Liliana was in rather good spirits. The long stretch of rain had finally ended the day before, and the sky was at last beginning to clear. Rocking to and fro in her coach, she gazed absentmindedly out the window at the passing evening scenery. Gildo was driving her home after her lessons at the palace and tea with Riley.
The king, the crown prince, and Duke Ealdred had all publicly voiced their support for her candidacy. Her father, however, had yet to retract his demand that she step down unless she recovered her voice before turning ten. Liliana had considered the possibility that he might force the issue sooner, but even a man of his talents couldn’t easily disregard the wishes of the other three. Their backing had bought her enough time that her crown princess education was nearly complete. If she became Riley’s fiancée proper, she would likely gain access to the secrets of the royal family.
Normally, it would be the other way around...
Liliana sighed. It would have been far simpler if her father supported her candidacy and Duke Ealdred opposed it—yet the inverse was true. She could gauge neither man’s intentions. Riley and Austin accepted the duke’s advocacy at face value, but Liliana remained unconvinced.
The coach slowed to a halt.
“My lady, there appears to have been an accident ahead,” Olga said from her seat beside Gildo. “May we take a backstreet instead?”
Liliana tapped once on the partition in assent, and the coach started down another path. Hudore’s backstreets weren’t especially dangerous, but she drew the curtains nonetheless. Even if trouble arose, Olga and Gildo were more than capable of handling it. Liliana trusted them far more than the escorts her father had assigned her. Those guards hadn’t been weak, by any means, but they were no match for her current companions.
As the coach rolled along the backstreet, the rocking grew more pronounced. The main roads, frequented by nobles, were well paved; these lesser routes, used mostly by servants and the like, were not.
Oh...?
A black coach stood parked at the roadside. Though it bore no crest, it clearly belonged to a high-ranking noble traveling incognito. Liliana drew the curtains closer together, watching through the narrow gap that remained. A tall man in a fine hooded robe emerged from the rear entrance of the nearby manor, moving as though he didn’t wish to be seen. In the doorway behind him waited a woman, her eyes pleading as she watched him go.
Mrs. Finch...? This must be where she lives.
Mrs. Finch was a collateral relative of Duke Ealdred. Renowned as a teacher, she was Riley’s home tutor despite being married to an Arcacian. Her hair was usually neatly bound, but now it hung in disarray, and the secrecy of the scene left little doubt of an affair. Liliana found herself wondering who the man was; she couldn’t see the face beneath his hood.
After a brief hesitation, she turned to magic. The more she knew, the fewer uncertainties she had to fear.
Flutt.
Liliana created a gust of wind just strong enough to lower the man’s hood. He had clean-cut features and looked somewhat younger than Mrs. Finch. Startled, he pulled the hood back up and looked around—but the coach had already passed. As it rattled onward, Liliana could only sit speechless.
Archduke Franklin Slivegrad!
Though she had never met the man, she recognized him instantly from portraits. Even she knew the rumors of his many affairs and of his banishment by the former king to a distant royal domain. She hadn’t known he had returned to Hudore, let alone that he was involved with Mrs. Finch. Her husband, Marquess Finch, was the second most influential figure among the Arcacians, surpassed only by Lord Plaisted.
If this is more than just a love affair... If she leaks sensitive information to him...
It could deal a serious blow to Duke Ealdred. The archduke himself was a notorious hedonist who seldom thought too hard about things, but that made him all the more useful as a pawn for those seeking access to his knowledge.
Should I tell His Highness? At his young age, I doubt there’s much he could do.
Not to mention, Riley was in frequent contact with Duke Clarke—far more so than Liliana. What if he let something slip? Petra and Ben Draco were the only others she trusted, but both were far too absorbed in researching magic and hexes to care about a power struggle. And even if they did, what could they accomplish against royalty?
Avoiding the grim fate laid out for her by the game wasn’t the only reason for Liliana’s interest in the kingdom’s balance of power. She also needed to protect herself from forces that might seek to bring her down.
Liliana was still weighing her options when she arrived at her estate. She disembarked, headed to her room, and changed into a simpler, more comfortable dress. Only once she was alone did she notice that the witchstone the vice minister had given her was glowing. She deployed a soundproof barrier, then held up her hand to activate the stone with her mana.
“Liliana, are you free?” Petra’s voice asked.
“I am. Is something the matter?”
“There haven’t been any swarms yet, but I need your help with something. Can you teleport to me? I’m in Profen Forest.”
“Of course. I’ll be there shortly.” It was unusual for Petra to make such a request, but Liliana felt too indebted to refuse.
“Thanks.”
As the call ended, the witchstone dimmed, once more resembling an ordinary pebble. Liliana lowered the barrier and rang a bell for Marianne. The capable handmaiden arrived promptly.
“I had a lot of snacks at the palace, so I won’t need dinner tonight.”
“Oh my! As you wish, my lady.” Marianne smiled, assuming her lady had spent much of her time speaking with Riley.
“I’d also like to rest now. It’s been a long day.”
“Understood. I’ll prepare your bed.”
Marianne moved at once. Liliana had no intention of sleeping—she meant to meet with Petra—but she changed into her pajamas and climbed into bed to sell the ruse to her perceptive handmaiden. Once the lights were out and Marianne had left, Liliana waited a little longer for her to get far enough away, then slipped back into a simple dress.
Profen Forest, was it? I hope no one’s interfering with my ability to detect her mana.
She turned invisible and teleported to Petra, using the mage’s mana for accuracy. Liliana had already improved her teleportation spell to avoid obstacles at her destination—an enhancement unknown to normal mages, which was why they relied on teleportation sigils.
When she arrived, her first thought was that she had miscast the spell. Her hair stood on end, and she instinctively erected a barrier around herself. Petra stood nearby, a green-haired girl cowering behind her, while countless red eyes burned in the darkness of the miasma surrounding them.
The mage must have sensed the vibration in the air, because she said, apparently to no one, “Thanks. I don’t think even I can handle this alone.” Sweat beaded on her forehead.
“Is Ben busy?” Liliana asked telepathically. Still invisible, she studied the girl beside Petra.
“I couldn’t reach him. He’s probably at the ministry.”
The green-haired girl finally moved, peering up at Petra with wide, light-blue eyes like a frightened kitten. She might have seemed spirited under other circumstances, but her tiny frame was trembling.
“Miss Petra? Who are you talking to?”
“Don’t worry, Tania.” Petra gave her a reassuring pat on the head. “She’s our friend.”
Liliana stared intently. Never in her wildest dreams would she have expected to run into her here. Her surprise was so intense that, for a moment, she forgot about the monsters hemming them in. The girl bore an unmistakable resemblance to Tania Draco from Berasta’s route in the game, where she had served as the protagonist’s rival. Her popularity had even led to a friendship ending being added for her.
Unable to see Liliana—and therefore to notice her shock—Petra continued, “I put up a barrier so the monsters can’t get closer. It should hold for now, but I can’t guarantee it if the miasma thickens. And we can’t risk teleporting with monsters this near. Honestly, they seem smarter than they did during that last swarm.”
Liliana scanned the shadows. The monsters were watching them, waiting to see what they might do next. They were nothing like the ones from before that had thrown themselves at everything that moved.
I never knew monsters had intellect...
Barriers interfered with teleportation to the point that even Liliana had needed to arrive outside Petra’s. To escape, they would have to drop their primary means of protection—which seemed to be precisely what the monsters were waiting for.
“Then we have to get rid of the monsters first.”
“Exactly.”
Petra specialized in hexes, however, and her strengths leaned toward defense. She might have managed alone, but not while protecting Tania against so many enemies.
This may not be a swarm, but we can’t risk these smarter monsters attacking human settlements. Guess I’ll need to help out.
Liliana took stock of the terrain. The trees’ growth suggested there were no towns nearby. The smell of the earth, the air, and the humidity told her the area was likely shaded throughout the day, with a body of water close by. She couldn’t hear anything running, so she doubted there was a waterfall—perhaps a lake or slow river. Miasma gathered easily in dark, damp places like this, and less so under strong sunlight or near fast-moving water.
The air thickened as the monsters tightened their encirclement, preparing to attack.
Liliana had used the highest-level light magic to deal with a swarm. Since then, she had researched the matter and concluded that, as far as solutions went, it was wildly inefficient. A massive swarm might have warranted it, but not a couple dozen monsters.
It was like killing a fly with a cannonball.
This was the perfect chance to test a theory she’d formed during a conversation with Ben and Petra. It must have been one of the reasons Petra had summoned her.
“If the monsters leave corpses, will that tell us they appeared naturally?”
Petra didn’t answer aloud, but her nod was unmistakable. Liliana smiled, a surge of excitement rising in her chest. As a noble, she almost never had the chance to experience combat, and this was a rare opportunity to test her skills. She gathered her mana and dispelled the barrier around her.
Assesso and inscrébe.
In the moments before the monsters lunged, she analyzed the miasma’s composition and recorded the results. One creature sprang at her ahead of the others, but she dodged it effortlessly and concentrated her mana. She was calmer now than during her encounter with the swarm. As mana swelled within her, she drew the monsters toward her and cast a spell without an incantation, her green eyes bright and silver hair lifting in the wind.
Mistral.