered Doan.

“The mage who had dealings with that religious cult?!”

If Valt and that mage were one and the same, that would mean he was the one who had poisoned Tinasha. Were that the case, why had he saved her during the most recent incident?

Tinasha clapped a hand to her mouth; evidently the same thought had occurred to her. “What…? But why…?”

Her face paled with fear of the inexplicable. Oscar took notice of it and said to Doan, “Launch an investigation. He can’t be allowed to further whatever agenda he’s laboring for.”

Tinasha would be departing Farsas soon. Once she did, Oscar wouldn’t be able to come to her rescue.

The king’s tone of voice was harsh, and Doan bowed his head in silence. Once he left the study, Oscar said decisively, “Don’t let it bother you. Stick to your duties.”

Tinasha had crossed a span of four hundred years, and he wanted her to make her own intrepid way forth in this era.

Oscar hoped there would be no sadness along her path. Even if he was only fooling himself, he still felt that way.

An expression of surprise spread across Tinasha’s face, but it quickly softened into a smile. “I came here to be of use to you, after all.”

The way she spoke sounded as though she were tightly clutching something precious.

Oscar’s eyes narrowed fondly at Tinasha’s proud smile.

Thus, a new story of two rulers unfolds—a tale of the year before their fates changed forever.