6-71 Takeover
“That damn bastard!” Leorick shouted at the top of his lungs as he flipped his desk over, spilling and scattering the documents and stationery all over the floor. Not even the opulent decorations were spared in his fit of rage. An hourglass with crimson gold fittings and engravings by old masters on the glass itself, now nothing more than a piece of broken junk, destroyed by the crown prince’s erratic wrath. That single piece of item would feed a common family for two generations, but now it wouldn’t even fit a child. “That fucking idiot! What was he thinking!?”
“Settle down, Your Highness,” said a woman with dark skin and a shaved head. Dressed in a tightly-fitted gown, clad in light metal armour, she sat on the couch in the middle of the room. She was snacking on the biscuits and cakes on the coffee table. She also poured herself a cup of tea that was still piping hot.
“Settle down? Are you taking a piss here, woman?”
“I’m enjoying my tea, Your Highness. But I would love to take a piss, if you would allow me, that is.”
“This is not the time for jokes!” Leorick exploded. “That fucking idiot had cost me the throne!”
“...What a surprise,” the woman muttered with a dull expression and a dry tone. “If only someone had warned you of that person’s volatile nature. Oh, wait. Someone did. Me. However, I remember your response was, ‘Don’t be paranoid. Everything’s under control.’ Those were your words. Lo and behold, everything is definitely under control right now.”
“I don’t have time for your quips and sarcasm right now, Yinsun.”
The woman named Yinsun chuckled as she put down her cup of tea after taking a sip. “Then, why am I here?”
“To do what I paid you to do.”
“And what would that be? The throne? I have given you that, but you shat on it with your poor decisions. Your connections and the current state of the king, I made all that a reality, as I was paid to do. My work is done. If you want more, you will have to fork out more gold.”
“That was not the accord!” the crowned prince growled.
“What is the accord exactly? Do tell.”
“Until I sit on the throne, you are still in my servitude.”
The woman laughed. “Unfortunately, you have misremembered or misunderstood our terms,” said Yinsun as she rose from the couch. “You have not stated that I will be in your servitude until you are crowned the king when the accord was made. I was only asked to provide the opportunity and pave the way. I did all that. You squandered them all because of your greed. Besides, as things stand, the probability of you getting the throne is very… low.”
“Bollocks! I still have the nobles behind me. If they want to retain their business, they will back me.”
“Perhaps they will, Your Highness, but what makes you think you’re the only one who will have their interest in mind?”
“I am currently the eldest prince! My brother will never come to any form of agreement with those nobles.”
The woman chuckled once more. “Oh, Your Highness… You are surprisingly naive. Do you honestly believe your brother is as virtuous as he has led everyone to believe?”
Leorick frowned. Suddenly, everything just felt wrong. “...What are you saying?” he asked. He dreaded the answer— one that he already knew, but he didn’t want to acknowledge it. He clung to the faint hope that he was simply being paranoid and high-strung.
“It’s over for you, Your Highness,” Yinsun said and clapped her hands twice.
Then, a figure appeared from behind a door that Leorick himself didn’t even know existed. This room was his chamber and his study. He was the master of this room. There shouldn’t have been a secret door that he didn’t know of. But the door wasn’t his current concern. The figure that came out of it was. It was someone he knew well. “Leovin…” he gasped. It was his brother.
“Good afternoon, Leorick,” Leovin greeted in an amicable manner. “You look worse for wear, o’ brother mine.”
“W-what are you— How are you here!?”
“I am here because you are terrible at choosing friends, Leorick.”
“William Marsh…”
“No, not the upstart. Someone… closer to you.”
Leorick widened his eyes and turned his gaze to Yinsun. “Y-you!?”
“Oh, don’t look so shocked, Your Highness. If you have bothered to use your head for even a moment, you will know that this is inevitable. After all, I have no reason to stay by your side.”
Veins popped on his head. Leorick clenched his fists tightly. “You fucking bitch!” he yelled and rushed at her— but he fell to his knees after taking only two steps.
“Careful now, Your Highness,” said Yinsun. Her expression had lost all of its humour and warmth.
Before he knew it, Yinsun’s voice had turned cold and oppressive. A single word from her felt like it weighed rocks on his back.
“You are no longer my employer. I will no longer be tolerant of your… rudeness.”
“Rudeness?” Leorick scoffed. He was still on his knees, but he did not shed his pride as the crown prince. “You are talking to the crown prince. Your head will roll for this.” He glared. For an instant, he could vaguely make out a faint phantom of a dragon overlapping with her appearance. He felt overwhelmed at that realisation. He had to look away.
“Her head will stay where it is,” Leorin retorted. “And you will no longer be the crown prince.”
“Bollocks!” Leorick spat.
“It’s the truth. The Greymoons are coming as we speak. You will be seized, and you will be questioned at a later date.”
“Bollocks! Absolute bollocks! You can’t dispatch the Greymoons! You are not the crown prince!”
“You are sorely mistaken, Leorick. I can dispatch the Greymoons. I have the approval of all the major houses.”
“W-what…?”
“You have made a major blunder, dear brother. You just have to befriend that upstart. I just don’t understand you. What do you see in that person?”
Desperation, Leorick wanted to say, but he held his tongue. Marsh had looked desperate, even though he tried his best to hide it. Leorick had seen his potential. He thought he could exploit Marsh’s potential by taking advantage of his desperation. Leorick didn’t know just how deep the desperation was. That was his blunder.
“Well, it doesn’t matter now. You are finished.”
“...Why are you here, Leorin?” asked Leorick after a brief silence.
Leorin smiled. “I have a proposal, dear brother.”
“What kind of proposal?”
“The kind that might affect the judgment later on.”
Loerick grimaced. “So, this was your plan all along?”
“Nonsense, Leorick. My plan was different. It was… more complicated, but you have just done me a huge favour by making a fool of yourself. Now, things can be more streamlined. But those are beside the point. The proposal, will you take it?”
“Haven’t even heard it.”
“Oh, it’s simple. You just need to tell me all that you have learned from your dear friend, William Marsh. Every single thing, including how he managed to instil a soul into a foreign vessel.”
****
While the former crown prince was facing his dilemma, Erin was facing her own version.
In a small room, where the temperature was akin to the final week before winter, a small and frail figure lay resting on a bed. The room, albeit small, was well furnished with warm colours all around, making it a small and cosy sanctuary for anyone who had taken ill.
“How is she?” Erin asked. Sitting by the bed, she held Katya’s hand as she prayed for her friend’s wellness and health.
Zoe, who was on the other side of the bed, shook her head with a sad look of helplessness. Other than a friend of Erynthea, she was also the Saintess of Ruva, whom Erin had saved from a predicament. “I’m sorry, Lady Erynthea. There’s nothing I can do. And please don’t be mistaken. I don’t mean that I’m refusing to help you. This is out of my bounds. This girl… her very existence goes against the natural order. Only a Divine could save her, but no Divine would aid an aberration of the natural order.”
“...It’s alright. I understand.”
Zoe rose to her feet and bowed before taking her leave.
“Fuck…” Erin muttered as the door closed behind her.
Shortly after, there was a knock on the door.
“I wish to be left alone,” Erin responded.
“Too bad. You ain’t getting that wish,” came Aedan’s retort from the other side. “Just come on out, entertaining these miserable folks, and you can have your peace.”
Erin sighed and pushed herself to her feet. She straightened her robe and exited the room. Though the room was small, the corridor was vast, wide enough to accommodate the presence of quite a number of individuals. Nivia, Lilian, and Aera were among these individuals. Ruri was there too, resting on Lilian’s shoulder. They wanted to say something, but Luvier stopped them from interfering.
The only person missing here was Lyra, who would have barged her way in even if she wasn’t allowed. However, she was physically unable to act on her impulse at the moment. She lost an arm and half of her torso was cleaved open. Erin shuddered at the recall of that very moment, but she reassured herself of Lyra’s well-being by reminding herself that Lyra was in capable hands. People had suffered worse, and these people lived, the wonderful results of Healing Magic.
“Lady Erynthea, time is of the essence here,” said Xiolise.
“Make it quick, please,” said Erin.
Aedan chuckled beside her.
Xiolise frowned. She was the Consul of the Fae Embassy in the Yorun Kingdom, and also the sister of the Fae Queen. “Your friend is gravely ill, but that’s no reason for you to forsake your manners, Lady Erynthea. It seems like that person’s crude behaviour has influenced you greatly. To think he will call us miserable right in our face.”
“I can do it behind your back if that’s what you prefer.”
“Watch your tongue,” warned Luvier, the personal guard of the consul.
“Enough of this tomfoolery,” Azaela cut in. “Lady Erynthea, I am truly sorry about your friend, but there are still a lot of important matters to discuss. Your friend’s condition is one of them.”
“What’s there to discuss?”
“This entire affair had caught the attention of the court. They want answers directly from the mouths of those at the centre of the involvement. You are one of them. There’s no other way around this. You will have to stand before the elders and the Prince Regent.”
“As I said, what’s there to discuss? I will answer everything as it is.”
“Including your origins and your friend’s?”
“...Yes. Do I have any other choice? I may not have been to court before, but I know the gist. There will be a spell in place to discern truth and lies. And you, the Grand Apostle of Ruva, are asking me to not be truthful?”
“I made no such request.”
“Then, what is there to discuss?”
“There are things that are better left omitted, not for your sake, but for the world’s. If those nobles came to learn of some of the things Marsh has done, they may seek to understand it and exploit it. Your very nature is included in this scenario.”
“Regardless, how is that any different from being untruthful?”
“Omitting the truth is not lying. If they never ask a question, you will tell no lies. Also, we have prisoners who are part of this debacle. Their fate rests on our testimonies and statements.”
“Who are they?”
“Baloc and Genna. Baloc is William Marsh’s secret chief researcher. No doubt the success of Marsh’s many endeavours is thanks to Baloc’s creative mind. As for Genna, she is a master of Spatial Magic. Her efficiency and mastery over Spatial Magic are unlike any other I have seen. She is likely the one responsible for the Saintess’ abduction and many of the others.”
“No doubt? Likely? There’s no certainty in your words.”
“Officially, nothing is for certain yet. It will be determined in the trial to come. As I said, their fate rests on our testimonies and statements, especially yours, since you have the most intimate and profound contact with those two.”
“I’m very grateful for your advice, Azaela, but my friend’s condition is more immediate. No one will die if the hearing is delayed for a day or two. The same can’t be said for my friend. She needs treatment.”
“I understand your plight, Erynthea, but there’s no treatment out there known to mortals that can cure your friend.”
“Actually, there may be a way,” said Aedan. “There is a person who may be able to help you.”
Erin immediately turned to him. “What? Who? Tell me?”
“A certain someone who owes you a reward for an agreement you made with them.”
Erin’s eyes shone with realisation. “Sylvie,” she muttered under her breath.