“So the two of you made it.”
They’d made their way to the president’s office inside the Socom Co. main building.
Despite looking like he might be crushed beneath the mountain of papers stretching even taller than usual across his desk, Baron Otto Socom offered a welcome to the two of them. The even-sterner-than-usual look on his face readily revealed the worries he was plagued with. Meddié showed no signs of leaving after guiding Anna and Watt to the office, instead cleverly positioning herself near the door.
“It was only yesterday that all this happened,” Otto began. “There’s still plenty that we don’t know. But at the very least, what we do know is that the Centre has decided to pick a fight with us.”
The Steelriders who had piloted the defeated Tyrant Rhino had been apprehended by Otto’s subordinates after their surrender. They’d been continuing their investigation day and night since then, but the two showed no signs of breaking, instead remaining silent.
“To think those dogs would dare besmirch me after I was named baron for my contributions to the kingdom by cultivating this land—it’s a brazen insult...and one they must pay for in full.”
In his words resided a quiet yet unmistakable anger.
Otto hesitated for a moment. “And that’s yet another reason I need to ascertain just what those scoundrels were after. With that in mind, Watt, I received reports that they were looking for Anna before they began their rampage.”
Watt gave a nod back to Otto’s questioning gaze. “That’s right. It was Anna they were after, no doubt about it.”
Anna looked down at the floor, her knuckles clenched so tight they’d turned white.
“And yet I can’t make sense of it,” Otto said. “Even if it were her fortune they were after, their methods were just a bit too extreme. To plunge into the city with a Mechsteel that hasn’t been deployed anywhere... I can’t imagine they were in their right minds.”
“It’s par for the course for them,” Watt replied. “After all, it’s not chump change they were aiming for...”
“...It was victory in Legalisbelm.” Anna lifted her head and finished Watt’s sentence. She was where it had all started; she couldn’t leave the entire explanation to him alone.
Legalisbelm—hearing the word, Otto raised an eyebrow as he sank into thought. As one who’d been conferred a barony, he naturally knew of Legalisbelm well enough. And yet, he still hadn’t completed the mental connection between Legalisbelm and the current situation. Some vital piece was missing.
That’s when Meddié spoke up.
“Whaaa? Legalisbelm...? What’s that supposed to be?” Without missing a beat, Meddié’s head whipped around as she turned to face her father. Explain away, Otto.
“Why am I surprised? You were slacking off at your studies again, weren’t you?” Otto asked back. “Put simply, Legalisbelm is a system for determining who will succeed to the throne.”
“Heh heh, I see now!” Meddié chuckled back. “So I guess that means they don’t mind getting their hands dirty if it lands them on the throne, huh?” She paused. “Wait a sec—so what does that have to do with Anna?”
“Leave it at that, Meddié.”
Stopped from asking anything further by her father, Meddié snapped her mouth closed. Otto was deep in thought with a sullen look on his face. That was what really mattered. But at the same time, that wasn’t the sort of territory another person could come barging into.
“So you’re not going to ask then, Otto?”
“That’s just it,” Otto replied. “As both president and the lord of this land, I have a duty to keep this city safe. Perhaps it behooves me to use every means at my disposal to accomplish that. And yet, even then... Watt. Anna. The two of you are reliable employees at my company and friends I’d do well to trust. But above any of that, you are people of my city whom I ought to protect. Your own pride is yet another element I am to keep safe.”
Unable to contain himself, Watt couldn’t help but erupt into a broad grin. Ah... I knew it. This is why it’s so comfortable here. As lord, Otto’s character had unmistakably impacted the city on the whole. And that, in turn, was all the reason Watt needed to give it all he had to keep the city safe himself.
“It’s a good thing you’re the lord of this city,” Watt replied. “And that’s exactly why I want you to ask. We want to keep the city safe ourselves, after all.”
“Agreed,” Anna said. “While I’ve only been here a short while, I feel precisely the same.”
“I appreciate your resolve,” Otto said.
There wasn’t a soul in the world who wanted to see their hidden past brought to light, and that was exactly why Otto had fully devoted himself to accepting the resolution they were displaying—it was his duty as the city’s lord.
Anna lifted her head and straightened her posture. If she were going to tell her tale, then she was going to do it the right way without backing away. “The reason they’re after me is because I’m a royal...and daughter to the first prince.”
Meddié’s eyes opened wide, while Otto himself couldn’t conceal his surprise. He’d predicted that Anna was a royal the moment he’d learned that Legalisbelm was the cause, but it seemed the truth of the matter was far more complicated than he’d imagined.
“Watt, I’d heard that Anna was your daughter,” Otto replied. “Do you mean to say that’s only a guise?”
“No, she’s my daughter for sure,” Watt answered. “It’s just, at the same time, she’s also that bastard’s stepdaughter and a member of the royal family. It’s going to be long and complicated, but can I ask you to hear me out?”
And so, Watt began to speak about the past—how it related to him, and to his daughter...