Dressed in a long white gown with a long, dragging court train, Cill descended her auburn carriage. Followed by three servants lifting the sweep of her dress, she walked along the city walls with her hands neatly folded. The entire place had been emptied, and her frame was obscured by a curtain carried by a couple of soldiers. Not just anyone could lay their eyes on a sage, and that stood especially true for Cill as the Mediora sage had taken an inclining liking to her.

'All this charade… Dressing me like a bride.' With a jerk of her arm, she dragged the loose long sleeves in front of her body. Walking through the gate that led inside the walls, Cill kept looking around at the guards eyeing her from the corners. Both fear and adoration oozed through their gaze, not realizing that what they were seeing was nothing more than a facade. 'Their height, who told them that midgets can become soldiers?'

As her nose scrunched up, the guards quickly looked away. Cill wasn't a fan of the weak and the small, and being forced to take on an appearance to match those qualities was absolutely abhorrent. But of course, in her own tongue, it was important for people to underestimate her, and so, taking the appearance of a young woman of mediocre height, she kept them deluded.

Only Soma had seen her true form as well as a few others, but right now, nothing of the sort mattered. And with that thought to recenter her focus, she looked to the front and found Glyea sitting in a room just a few steps away from her. Plastering a smile on her face, she started walking with bewitching grace.

Her hands were flowing on the side, and her hips swayed with a rhythm that didn't break for a second. Rushing before her, however, her servants quickly pulled a chair and cleaned it for her to sit. Bowing by it as Glyea noticed her, they welcomed her in. Stopping herself at the verge of a scoff, Cill made her way to the servant and took a seat. Then, with a swift gesture, she motioned them to leave.

Without question, the girls left, and so did the soldiers after getting an angry glare. Finally left alone with Glyea, she gestured for the knight to close the door and then take a seat in front of her. Complying with the orders, Glyea didn't keep the sage waiting. Nervously sitting in front of her, she kept her hands folded and waited for her to speak.

"Well…" leaning forward, Cill intertwined her fingers. "Where do I start?"

Scanning the tension across Glyea's face, the sage took a deep breath and pushed her back in the chair with an invisible pair of fingers.

"I'm plagued with bringing you the news, but during your trip here, the queen finally took her last breath." Blinking her eyes as if she was questioning reality itself, the magic night leaned forward. "She passed in her sleep and has already been buried with all the respect due to her. And now, we sages have decided to, let's say, put things into perspective a little."

"Ma'am, what are you saying?" Still in disbelief, a nervous smile took over Glyea.

Though a bit perturbed by her questioning, Cill closed her eyes and continued on her point.

"Simply put, her children won't possess the crown, and we see it fit for your head instead." Opening her eyes, Cill noticed the same nervous smile on the knight's face. "They will resist as would any monarch, but the Majora agrees to crown you as a reward for saving the trampling of many vessels held by our pious capital."

Shifting in her chair, Glyea placed her hand on the table and tried to question the sage, but was swiftly interrupted by her raised hand.

"You have done your part; now let us take over. You will be queen, there's no other way around it. Your family has already garnered quite a lot of praise through propaganda. They saved me from a fire and died themselves. And now you've saved a whole fleet of towns against an undead army, what better heart of iron could the royal seat ask for?"

"W-wait, my parents didn't–"

"Ughh…" Rolling her eyes, Cill's facade finally dropped. "Do you think I don't know it? They died peacefully, but that won't work. Now just act as you're meant to, don't make this difficult. Wave your hands and stand vote for the dukes and nobles. They will decide between you and the queen's offspring. And we need you to be our face. Your reward is too great already, so don't make this difficult."

"But I have no idea what you're talking about! And when did this get decided?! How can I become queen?!" Finally screaming her doubt as Cill wouldn't allow her to get them out otherwise, Glyea stood up from her chair, panting. "Please, just tell me what's going on? I can't agree to this without knowing what I'm getting myself into after all!"

With an unimpressed look, Cill gestured for Glyea to sit down again. Not speaking a word while she stood, she forced her to take a seat and then, rather reluctantly, began explaining why the sages had chosen her, along with the reason behind their want for the royal seat. In the end, it was just the power and influence; everything else that came out of Cill's mouth sounded like propaganda, and the two knew it perfectly.

"And one last thing," taking out a napkin from her bosom, Cill placed it on the table. "I've decided to court your brother; here's proof of him taking my purity."

Stained with the blood drawn from the moment she'd lost her virginity, the napkin was meant to be presented after marriage to the family. It served as proof for a girl that she wasn't already pregnant from another man before marrying her husband, but even if she was, right now that wasn't the question roaming in Glyea's head.

"YOU DID WHAT!?" Her voice echoed through the walls.

Her once pure brother was pure no more.

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