What’s really got me worked up is how Islan seems to think all he has to do is host us like royalty and we’ll consider his debt to Bern paid.
The Aram tribe’s military strength was one of Majaar’s greatest assets when it came to fighting monsters. If Islan kept them close, he would gain leverage. In other words, if Bern was ever in trouble, he could lend us the Aram tribe’s aid to put us in debt to them, then use that to screw us over later on.
I wanted to believe he wouldn’t do that, though. He was Shireen’s brother, after all. But if he was shameless enough to try replacing another kingdom’s queen, there was a good chance he saw even his own sister as his pawn.
Now that Akeem had been pushed aside and Islan’s path to the throne was clear, losing the support of the Aram tribe would definitely hurt him. But that wasn’t my problem. If anything, he could stand to be knocked down a peg. Plus, this was a great chance to earn a favor from Dirk.
He was probably trying to plant the Herbst family’s intelligence agents in the Aram tribal territory through the guild. That was likely why he tagged along to Majaar in the first place. I guessed he wanted to crush the Tikrit family while he was at it, since they might be at odds with the Salkishans, and score political points that way, especially since there was a good chance the Tikrits were in bed with the Egrich Empire.
So really, if I could just nudge things along and smooth things over, I’d be doing Lucas a favor and cutting down his stress at the same time.
And no way am I going to owe one to Dirk! That is not happening.
I laid it all out to Princess Yana about how Bern could help directly and not just with Majaar, and for some reason, she looked like she’d seen a ghost.
“You look so delicate, but you’re seriously something else…”
Am I really that easy to underestimate? Is that why people keep trying to pick fights with me? Because of my face?! I’m a little shocked!
“I guess that makes me a villainess, then,” I smiled sweetly. “I might as well use it to my advantage!”
Princess Yana’s eyes went wide, and then she suddenly burst out laughing.
“Ah ha ha! I can’t believe it! You look so fragile, like you’ve been wrapped up in silk and locked in a birdcage by that Hero of yours, and then you go and pull this!”
“Well…”
She’s not wrong, exactly, though it’s not a birdcage. It’s more like a magical prison built from raw mana, and I’m shackled with red chains. And since I walked in willingly, I have to be tough if I want to make it out alive.
As I silently lamented, Princess Yana clutched her stomach and slapped her thigh, still laughing. Then, after one last sigh, she brought one hand up to cover her face.
“Well, no wonder the rest of us never stood a chance. He loves you because you’ve earned it.”
She seemed lost in thought, her shoulders slumping a bit, so I figured she’d need some time to process all this. I turned my gaze back to the coliseum just in time to see Lucas blast his opponent right off his feet.
“Whoa! That’s forty-five in a row, and he’s not even using a weapon! So that’s what a Hero looks like in action…”
“Heh, it’s amazing, right? Hey, Alfred! Don’t lean over like that or you’ll fall!”
Little Alfred was Princess Yana’s younger brother, and he was practically hanging over the railing to cheer for Lucas. Finn, who’d been watching Lucas with a grin as wide as any proud father’s, reached out to stop Alfred from flipping over.
Apparently, Alfred had been hanging around the arena for a while. He was all starry-eyed when he told Lucas that he wanted to grow up and fight monsters to protect his people, and of course, he’d begged to see Lucas fight in person, so much that he finally gave in.
Seeing Lucas and a little boy in that situation made the Bern entourage collectively lose their minds. Even Finn had broken down. “Lord Lucas is talking to a child…outside of his duties?! Is this the end of days?!” And then he whipped out a recording crystal.
Anna, who’d been raging only a few moments earlier, muttered, “Could this be…training for the future?” and then went oddly quiet.
I thought she was getting ahead of herself, but watching Lucas with the little boy had stirred a little flutter inside me. I’d keep that a secret, though…
That was why I brought Princess Yana along. We made a little detour before the blacksmith shop so that Lucas could make a very dramatic entrance and exercise his royal privilege.
“Just like that, he’s broken the record he set as a young boy when he defeated thirty-five opponents!” Finn said. “They used to call him Captain, you know. And now he’s poised to break the General’s record of fifty-five!”
“Oh, right. I forgot they called me that… And what do you mean, the General?! I’ll crush that old man’s record!” Lucas said.
Uh-oh. He just launched his opponent into the air. Is that okay? That can’t be safe…
But I couldn’t ignore what Finn just said.
Captain? So, even as a child training in the arena, Lucas already had a nickname?!
“This guy’s a Hero! As if a mere general could stop him!” Anna said.
“I’m recording this and taking it back to rub it in the General’s face!” Finn said.
“Let him seethe with regret! Oh, wow. This baklava is incredible! Bleugh!” Elsa began to say, but then Kate smacked a mouthful of pastry into her mouth, making me wince.
Maybe feed her a bit more gently next time?
Honestly, what do all of them have against Marshal Webber? It sounds like they’ve really got an axe to grind.
Maybe they had been with Lucas during those days when he was training, too? That would explain the intensity. Even Lucas went pale when he thought back to that time in his life.
I glanced down at the arena again, just in time to catch him crushing his fiftieth opponent. His fists clenched and his lips curled into a tiny smirk.
He heh. So that’s why he agreed to come here. He wants to beat his master’s record. He really is just an overgrown kid sometimes.
“I’ll raise him with my love. I’ll protect him. I’ll cherish him in my own way…”
When will I finally see the version of him he promised me that day? It might take years, but I still look forward to it.
I was mid-daydream when a sigh caught my ear. I turned my gaze from Lucas’s cheering squad, who were going crazy after he crushed one opponent after the other, and back to Princess Yana. She paused and then spoke nervously.
“If you don’t want an apology, then what do you want? What are you trying to figure out here?”
Wow, no wonder she managed to charm someone as difficult as Prince Islan. She’s not afraid of anyone, not even Lucas, who’s arguably more powerful than Majaar’s prince.
I had a feeling she was the kind of person who never lost sight of what was truly worth fighting for, and I thought maybe we could build something strong together.
I shed my smile. “I want to know exactly what kind of conversation Prince Akeem had with the emissary from the Egrich Empire back in Canaan,” I said in a voice of cold command.
Princess Yana flinched, her breath catching in her throat. Her eyes widened. “Why do you…?”
I couldn’t help but let the fury seep into my stare.
“Why? The Aram territory borders Canaan. You served as Prince Islan’s eyes on Prince Akeem in order to protect your people, didn’t you? So do you really need to ask why?”
“But you’ve already heard my reports from Prince Islan, have you not?”
“Princess Yana, I’m not naïve enough to trust Prince Islan. He turned a blind eye to Akeem’s crimes against civilians. Nor would I trust the Egrich Empire, who deem others subhuman just because they follow different faiths. And I certainly don’t have the grace to forgive the people who tormented my husband until the goddess herself intervened!”
Ever since that day, I had been haunted by the image of Lucas gasping for breath, the black vines choking him.
But if not for that ordeal, I would never have been acknowledged by the goddess as his sheath, his healing half. However, that didn’t mean I would simply endure any pain if I didn’t have to. He’d given everything to protect others. And strangers—people who knew nothing about him—had judged him a monster. I could never forgive that.
Princess Yana’s lips began to tremble when I turned my fury on her.