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“AND he’s not thinking about the state of things at all, that Julian bastard,” hissed Ivar, wrapping up the conversation with a sigh of contempt.
There was a row of tents set up to administer first aid to the people near the castle who had been caught in Julian’s attack. People used magic and brute strength to shift the rubble, pulling out people buried alive, and Viola and Kaphal had been casting life-saving healing magic on people for a long time.
Dawn came before they knew it, and the members of the Golden Helm sat on a fragment of broken wall along with Kaphal to take a rest. Ivar joined them there, having come from a full night of information gathering and analysis.
As long as Julian could hobble Setrayu, it didn’t matter what happened afterwards…
That was what Ivar suspected Julian’s strategy was, and that was enough to leave everyone speechless.
“But, he can’t possibly…” started Lushera.
“You sure? This guy’s got a couple dozen screws loose in his noggin, ’cause he snatched a dracovitae user, then picked up the dracovitae itself in the middle of a banquet meant for him. Anything can happen so long as it’s physically possible.”
Lushera couldn’t refute Ivar’s hypothesis.
If someone was a completely ignorant moron, or so coldhearted with nothing to lose that they couldn’t understand the subtleties of the human heart, then perhaps they would come up with this plan. Julian didn’t seem like a moron, and the rest seemed to align with Lushera’s impression of him.
“I was so close to her!” cried Viola as she punched a piece of rubble with an expression of burning regret that Lushera had never seen from her.
“Calm down, Viola. Same goes for all three of us,” said Timm.
“Indeed. This is my fault for failing to anticipate his plans,” came the voice of someone joining the conversation. It was King Lazlo accompanied by a knight, a bloodied bandage wrapped around his torso beneath his overcoat.
“Your Majesty! Should you not be resting?” asked Timm.
“No need to worry, Timm. I was the first to receive treatment from the priests. Ah, everyone, please don’t worry about decorum here. No need to bow to me, save as many people as you can,” he said to the knights and priests who froze in surprise at the sight of him, pausing their hurried bustling, then resuming it on his command.
Lazlo went to sit on a piece of rubble facing the rest of them, causing the knight with him to dart off like an arrow to bring a folding chair from nearby.
“Just now, I contacted Martgarz directly regarding last night’s events using long-distance communication to get an explanation. I was told the imperial court was not involved, but nothing else as it was still ‘under investigation.’ They also refused to commit to any handling of Julian,” he explained.
“They’re…buying time?” guessed Lushera.
“Most likely. As they did issue a statement saying they were not involved, I believe that to be true. However…this is a rare opportunity for them. They’re trying to take advantage of the situation.”
Everyone groaned.
Countries rarely lied to each other, but they often used obfuscation to justify their actions. Lazlo’s reaction implied it was unlikely they could expect the imperial court to handle Julian in good faith regarding Setrayu.
“Martgarz is powerful. They may, for example, step in once Marquess Angus takes Mount Kugus, officially punish Julian, then return the dracovitae to us to show they have laws as a humanoid country would, which would lessen criticisms…” said Lazlo.
“You gotta be kidding me,” said Timm. “Once they make a road through Mount Kugus, even without the dracovitae, they can just…”
“Swallow us whole. And if that happened, Martgarz needn’t even invade. We would lose any war, meaning we would essentially become a vassal state of the Empire. The Union would likely negotiate a peace treaty with the Empire at that point, as they would be in a disadvantageous situation.”
The result of that was far too appealing for Martgarz. They could bring an end to this stalemate of a war that had dragged on for fourteen years. They probably couldn’t resist that temptation.
At the moment, they had just about enough wiggle room to use the excuse that Julian was out of control, and they couldn’t stop him, and if the entire situation ended with peace, then they might avoid the surrounding countries developing a horrible impression of the Empire. It wasn’t even the worst possible outcome for Setrayu…in that it didn’t involve being invaded, large numbers of its citizens killed, and its territory occupied.
“And this means the imperial court doesn’t even have to get its hands dirty! Dammit to hell!” shouted Weyne, kicking a cracked paving stone.
“Well, even if the imperial court wishes to end this at an appropriate moment, we don’t know if Julian will stop there,” said Lazlo. “We have to be prepared for the possibility that things will go far worse than even what the imperial court is aiming for.”
“But, if this situation keeps going, Martgarz won’t get off scot-free…will they?” said Lushera, and Ivar nodded.
“That’s why it’s a race against time for them,” he said. “I bet Julian understands that too. I give it a 90 percent probability that Julian’s gonna come for Mount Kugus in the next few days with Lady Monica. He’ll only use his military. The imperial court isn’t that on board. Which means Setrayu can probably fight back, at least in terms of military numbers…”
Lushera knew what the problem with that was. The dracovitae were powerful enough to rival a dragon. Some even said they were more powerful. Even if both Kaphal and Lushera joined the battle, winning wasn’t going to be an easy feat.
“Is there any way to stop the dracovitae?” asked Lushera.
“Quickest way is to kill the user,” answered Ivar.
“But—!” That heartless comment left Lushera struggling to find both her breath and her words. “…I can’t do that.”
“Didn’t think so,” he said. “But winning gets a lot harder if you won’t kill her. And more dangerous for you. I won’t stop you if you still wanna do it even knowing that. Not that I know what Setrayu’s feelings are on this.”
Ivar must have been conscious of his own standing because he didn’t directly address Lazlo. It was like he was indirectly asking the King a question while talking to Lushera.
Everyone looked at Lazlo. The wounded king of Setrayu stared into the distance as uneasiness marred his face. “If winning is possible without taking that measure, then I would like to avoid it.”
No one said anything else.
Lazlo would do it, if it meant exchanging the life of one person, Monica, for the entire country. That’s what he should do, as king. No one could blame him either, as it was far better than a gamble that had no chance of succeeding.
At the same time, Lushera just couldn’t accept that ending.
“The next best option is stealing the dracovitae back,” said Ivar. “Since every country monitors the dracovitae user bloodline, this isn’t something you see often in normal battles, but it’s something we can do this time. If we get a dracovitae user who’s got a higher compatibility rate than Monica, we can directly steal back control of it.”
“Countries generally operate like that,” said Weyne. “Since they don’t exactly have the capacity to fix a dracovitae if it breaks while they were trying to stop someone with it.”
“Which means we’re goin’ in full force,” said Timm. “Lushera’s a member of our party, both on paper and in fact. And if it means gettin’ back the dracovitae in the process, I don’t think even the Guild’s gonna complain about it being political interference.”
That reassured Lushera. All three of her companions looked filled with utter conviction, each of them wanting to protect something important to them. They had to stop Julian.
Lushera felt the same. This was so she could live together with Kaphal.
And even though her connection with Monica was barely more than them brushing shoulders in passing, Lushera heard Monica’s true feelings (even if it was 99 percent by accident) and she wanted to protect her.
“The bastard’s going to know the flaws in his own plan,” said Ivar. “He’ll have Lady Monica heavily protected, and since she’s under his control, she’ll come to attack you.”
“Even so, I’m going to save her,” said Lushera.
“…In any case, pretty sure you’re gonna need to get the dragons’ help in protecting the mountain.”
“Yeah…”
That had turned into an absolute need at this point. She didn’t know if they would be able to protect Mount Kugus even if they did get the dragons’ help and increased the number of variants on the mountain. That was just how big a deal it was that their enemy had a dracovitae.
Everything rested on Lushera. She was oddly calm, though, even thinking about that.
“The test thing’s tomorrow, right? You okay to make it?” asked Ivar.
“That, at least, you need not worry about,” said Lazlo calmly. Being spoken to like that calmed people down, even without reason, it settled unease. The fact that he could say that with such composure without preparation was testament to the fact that, at the end of the day, Lazlo was a man suited to be king. “We know the situation. And with things what they are, I permit you use of the kingdom’s teleportation circles. You will be able to reach Kugut’hulm in half an hour if you jump through several of those.”
“Thank you, Your Majesty,” said Lushera.
“No need to thank me. I do this for my kingdom.” He smiled softly, but then his expression turned serious and concerned. “It may be selfish of me to say this, but I pray for your success.”
“I swear I will succeed.”