There was an empty spot in the white stone that covered the ground near the Light of Origin. Karl tossed a rock upon the barren patch. A blue light radiated from it, spreading to illustrate spell formulae that were presumably part of the Light. They were extremely complex, consisting of many interconnected magics and various writings. More tellingly, it was precisely what Lyse had seen upon falling into the Light.
“Earth magic for fertile lands...” Karl muttered as he deciphered the text.
The illuminated words were woven into a spell to bless the fields—but the light flickered, fading away the first part of the formulae before the entire display vanished. This clearly wasn’t enough to get the entire picture.
“This happens every time. This is the only stone that produces that much information, yet it’s still not enough. What am I to do?” An exasperated Karl looked over to Alcede, who had apparently brought some special ores for experimentation.
“Does it always fail there?” the duke asked.
“Yes, along with a few other hard-to-make-out spots. I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to revert the Light at this rate.”
Alcede looked every bit as pained as Karl. “In that case, we might have to try mending it instead. And failing that, we might even have to try producing a second Light of Origin. If His Majesty can accomplish such a thing, that is...”
Lyse couldn’t think of any alternative herself. It was thanks to the Light that Razanate was blessed with bountiful lands and magic. Without it, the empire would lose everything. If the imperials were stripped of their magic, they would have no way to stand against the nations that would seize their land from them. The empire would be plunged into the ruinous days of old. Better to revere Egbert as a divine emperor than that.
“By the way, what kind of mineral is it reacting to?” Lyse asked. The process had piqued her curiosity.
“This,” Karl said as he held out yet another surprise—a fistful of black stones. Not only was he wearing some on his wrist, but he was carrying great chunks of the stuff for his research. “I’ve tried everything here in the palace and even some stones imported from our duchy, but nary a one reacted as I’d hoped. Given the sensitive nature of this inquisition, however, I haven’t been able to requisition much more than that. Since we don’t want anyone to find out what’s going on here, I can’t ask for anything too extraordinary. What I did manage to get my hands on were these black stones, so I decided to give them a try.”
“You’re exactly right. We ought to be vigilant, lest anyone else realize that the Light is magical in nature,” replied Alcede.
Everyone involved knew that Karl’s testing needed to be kept secret, yet hardly anything else would require the amounts of stone he was using. Karl in particular was very concerned that the logistics of the operation would give it away.
“So, just yesterday, I received permission to try the black stones from Prince Sidis,” he explained.
“From Sidis, you say? I suppose we did leave him in charge of the investigation here,” Alcede muttered.
He couldn’t fault Karl for what he’d done, but he nonetheless grumbled about how he would’ve appreciated being informed. Lyse, meanwhile, was rather surprised that Sidis hadn’t mentioned a word of it to her. Perhaps he’d assumed that Karl would follow up with the emperor’s team.
“My apologies,” said Karl. “I should have reported to you as well, but I knew I couldn’t leave a paper trail.”
“No, you needn’t apologize. That aspect slipped my mind as well. We didn’t have time to check in with one another yesterday, so this is as good a time as any. But, more importantly,” Alcede began, “how much longer do you think it will take to analyze the Light’s magic?”
That appeared to be a difficult question to answer. “At this rate? I’ll have to test every possibility, so I don’t have any clear estimates. Besides...” Karl stopped short to look up at the pillar. “The Light is believed to be remnants of divine power. How could a mere mortal like me comprehend its inner workings?” he wondered aloud, looking dumbfounded.
“Well, if you need to run any experiments, then we’ll find a location for you. In the meantime, do whatever you need to learn as much as you can.”
“How much time do I have?” Karl asked, quite reasonably. The longer this drew out, the more restless the people would become.
“I can buy you a month,” replied Alcede. “We’ll erect thicker mana barriers in the palace to help the staff. The only real problem so far is the multitude of His Majesties, and I don’t foresee anyone else being an issue.”
“Very well, Your Grace. I’ll do my best to get us results.” Karl burned with determination as he looked toward Alcede. For a split second afterward, he glanced at Lyse.
She couldn’t help wondering why.
Following that, Karl continued with his investigation. He tried using the black stones again with his own magic, this time adding his own tweaks and modifications. The outcome, however, was unfortunately the same. The illuminated formulae were consistently incomplete, making it impossible to decipher them completely.
“I’ll try again tomorrow,” Karl announced. He seemed to have ideas on how to improve on his methods and didn’t let the lack of results get to him.
With the day’s work finished, the group departed the villa and went their separate ways. Lyse was briskly headed back to her chambers, but she came to a stop near the service corridor when she happened to overhear her name. It instantly perked up her ears.
“How long until...” someone mumbled.
“The imperial family said they’ll have the others working tomorrow,” someone else replied.
“Ugh, it’s about time. We’re all being run ragged. I’m glad the ladies-in-waiting and knights are pitching in, but it’s hardly enough to cover everything.”
Given how shorthanded the palace was at present, Lyse understood that the exhausted servants had plenty to grumble about. What does this have to do with me, though? As soon as that question passed through her mind, she got her answer...
“All of this madness has to be ’cause of them foreigners marrying into imperial royalty.”
“Yeah, I’ll bet. Who cares if she can control monsters or whatever?”
“The nobles are supposed to kill monsters, aren’t they? I’d understand if they tamed the beasts for battle, but they’re keeping them like pets. Gives me the creeps.”
“Weren’t your relatives attacked by monsters? They still haven’t recovered, have they?”
I see how it is. Lyse now understood why her name had come up. The serving women were looking for something to blame, and their eyes naturally fell on the most obvious reason they could think of—Lyse herself. It was unprecedented for a manaless foreigner like her to be marrying into the imperial family. Moreover, her ability to control monsters was unheard of. People were naturally afraid to see her so close with them.
“This’s all gotta be her doing. She’s even encouraging other foreigners to marry our nobility.”
That much is true. Lyse furrowed her brow. The matchmaking events had indeed been a way for the empire to make connections with its neighboring countries. And since the foreign participants were all of noble birth, the empire had put forward knightly and noble suitors in turn. Some of the imperial participants were even outranked by their foreign partners, hence the dissatisfaction amongst the servants about the arrangement.
I don’t think Qatora would’ve been sympathetic, though. Lyse could understand why the servants felt the way they did, but she didn’t believe it was right. Still, now I know why they’re upset.
Lyse knew what it was like to be vulnerable. Most women weren’t solely focused on training and becoming stronger, but rather wished to be protected. That can go for both sexes, I guess, Lyse corrected herself as she recalled the matchmaking event a few days ago. There were a few foreign men who sought safety in the arms of an imperial woman.
Lyse figured that was fundamentally what motivated the servants’ dissatisfaction. They craved safety because they served dependable masters—people they trusted to protect them, their families, and the empire at large. They needed bastions of security to ward off their worries.
The only servants in the palace now were those with mana enough to withstand the Light’s effects. They weren’t necessarily from noble families, but marrying into nobility wasn’t out of the question for them. Hence their apprehension regarding Lyse and what the future had in store. Lyse knew her only shot at assuring them was to resolve the trouble with the Light of Origin.
Maybe Sidis was acting weird because of this...
With Sidis wanting nothing more than to marry his love, any opposition to their marriage represented a huge blow to his sense of security. The Light misbehaving certainly didn’t help either. Lyse was now convinced that the confluence of strange circumstances had shaken him.
Leaving the service corridor, she wondered to herself, I can see why Sidis wants to hurry and find a way to fix everything, but isn’t there anything I can do to help? Lyse wanted to contribute, but she lacked Karl’s masterful command of magic. She also didn’t have Sidis’s authority to go poking her nose into things. Overstepping her boundaries would only bring more trouble.
“Maybe I simply ought to visit His Majesty and Alcede to see what they think.”
After all, three heads were better than one.