The remaining three left the room not long after Moritz.
“First, I want you to see everything,” Maria said.
Confused, Fiona tilted her head. “Everything?”
Oscar remained silent, though he too was puzzled. While the three of them crossed the courtyard on their trek to wherever Maria was taking them, her knights were rushing around. Norbert, commander of her order, came to report to Maria.
“My lady, there’s a fairly large fire in one part of the city and reports of disturbances in another. I’m dispatching a few of my men.”
“I trust you. To confirm, those things are happening simultaneously?” Maria asked pointedly.
“Yes,” Norbert replied.
“And are these two locations on the opposite side of the city, perchance?”
“Yes.”
“I see. Thank you.”
With that, she started walking again. Fiona and Oscar followed her. Both were curious, but they couldn’t decide whether it was appropriate to ask, so they remained silent. Of course, Maria knew. She was the one who broke the silence.
“Norbert and I were discussing a problem we have with spies.”
“Spies?” Fiona asked.
“So someone or several someones have infiltrated this city to obtain some kind of information?” Oscar answered instead, and Maria nodded.
They walked for a while more before she began to explain.
“Their target is probably blueprints and other such documents. This isn’t the first time either. In my domain, various types of advanced research and development are thriving, so we’ve been under siege, so to speak, for a long time now.” She smiled. “However, whoever is targeting us on this occasion has been particularly persistent. Unsurprising, really, for we have something that could significantly change the country’s course of action. And they’ve been after it for a long time.”
“Really?”
“But how, when it was only recently developed?”
Fiona and Oscar were both confused by her unclear phrasing.
“It’s best if you see it for yourselves...”
Maria’s gaze drifted into the distance. Oscar and Fiona followed it and saw about ten people running, with others chasing after them...
Beep. Beep.
A high-pitched whistle sounded.
“Thieves!” Maria shouted. “Those ten aren’t my people.”
“Your Highness, I’ll shoot them in the legs.”
“Master, you take the first five, and I’ll take the last five.”
The two exchanged nods, then cast their spells in unison.
“Piercing Fire.”
A total of twenty thin, white needles of flame pierced the villains’ legs with frightening accuracy. Almost immediately, the thieves tumbled to the ground.
“From nearly two hundred meters away... Superb showing.” Maria was impressed.
“They stole a fake that we’d swapped in, my lady.”
Maria nodded in satisfaction. “Well done, Norbert.”
Since they’d known what was being targeted, such advance preparations were effective. And in consideration of worst-case scenarios, they always readied double and triple safeguards. This proactive mindset was the default in the Kulkova marquessate.
“Actually, one of the people we captured...” Norbert trailed off and glanced at Oscar.
“What? Say it. Stopping will only make him uncomfortable,” Maria urged.
“Well, I saw him in person for the first time, but his appearance matches a certain individual’s description.”
“Whose?”
“Boskona,” Oscar said after getting a good look at the captive.
There was no strain, no quiver, and no false bravado in his voice—only steel.
“I thought as much.” Norbert nodded in confirmation.
Before them was an alchemically treated “one-way mirror.” Beyond it, Boskona was “tied” to a post. More specifically, they’d speared one of his arms to it, and the other was... Oscar had cut it off in the finals of the martial arts tournament, and by the emperor’s order, regenerating the limb using Extra Heal was forbidden. The time limit for regenerating a missing limb using Extra Heal was twenty-four hours. If not done by then, it would remain missing for life. That had been Boskona’s punishment for his past crimes. A considerably harsh one, even for the Empire. And that is why he had no right arm.
The “one-way mirror” allowed them to see through it, but it appeared as a regular mirror to anyone on the other end. If a certain water magician from the Kingdom were here, he would have said, “It’s a magic mirror!”
Boskona, in his crucified state, was being interrogated—but he remained silent.
Oscar stared at him. But to his surprise, no emotions welled up in his heart. Because...revenge truly and completely was a thing of the past for him now. He was certain of it.
Of course, he knew the why and the how. The answer to both was the princess standing beside him. In his head, he knelt on the ground and swore again.
I offer all that I am to you, Your Highness.
✦ ✦ ✦
The three of them and Knight Commander Norbert began to move. After a while, another knight brought a small piece of paper and handed it to him. Norbert read it, then looked at Maria.
“Boskona said nothing,” he said, “but the others we captured confessed that Gongorad & Co. provided the funds and gave the orders.”
“Gongorad... He holds considerable power, mainly in the western part of the Federation, doesn’t he? Hmm. Come to think of it, hasn’t he also expanded into the Empire?”
“Yes. He supposedly has strong ties with Duke Moorgrund in the southeast,” Norbert explained.
“A thorn in my side,” Maria sighed.
The prestigious ducal line of Wilhelmsthal had once dominated the southeastern region of the Empire. It had been connected to the imperial family. However, after the death of Duke Stefan, the remaining members of the bloodline had rapidly lost power. It was now essentially extinct because Sieghardt, Stefan’s son and heir, had become an acolyte at the Temple...
Duke Moorgrund had absorbed a part of what was formerly the Duchy of Wilhelmsthal. Originally one of the ten most powerful nobles in the Empire, he now possessed power comparable to that of Marquess Meusel.
Although Maria didn’t border his lands, he was an opponent she couldn’t afford to underestimate.
“The question remains, to whom did Gongorad & Co. intend to leak the information? The Federation or Duke Moorgrund and his allies?” Maria asked.
“Duke Moorgrund has kept his distance from my father, hasn’t he?” Fiona replied. She too understood the power struggle between the emperor and the great nobles within the Empire. Of course, it wasn’t open warfare, but Duke Moorgrund’s faction—consisting of thirty percent of the leading houses—was very much opposed to her father’s reign.
Marquess Meusel’s faction didn’t oppose the emperor, but it didn’t support him either. It was, so to speak, a neutral faction. Half of the great nobles belonged to this one.
Those like Maria, who were also members of leading houses but could be considered the emperor’s supporters, made up a small minority of only ten percent or so. The rest were opportunists, waiting to see where the chips fell...
“Though Moorgrund has made his views abundantly clear, would he really engage in such blatant espionage? I think not. It’s more likely that he’s bribing bureaucrats in various departments in the capital to obtain information... Yes, that seems more plausible.” Maria smiled wryly.
But who was behind this latest scheme?
“The Federation?” Fiona said.
Maria nodded. “The Federation deployed artificial golems in the recent invasion of the Principality of Inverey. Earl Frank de Velde developed them. A genius alchemist known by titles such as ‘the Kingdom’s Brain’ and ‘the Craftsman’ is now with the Federation. With a talent of his caliber, they could develop something similar to it if they manage to get their hands on the blueprints. Should that happen...even the Empire would be in danger.”
“Lady Maria, what exactly is this thing you keep referring to?”
“We’re here. Lady Fiona, it would be better for you to see with your own eyes than for me to explain.”
The building itself was quite massive. Maria touched a particularly large door, which was itself an alchemical device. It glowed faintly and opened.
The group entered, climbed the stairs, and walked for a while. Then, Maria opened another large door, and they passed through. Then, they saw a vast fleet of—
“Ships?” Fiona murmured questioningly.
They were huge. A single vessel looked like it could hold more than a hundred people. And there were ten. They looked undeniably like ships.
In her head, Fiona mapped this location. She recalled a humongous lake lay farther ahead. She wondered if they were building them here and then launching them onto the lake, but doubt niggled at her.
“How are they even supposed to move once on the water?”
Getting them on the lake was one thing, but what came after that? All of these ships were enormous. It would be difficult for them to navigate the river.
“I don’t think these are designed for river travel. Seems to me they’re meant to float on lakes or sail the seas, yes? But the Empire doesn’t border a sea.”
“You are correct, Your Highness,” Maria replied with a smile.
“Then they’re...” Fiona began.
“Aerial battleships,” Oscar said.
“Yes. This is our newest development.” Maria paused for a moment. “The Empire may be landlocked, but from now on, the sky will be our sea.”