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AFTER that, Crown Prince Medaikonar and High Priest Pisciozze were summoned to the audience chamber where they knelt on the floor, their heads bowed. Sweat dripped down their jaws onto the marble floor. They understood the gravity of being called to the audience chamber instead of a private parlor or office. The king’s heavy exhale reverberated throughout the wide space.
“A part of me suspected something was wrong. But to think even I failed to recognize the extent of destruction in our country. It seems I have succumbed to old age as well.” He slumped deep into his throne and swallowed medicine proffered by one of his aides. His eyes dark with emotion, he stared down at the men in front of him. “You two…you dared to use me as a puppet.”
“N-No, Your Majesty—”
“Rebellions, one after another. The steady decline of my advisors inside the court. The lack of food too… I finally see the reason for it all. I allowed myself to be manipulated by the likes of you because of my hatred for the saints…”
“Father.”
“Leave. You will await my judgment on this matter. I don’t want to look at either of you right now.”
The king closed his eyes and said nothing more.
“What do I do, what do I do, what do I do? This is the end. I’m going to be deposed as the crown prince. I can’t have that.”
Pale and shaking, Medaikonar sat with his knees curled to his chest on the sofa. Pisciozze and his subordinates exchanged silent looks. Their expressions were grim too. If the prince was deposed and Pisciozze removed from his position, the country’s power dynamics would change dramatically. And should that happen, the Church’s power structure would also be rewritten by the saints’ supporters.
“No, no, no, no, no. This can’t be happening. This can’t be…”
In a corner of the room, Keunt mumbled incoherently in a full-on panic. Abandoned as he had been by the house of Strelizzi, he too shared his fate with all the others in the room. The epic novel he’d been writing in his mind—The Tale of Keunt Strelizzi—would end as merely a dream at this rate.
“The endless bouts of suffering he endured in his school days when no one would recognize his genius. His gallantry and courage fighting hard on the frontlines of Mayga Ceiux. Keunt, who exacted vengeance on the Arousing Priestess for humiliating him and still saw his star rise in the world. Confronted by savage demons from the Empire, would he, alongside the virtuous crown prince and high priest, scatter his enemies in another display of breath-taking heroism?!”
As soon as he started painting the words in his mind, a jolt of electricity ran through him. Yes. It was a spectacular chance to turn the tide in his favor in this once-in-a-lifetime battle!
“Your Royal Highness!” Overcome with emotion by his own delusions, Keunt rushed to Medaikonar’s side.
“Keunt, what…?”
He stared at the prince’s beautiful face wet with tears, his golden hair disheveled. Beauty was justice. And Keunt realized he still remained under the banner of justice, so he appealed strongly to the prince with his fists clenched resolutely.
“His Majesty is no longer capable of ruling! Senility has already rotted his mind! As the crown prince, you must decide now if you have the determination to carve a way forward into the future!”
“I…decide…?”
“That’s correct. Your life isn’t over yet, Your Royal Highness. In fact, why should the king be allowed to set your course at all?! For you are the one who will create the future! Look around you and see you have both me and the high priest on your side!”
At some point, Pisciozze bent a knee reverently in front of Medaikonar and gripped his hands firmly. “Your Highness, what say you…?”
The light in the two pairs of eyes shot through Medaikonar and restored the glitter in his own.
“Do you remember the legend of the knight, Re Tuts Bea? He destroyed an enemy host of tens of thousands invading the country with only a few hundred troops. Your Highness, you’re destined to become a new legend yourself!”
As am I, Keunt added silently to himself. It wouldn’t do to forget his part in this epic story.
“The nation’s elite worry about our kingdom as well. So long as you have their will on your side, neither that evil imperial prince’s schemes nor that harlot of a priestess need to be feared!”
They squeezed each other’s hands tightly.
“We’re taking them down!” the prince declared.
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WHEN I returned to my private chambers in Viscount Telestraza’s castle, Solarus greeted me in her usual maid uniform.
“Welcome back, Madam Monica.”
I felt discomfited by her bowing her head to me in such a servile manner after witnessing her guise as “the princess of a ruined country.”
“O-Oh, thank you, um, Solasvi…”
Before I could finish saying her real name, Solarus shushed me by pressing a finger to my lips.
“I am Solarus, Madam Monica. I use my full name only in official circumstances, and as you may have guessed, Solarus comes from it. So please stop.”
“Mrgh.”
“Please don’t ever call me by that name again. I’m quite fond of my current standing, you see. Besides…I only took on that form again at His Highness’s request, albeit very begrudgingly.”
Knead, knead. Rub, rub.
Solarus talked to me while massaging my cheeks and jaw with both of her hands. Though her touch wasn’t deep like her usual massages, I could feel the nerves stiffening my face dissipating as her fingers worked. It felt so good I had a hard time speaking…
“So, Madam Monica, the next time I hear you say Solasvita or any of my other names, I shall punish you. Understood?”
“U-Undadood.” I mangled the word.
“I will hang you from the ceiling using rope tied with exquisite knots and present you as a beautiful objet d’art.”
“Mpf!”
“You do know that I’m thoroughly familiar with the elasticity of your body, yes? Your lustrous silver hair with its ever-expanding tint of pink and pale soft skin…I shall emphasize these most attractive features with a rope dyed using safflower grown in Benisil. It will make a beautiful contrast wrapped around your holy attire… I’ll use natural lighting to display you… In which case, it may not be a terrible idea to bind you and exhibit you in one of the fields…”
“I-In the fields…?!” I gasped.
Solarus had clearly entered a zone of no return while massaging my face. The dangerous glint in the former princess’s eyes remained as she continued murmuring absent-mindedly, her eyes on me.
“Ahhh, what a sublime sight you would make. I want to try it out right away… Begging your pardon, Madam Monica, but will you call me Solasvita one more time?”
“Wh-Why?”
“Because I need justification to punish you.”
“Justi…?!”
Solarus finally returned to reality from her dreamy trance. She released me and cleared her throat discreetly. “I apologize for my behavior. It seems I was unconsciously seeking relief.”
I wasn’t surprised considering how stressful the situation must have been for her. Just when she was finally living a peaceful life as a maid, she needed to take on the mantle of an important person from a destroyed nation once more. Oh, but she was so lovely.
“Solarus.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“Um… Although reviving Solasvita might have been a necessary evil for you, I thought you were incredibly beautiful.”
“Thank you very much. I shall cherish the compliment.” She continued with a ladylike smile on her face. “But now, I am merely Solarus, His Highness’s servant and your maid, Madam Monica. This role is the happiest for us all.”
Hand on her chest, she curtsied to me. I thought back to everything she’d done for me until now. It made me realize I didn’t know anything about her past. But I was certain there must have been so many times she wanted to give up her status.
“If that’s what makes you happy now, Solarus, then I’m happy too. I feel so blessed to have you looking after me,” I said sincerely.
“Please allow me to continue doing so, Madam Monica.”
“I’m in your care.”
The oddly formal exchange made me giggle. The corners of her mouth tipped up slightly too.
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A week passed as we enjoyed the peaceful days that felt like the calm before a storm. On a morning when the first rains of the rainy season started falling, a letter arrived that would change our destiny. Richard summoned his knights and our supporters in Kophe to the castle’s great hall. Then he opened the letter in front of us all, read it, and announced its contents.
“His Royal Majesty has given his official seal of approval for our establishment of a garrison as well as our support in the complete purge of Mayga Cieux…” He paused to look at me before declaring in ringing tones. “At last…the time has come to commence the operation.”