"Th-The Exaltare is here! The Exaltare is here!"

Civilians shouted in the streets, a mixture of dread and awe spreading as the already overworked and currently understaffed city guard scrambled to maintain public order. People crowded around in the streets below as the ruler of Tenebreimen impatiently clenched her fist.

Maintaining appearances was important, but she had to spend an inordinate amount of time on negotiations with those triplicate-obsessed, overgrown boulders, and coordinating with the guard in every city she stopped in to avoid terrifying the populace when she arrived. While nobody would question it if she simply spontaneously arrived and telefragged a bunch of people in the process, it would cause several unpleasant headlines that she would rather avoid. If she wasn't going to bother with decorum, she wouldn't have wasted time speaking to the Geolle in the first place.  But because she made the mature and responsible decision to not melt them down into slag, Lilianna had shackled herself with the proper image of a ruler. Not that there was much deliberation, she could never choose an option that resulted in the destruction of the Empire.  Even if that meant abandoning…

No, no what a pointless hypothetical that is. There is no chance we would allow ourselves to end up in such a situation to begin with.

Lilianna shook her head, chasing away the wandering thought as she looked over at the officer awkwardly talking on the radio, requesting an update on the request for sunproofed equipment for her. Just because she made sure they emptied out the teleport for her arrival, didn't mean that they'd be ready to process her demands immediately.  It probably didn't help that, rather than use the teleport itself like an ordinary citizen, she used her own magic to hop from one facility to the next, and demanded the workers there call ahead to clear the next one. One of the perks of being Exaltare, she didn't have to bother with magic rituals or binding shackles—not that there would be any way to bind her. Any device that tried would simply be overpowered and shatter.

"How much longer will it take," she asked in a clipped tone.

She inhaled the lingering scent of petrichor, wishing the rain had held out. She could have simply flown to Kranes if it had, but the natural winter storm had come and gone, as frivolous as the whims of her precious little flower…  Lilianna grumbled as her thoughts incessantly drifted back to her child. Concern was threatening to overwhelm all her rational thoughts, and necessary precautions.  While she had lost her window to travel overground without any form of solar protection, it was perhaps for the best. If she had been caught out in the open when the storm left, it would have been… an unpleasant experience, to say the least.  She stared up at the perpetual clouds that sat above all their cities from the balcony she stood at, her brow furrowing.

When was it that we ceased carrying around a spare suit of armor everywhere we went? …No doubt Dagger would laugh at us if we ever admitted to wishing we took her advice to heart and ignored the words of our mother instead.

"I-It would be… far quicker to find you transport instead, Your Majesty," the officer nervously responded.

Unacceptable, as far as Lilianna was concerned. While she could in theory survive some measure of contact with the Sun, a car would limit how freely she could move around Kranes. And a vehicle would be a potential vulnerability if they ended up surrounded by Whispers. There was the option of simply waiting until night fell, then she would be able to fly freely through the skies and scour the land for signs of her daughter, but even the thought of waiting another two hours was unbearable.

"That isn't what we asked."  "R-Right, um, well, last I checked th-they were scrambling to find a spare uniform i-in your size…" The way he acted like even her measurements were some blasphemous truth he shouldn't have been privy to was somewhere between endearing and obnoxious. "We sent a request to the fabricators as an additional precaution, b-but that would take days. The existing suits are already in use by the teams set up around the town to follow Her Highness's plan. "  "Really? And what didst our little flower come up with?" She turned to look directly at him, her interest piqued.  He shirked away, averting his gaze. "Er, uh… Well… I wasn't there for the meeting, but supposedly she—rather, Her Highness claimed that they were drawn to sources of mana, and if we laid out bait for them, we might be able to lure them out of town. So, several—"  "Hmm, and Lesath humored the request, we take it?"  "Yes, Your Majesty."  "Did it work?"  "We… don't know yet. It's taken some time to gather the necessary materials, while also searching for Her Highness."  "Why?" Her tone was flat.  "Well, most of the other families' armies are assisting with the Geolle situation in the South, as per your request, so it's just been the Vanas family's private troops and us."

The officer in question didn't draw attention to it, but there was a winged blue rose emblazoned over his heart on the silver-painted ceramic armor he wore. Meaning he was one of the soldiers Lesath brought from Ljosdeyja.

"I understand it isn't my place to make value judgments of other troops, but… it… feels as though many of their troops have been dragging their feet. It could simply be my imagination, m-my apologies for babbling, Your Majesty."  "Why dost thou sayeth so?"

His statement was genuinely curious. She'd known that one of the Vanas was behind this, but if their entire military force was behaving oddly, it painted a much more troubling picture. If the Mage had dug its claws into one of the Seven, that was a far bigger problem than just one of her little flower's friends being abducted.  Especially because Lycoris herself had been taken as well.

"Huh? Oh, uh I mean! They've been dragging their feet on getting together the ores, they've all but refused to help dig out the tunnel that collapsed—where we last saw Her Highness—and they've been lazing about expecting you to simply resolve things on your arrival… Your Majesty."  "Offensive, and worth investigation. But, not particularly damning evidence on its own,"  "I apologize for even suggesting it, I'll go check on—"  "If it weren't the second strike against the Vanas, that is."  "H-Huh?!"

Not that she would humor him with an explanation regardless, but the door opened before she could reply.  Another armored figure awkwardly stepped onto the relatively narrow balcony and kneeled beside Lilianna before removing her helmet. A Fangchaser, with rounded cat-like ears that were a far rarer sight than the canine variety. In the Empire, at least. The ones who chose to live under the Vampires' shadow during Lilianna's reign were almost entirely the latter.

"Forgive the intrusion, Y-Your Myajesty. I come bearing an urgent report. We've received a myessage from the South."  Lilianna's shoulders tensed ever so slightly. "What is it now?"

Rather than geodes, the Geolle felt like a millstone around her neck. There was zero chance Lilianna would turn back and deal with whatever fresh hell they'd unearthed, unless it was something so catastrophic it'd singlehandedly spell the end of Tenebreimen.  At this point, considering the forces at play, she couldn't rule out that possibility as a mere overexaggerated joke.

The poor cat trembled at her irritation, though she had run out of sympathy for such things over three millennia ago.

"I-I'm… nyot sure how to say this, the report was rather messy…"  "All thou needst do is tell us what happened."  "R… R, Right, m-my apologies." She took a moment to collect herself before proceeding. "The temporary holding and investigyation of the Den-Ghel evacuees was proceeding without incident. However, someone begyan to act aggressively, and tried to break through. The checkpoint devolved into chaos, and the order was sent to activate the seismic payload. The Firebrand reported in immediately after receiving the order and giving his own, as per Your Myajesty's instructions. We don't knyow what the results are yet, but…"

It was easy enough to guess. Lilianna pinched the bridge of her nose as the situation took a far messier turn than she would have liked. A piece of her was somewhat relieved that the situation was over with for now, but the Geolle would be none too pleased to hear the results even if their own president had a hand in the outcome.  Not to mention, any leads she might have acquired to the other members of the rebel faction—in particular the Hero's Party—were now buried beneath several million tons of rubble. Though, if they were desperate enough to attack the checkpoint to try and break through, perhaps that meant their forces really were completely isolated there, and there was nothing to worry about.

"No… that's far too naive to believe."  "Y-Your Majesty?"  "Has there been any word from Malteus or Douglas?"  The cat's ears folded sadly. "The attack began with Douglas being shot. Malteus… is probably buried benyeath the rocks nyow. Several of the Myano and Idra forces were caught in it as well, but as I said, the exact extent is—"  "Right. We understand. Thou art dismissed."

The officer stood, folded her hands in salute, and fled the balcony with a little too much haste.

Given the nature of the Geollian rebellion, and the connection between it, the Hero's Party, and the events in Kranes, as Lycoris found out…

Could this truly be the Vanas making a play for power? We spoke with Aloba at the banquet but a week ago, hmm…

She gripped the edge of the balcony and closed her eyes, dove into her memories and relived the entire evening—at least, the relevant parts with the Vanas margrave—and frowned. There wasn't anything suspicious about how she had behaved, no surreptitious conversations in the corners of the room, no sudden breaks or retreats to the restroom, not even a phone call—despite her astonishment at Lycoris's grand debut.

But this… 'Bartholomew' is but a viscount. He lacks any sort of pull within the family on his own… Perhaps… if they knew about the raid on our private quarters, due to their ties with the Mage, then perhaps they sent him to the party, knowing that Lycoris would be there and yet-untested. A perfect patsy, given just enough resources to complicate the situation here, while our attention was drawn to the southern trouble stirred by that blasted sorceress.

If that was the case, then their goal was obviously to destabilize her authority over the Seven, call her capacity to rule into question, and in the worst case, completely invalidate Lycoris as her rightful heir. More realistically, they saw an opportunity to dispose of a frail link, and win more power in the Court.  If Lilianna was right, then no doubt the Margrave would have had backroom dealings with the Geolle, cut a deal to quietly settle the rebellion behind Lilianna's back, and make herself look like the victor while the Exaltare was stuck with the ruins of a major city.

But which other family would they be colluding with? There's not a chance they'd reveal anything about the Witch. Nobody in their right mind would back them in that case, but this is far too massive to be just their handiwork.

The two most obvious suspects were the Idra, or the Ochros. The three families that formed the stagnant traditionalist bloc. But would the Idra sacrifice Malteus like that? He was well liked by his cousin Cedric, according to the information Lilianna received, and that man was far too vain to throw away a piece he liked unless he stood to see tremendous personal gain from it.  Though… he was the sort that might be ambitious enough to make the most foolhardy decision to attempt to use the Hero's Party for his own gain. But only if he had sacrificed all the rational parts of his brain that had won him the position of Speaker in the first place.  Moreover, the Idra Elders would know better, and wouldn't permit him to sabotage their family in such a manner. They'd keep him in check if he even dared suggest it, and they kept him on a tight leash regardless.

Which left the Ochros. They had been quiet recently, and kept their distance from everything transpiring. But Duchess Rialla seemed just as surprised by Lycoris as Speaker Cedric and the rest, and the family lacked any sort of informant who could even supply them with… that information.  Lilianna suddenly felt as though she'd put one foot past the railing and was about to plummet.

An impossible thought occurred to her, as she thought of a certain blue-haired woman.  She'd been cast out by the Ochros for her impure blood, something they obsessed over to a repulsive degree. If they had already known about Lycoris, it could only have been through Athena, which…

No, she couldn't have.

Lilianna had put a geas on Athena, after all. If she told anyone about Lycoris, she would have perished on the spot.  But if she had found a way around it, and passed along the information… if the Ochros were already connected to the Vanas and the bizarre raid on the Elysian Sanctum, and knew just who to use to deliver Lycoris to them…

There were any number of ways she could have done so. For instance, if she were unconscious—willing or otherwise—then they could plant a micro camera or listening device on her. Then, it would immediately become apparent how their infiltrators were dealt with. Lycoris's identity would be instantly exposed.  And there was exactly one moment that would have been the perfect opportunity to bug her…  Not to mention, it'd easily slip past any sort of detecting if stuck alongside the tracking chip planted in all retainers that served the Transfixion of Heaven.

The thought seemed near-impossible, but if there was one thing that could make the Ochros look past their own puritanical obsession, it'd be the thought of usurping power from the current three major families. The Ochros and Vanas would wrest power over the traditionalist bloc from the Idra, and with the Exaltare's position weakened, they could overtake the center and muscle the "relatively" new Drimus out as well to instate themselves as the backbones of the Seven.  The thought of a new era of three great families was an absurdity matching the heights of history, but with a Hero and his party as the catalyst, the uncertainty of the sudden appearance of a blood heir, and everything else…  Lilianna could see the lure that would cause Aloba and Rialla to give in to temptation, and Athena would be the perfect unsuspecting plant. Especially if they had plotted this out centuries ago, and had been the ones to "guide" the formation of the Hero's party.

The hairs on the back of Lilianna's neck stood on end, her hands crushed the marble railing into fine dust, and the soldier still present on the balcony waiting on her backed away with his arms tucked rigidly against his sides.

"Should that farce be the truth, not a single one shall be spared our wroth."

The venom in her words melted the air.

＊　＊　＊

Beneath the streets of Kranes, in the damp and frigid air of the winding tunnels, Princess Lycoris sprinted as fast as she reasonably could.

In one hand, she gripped her axe near the blade like it were a hand-axe, and slung over her shoulder was the Count, carried like a sack of produce. She'd ceased hissing and snarling, having long ran out of obscenities to hurl at Verndil and one "Bartholomew," but her pupils were still narrowed in fury and her face twisted in anger.  The Count was still conscious—he had to guide her back, after all—and had to keep his limbs tucked against himself to avoid scraping them against the ground given how much larger he was than the one carrying him. He must have considered it a miracle she hadn't simply lopped them off in her initial fury, and made no complaints about the strain and discomfort it was putting him through.

A few meters behind them, Athena sprinted to match Lycoris's pace—though she was pushing herself in order to do so. She was already fatigued to begin with, but her sense of duty to Her Highness was more important than her own wellbeing.  In her arms was Gier, who looked just as displeased with the state of things as Athena did, but neither of them had the luxury to complain.

"Are you sure you don't wanna trade off?" He muttered up at her quietly, perhaps in the hopes that Her Highness wouldn't hear. A foolish notion, given the Princess's hearing was good enough to hear a pin drop even while sprinting like this.  "You would be even slower."  He flicked his nose with a finger. "I'd be able to keep track of where they went, at least."  "They would end up out of eyesight."  "I doubt that'd matter. I mean, you've seen more'f her than me, you know how freakishly strong she is."  "And yet the entire reason we are in this town is because my judgment lapsed and I let her leave my sight and care. It was my failings that caused us to be kidnapped. By all rights, she should have flayed the skin from my bones and made a monument to my failure out of my corpse. Also, her might is beautiful and reflective of her mother, it is not 'freakish.'"

When she woke up in the hospital, it'd been like waking into a nightmare. Athena was disoriented, didn't know where Her Highness was, and felt like her body had been turned to jello. When she found out they were in Kranes rather than Condore, she wished to be struck down on the spot—though she stayed her tongue for the sake of Her Highness.

"That's… kinda excessive," mumbled the Fangchaser.  Athena dismissively sniffed, "That is merely the extent to which I failed the Exaltare and her daughter. I deserve no less, despite Her Highness's boundless compassion."  "I dunno if I'd say she's looking too compassionate right now…"

＊

Lycoris slid her grip down her "hatchet" and used the extra torque to effortlessly cleave through another straggling Whisper in their path without even breaking her stride, before slipping it back up to carry as she felt her eyelid twitch with impatience.  The conversation happening behind her was doing her mood no favors. In the hopes of tuning it out, she cast a sidelong glance at the man trembling against her shoulder and asked the same question she already had on five other occasions at least.

"How much further?"  "I-I'm not sure, you'd remember just as well as I the route we took to get here from my manse."  "Why in the world would I remember something so insignificant?"

This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author's consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.  But Verndil only seemed further confused by her confusion. "I would assume an Aphtangloa's level of perfect recall would be far beyond my capabilities…"  "I'm busy at the moment. There's another fork ahead. Directions."  "Yes… Your Highness. Head down the right tunnel here, we're almost back to the grounds of my manor."  "And you're certain that he'll be waiting there?"  "Without a doubt. That cowardly viscount wouldn't try and leave while Whispers are still a threat."  "And Emma is with him?"  "L-Like I said, I do not know who this 'Emma' is. All I know is he's been speaking with someone, maybe even just ranting and raving to himself. Ancestors know I was beginning to go stir-crazy too."

Lycoris tuned out his grousings as she focused instead on the drab stonework in front of her. Her mind was boiling with the urge to kill Bartholomew as brutally as possible, both for what he had done to Emma—and her, Sera, and Athena by proxy—and for his connection to Tatyana.  But, an idea came to her as she wondered just how much longer she would have to run.

"…Is there another way into your estate? Or, putting it another way, do you have a cellar?"  "Huh? Well, yes, but…"

＊

Lesath wasn't sure what to expect from the state of things inside the town, but no matter what she imagined, it wasn't this.

In orderly single-file lines, droves of the machines that had terrorized and laid waste to the environs were slowly making their way to the exit. She and the squad she conscripted had squeezed past them to slip through the huge opening torn through the dawn walls, but despite the extreme tension of the situation… none of the Whispers attacked them.

Watching them simply leave without even paying any sort of price for what they had done irritated her, but she knew they lacked anything resembling genuine thoughts. There'd be no point in trying to pass judgment upon them, they wouldn't feel anything, there would be no contrition. It would simply be for the sake of self-gratification, like a child throwing a tantrum.

That aside, not all of the Whispers appeared to have received the memo, as there were still roaming… packs, for lack of a better word, that charged at her team as they swiftly cleared street after street.  Credit where it was due, the soldiers she'd brought with her were a good shot and didn't mince words when they actually had someone there to drag them into doing their job. They acted before she even had the chance to draw her weapon, none of the Whispers rushing at them were remotely threatening or organized enough to do more than run directly into the firing line.  If Lycoris's words were to be believed, then that meant they weren't… connected to each other, or something to that effect.

With the mass exodus on the one hand, and the disparate packs on the other, it was clear something had shifted inside of the town.  Her best guess was that it had something to do with the missing ill-omened child.

"Lady Executioner, we've finished clearing out the Whispers in front of the shelter. There's survivors inside, they appear to have functioning air purification and electricity in there."  "Have one of the men instruct them to remain there, the town isn't safe yet."

There were also still larger packs of Whispers gathered around particularly large hubs of people. At least two hospitals and three shelters they came across were crawling with Whispers trying to get in, lending credence to Lycoris's theory that they were seeking out sources of energy—organic or otherwise.

"The rest of us are moving ahead, tell them to catch up as soon as they deliver the message."  "Yes, ma'am."

The captain gave a crisp salute and barked the order to one of the soldiers, who broke off to speak to the shelter dwellers.

Meanwhile, Lesath continued to lead the squad through ruined streets, an idle thought crossing her mind that it'd take weeks just to get the roads back in order, much less the dwellings.  Her ultimate objective was to secure the Count's manor and town hall, but any time they came across another building being accosted by those things, they'd inevitably get dragged into fighting them off. The Whispers gathered around seemed to be splintering off like leaves falling from the trees in autumn, and when those falling petals inevitably crossed their path, it'd drag the rest of the horde into the fight. By that point, there wasn't any reason to avoid cleaning the entire pack up.

Of course, things grew more complicated when they arrived at a particularly massive assemblage of creatures in front of a towering, multi-story hospital. The building was far and away one of the largest remaining structures. Its windows were all boarded up, there was the loud obnoxious rumbling of an industrial generator inside, and in front there were scars in the ground from slashes and bullets that made it obvious a massive battle had taken place.  The Executioner pulled the sword off of her back with a beleaguered sigh, and nodded to the rest of the squad. They seemed to get the picture, drawing their firearms and taking up position around her.

"Are we clearing out this pack, too?"  "It'll be nightfall by the time we make it to the town hall… but, if there's this large of a pack, perhaps this is where Her Majesty's wayward heir has wandered."

She closed her eyes and uttered a small prayer, sending a reflexive shiver of fear through her own troops as they overheard, before she strode forward with confident, large steps and held her sword at the ready.

"Woe upon us all, for my master's bidding be done…"

＊

CRASH!

With a manic gleam in her eye, the Princess had once more opted for the impatient shortest route. And once more, she'd found herself unduly rewarded for it.  The Count stood a ways back, lamenting the damage to the his estate grounds, and apparently expensive wine racks of his cellar, but Lycoris couldn't care less about the shattered and scattered bottles of blood that heralded her arrival.  Laying on the ground some distance in front of her, in the flickering gloomy light, was a redheaded woman with her mouth gagged and her hands and feet tied behind her back. She was unconscious, and looked repulsively beaten up; Lycoris couldn't tell if the woman was alive or dead, but regardless of that, she was infuriated.

And less importantly, there was someone else there eager to greet her.

She wasn't about to fall victim to any more of the shadowy assassins, not while she was armed and primed for combat, not when her goal was within arm's reach.  Before the figure could even strike from her flank, she heard the sound of footsteps in the pool of blood she'd spilled, and spun like a top as she smoothly hooked her blade around their neck and tore their head off—stupid enchanted hood and all.  The body flopped forward with a splash, blue ichor mixing with the red to create a repulsive murky ooze in the dark cellar, a thin silver wire sparkling in the flickering torchlight.

"…Why even use torches?" she muttered to herself.  "Great Ancestors!" Verndil shouted from behind her as he bore witness to her effortless dispatching of the assassin. "You truly are your mother's—"  "Shut it. I've heard that enough for a lifetime already. I know."

She wasn't in any mood to feel a sense of pride at the remark. Especially not from someone like Count Eltash.

"M-My apologies." He fell silent, before deciding to answer her rhetorical question. "The… reason for the torches is ambiance."

Lycoris sighed and shook her head, keeping her eyes and ears alert as she cautiously approached Emma. It was a common mistake to rush directly to the body, oftentimes they were bait for a trap. She couldn't count on one hand the number of times Mizar had fallen for such a thing.  But this time, there wasn't anything else lurking or waiting for them.

She crouched down and placed a hand on the woman's forehead.

"She feels cold… Verndil, is that bad?" Lycoris turned to stare, concern mixed into her irate gaze.  "I can't believe the nerve of that man. All of this was to kidnap some… peasant?! For what?!"  "Verndil."  "Ah, er, that is, I don't… know. It makes sense if she's been down here for a while. But her body hasn't started decaying or anything like that, I assume. There's no stench of death about her, I hope?"

Lycoris sniffed, but all she smelled was the sickly sweet scent of bloodwine.

Trailing behind and finally entering the new open-concept entrance that Lycoris had "installed" in Verndil's cellar, a profusely sweating Athena set down Gier and leaned against one of the wine racks, looking as close to out of breath as a Vampire probably could.

"Your Highness… never fear… your maid is… right here."  "Lady, you need to rest," sighed Gier.  "How dare you address me in… such a manner."  "Athena, I found Emma. She's… I don't know if she's okay." Despite her simmering fury, Lycoris couldn't avoid the trembling of distress in her tone.  "Understood, Your Highness…"

Athena nodded and stumbled her way over, crouched down, and put a finger to Emma's throat.  After a tense moment, she lifted her head and smiled wanly.

"She remains alive, for now. I doubt they've kept her fed at all."

Lycoris shot a glare toward Verndil, though he raised his hands and backed away.

"I-I already told you, I had nothing to do with this! I didn't even know who she was until now."  "For your sake, I hope that's true. Carry her, gently."  "E…Excuse me?"  "I will not repeat myself. Make yourself useful."

She didn't spare another moment on him, gripping her scythe with both hands as she paced over to the stairs.  While she didn't weigh much herself, the weight of her scythe meant the wooden steps creaked with each one she took. There was something nostalgic about the environment in the cellar, it reminded her of a seedy pub in Dauwen. Perhaps it shouldn't have been a pleasant memory given her history with those sorts of establishments, but Lycoris was in a strange mood.

"Gier, since you're sporting the rifle, cover my back. Athena, are you well enough to keep Emma and the Count safe?"  "…it's a shotgun…"  "Of course, but Your Highness, it would be best if I remained by your side."  Lycoris turned around with a slightly hysterical chuckle, "What do you mean, Athena? They're coming with us. Verndil still has to lead me to my target, and this is a big house."

The others exchanged a look before Gier rushed up to her and she turned around in satisfaction. Testing the doorknob, she found it was unlocked and led to a richly decorated hallway. Paintings were hung up, cabinets and ornamental suits of strange-looking armor lined the walls, and a massive golden rug stretched across the floor. The thought of how long it must have taken whichever seamstress to actually weave that entire thing made Lycoris a little dizzy.  The familiar scent of mildew and melting candlewax mixed with the sweetness of wine as it wafted up from below, clashing with the artificial lemony scent from above.

Behind her, the rest of the group finally arrived and readied themselves. As Lycoris commanded, Emma was being carried in Verndil's arms, though he looked somewhat disgruntled about it. Athena stood by their side, her knife in a backhand grip as she scanned the halls, and Gier wrinkled his nose in displeasure.

"Ugh it smells like a headache and breath mints."  "How dare!" The Count huffed. "I believe in the importance of always keeping my home minty-fresh. It is a pleasant aroma."  "No wonder Fangchasers hate working for you…"  "Grrr… Ah, Your Highness, something worth noting… There should be at most, or perhaps at least—I don't know if there's more… invisible ones skulking about—but there should be three more of those hooded drones."  Lycoris paused. "Drones…? You mean to say you knew about the assassins?"  Verndil cleared his throat and shook his head vigorously. "No no. Well, yes. He lent me two of them as protection, but I think it was more to keep an eye on me." He sighed in lament, "I suppose we'll just have to see if they try to attack when they see you, or if they'll still obey me. Regardless, he always keeps one around for protection, so those are the three I know of. M-My point is, stay alert, Your Highness."

Well, at least he was trying.  However, Lycoris was already more than alert, given that she was walking through the metaphorical belly of the beast. If she wasn't, she'd have already sprinted through the place, ripping open every door she could to find that bastard.

"Do you know where he might be?"  Verndil shook his head, "No, but usually he's either getting drunk in the cellar—and probably cursing this woman out given how loud he has been—or resting in his guest chamber on the second floor."

Lycoris nodded and started off once more, her eyes darting to and fro as she steadily marched down the hallway. They reached a large foyer without any encounters, which was apparently the main room. The grand windows on either side of a pair of double doors were sealed up by iron sheets, forcing the room into a perpetual gloom with the chandeliers and wall fixtures turned off.  Up the red-carpeted stairs and onto the second floor, she let the ever-helpful Verndil point which direction led to the guest rooms, but still they found nothing but silence and detritus accrued thanks to the lack of cleaning staff over the past week. There was evidence of one of the rooms having been lived in—the sheets were a mess and there was clothing strewn about, causing Athena to nearly gag at the state of things—which at least proved that the Count wasn't lying.  Lycoris ignored the maid's woes and turned to Verndil with a sharp look of disappointment.

"What now?"  The Count looked pensive for a moment, setting Emma gently on the bed after pulling the sheets back up. "Perhaps he heard the commotion and went to my study to find me? Barring that, there's a PA system in there I can use to broadcast to the whole manor to get his attention and summon him. If he's not already there, we can lure him right into your arms, Your Highness."  "I have no intention of embracing him." Lycoris wrinkled her nose.

Though her tone was clearly hostile, the three of them couldn't help but stifle a chuckle at her innocent naivete. She let it slide this time, as there was a far more pressing matter to tend to.  Without any further mincing of words, she left once more and headed in the opposite direction… before waiting for Verndil to scoop Emma back up and catch up once more. She didn't know the way to his office, after all.

But, at long last, they eventually arrived at their destination, and through the door, Lycoris heard the sound of her quarry, her heart racing in excitement.  Before Bartholomew could finish speaking, she slashed through the door and charged into the room, her eyes alight with fury.

"Wh-Where has that useless sack of— What?!"  "Ahahaha, I finally found you!"

The man standing behind Verndil's desk widened his eyes in shock, horror, and bewilderment as he saw the Princess dart at him like a speeding bullet. He ducked down beneath it as though expecting her to lack the object permanence to remember where he was.  She shifted her weapon into an axe and split the desk clean in half, breathing heavily as she loomed over him.

"My desk!"  "Do you have any idea how fucked you are?!"  "O-O-O-Oh! P-P-P-Princess… L-Lycoris! Wh-Wh-What an unexpected… Wh-What are you…"  "You know exactly why I'm here. Now answer the question. You've caused thousands of deaths, you've caused so much grief and strife and destroyed peoples' livelihoods… And for what?!"  "I, I t-truly haven't the foggiest what you're talking about…"

He slowly crawled away from her, looking over her shoulder to a corner of the room as he backed up against the wall. It was plainly obvious what he was looking at, and before the assassin could even move, a sword stabbed through their chest and a knife slit their throat as followup.

"Amateur," muttered Athena.  "HIIIEEEE!! W-Wait, d-don't k-k-kill me!"  "Oh? Why would I kill you? We still have plenty to talk about."

Lycoris wrenched the axe back up, shards of wood falling down as she stepped through the remnants of the desk, matching the sniveling coward's pace. Her nostrils flared, her pupils sharpened, the image of his quivering mass of flesh became the sole entity in Lycoris's field of view.  He backed up against the wall, slowly inching along its length and gripping on to the bookshelves to keep his trembling body mobile.

"Where is Tatyana? How and when did you two meet? And what did she tell you about me?"  "Wh-Whuh? I-I don't know anyone by that n-na—"  "LIAR!"

She slammed her axe one-handed into the wall, smashing it open and causing dusky sunlight to flood into the room between them.

"I saw her handiwork on the cloud generator. Her signature. I know she was here. You kidnapped and endangered my friend to lure me here. Why?"  The man's teeth chattered as though he'd been shoved into a freezer. "I-I-I j-j-just w-wanted to… to, to ta-talk to you!"  "Well. Here I am," hissed Lycoris. "So talk. Tell me everything you know about Tatyana, tell me why she asked you to lure me here."  "L-Like I said, I don't know who… who that is! I-I just… got a phone call, after the banquet. I-I was still livid, I didn't know who it was, just that the speaker was f-female. Sh-She told me that if I b-brought the 'object of my fury' to Kranes, that I-I'd obtain the respect I'm owed!"

Lycoris was so utterly stunned by his absolute, selfish shallowness that she dropped her weapon, its blade embedding in the floor with a loud thud. Bartholomew winced as it hit the ground, his eyes darting between the weapon and Lycoris as he inched another step backward.  She genuinely, truly could not believe that someone so comedically self-interested could exist. That, upon being given resources and knowledge and tools that Lycoris couldn't even dream of before arriving at the Empire, he could squander it all on something as utterly stupid as a sliver of his own narcissistic pride.  No, no it was far worse than even that. There were any number of avenues he could have taken that would have been less foolish. A sternly worded letter might have gotten him into trouble with her mother still, but she would have blown it off without a care herself. But this? This?

Lycoris took a step forward to match his, her hands clenched so tightly that her tiny arms trembled in uncontrollable fury.

"You… endangered not only me, but the people I care about. The people who showed me kindness, in a world I began to think had none."

The joints in her fingers were so taut, she thought they might freeze in that position forever.

"You let a town be destroyed, for the sake of… what? Petty revenge because I didn't want to dance with you?"  "I-I should have known my place, I apolog—"  "This goes far beyond 'knowing your place,' Vampire."

She leapt forward, gripped him by his shirt, and hoisted him up one-handed.

"W-Wa, wait please I beg of you! Spare me! Mercy! Please!"  "Heh…hahahahahaha, if you wish to beg for clemency, you should ask the Goddess, not me."

She pivoted on her heels and thrust him into the dying rays of sunlight, his body immediately beginning to blister and sizzle as a foul odor filled Lycoris's nostrils. He screamed incoherently and began trying to claw at her, but his body convulsed and seized up, his wispy blue hairs falling out and burning away like sparks as the sunlight exposed him for the pitiful, babbling wretch he truly was.  There was a stinging pain as her arm began to blister and redden as well, a voice in the back of her head shouting at her to duck back into the shadows, but her fury was even louder.

By the time the sun finally set, the idiotic puppet-king had been unceremoniously reduced to a pile of ash, her charred arm still shaking as it tightly gripped his shirt.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.