Anne, Corvina, and Ulrich stood in front of a back entrance to the Cathedral.

“You and your retinue will need to leave for Longren first thing in the morning,” said Corvina. “Now that the announcement’s been made it would be better not to linger in the city too long. I’ll arrange things so that I can follow a few days later. We’ll need to arrange a way to get Sebastian to Longren without raising suspicion as well. I’ve got a few ideas for that, so you don’t need to worry.”

“Okay…” said Anne. “Will you come see us off when we go?”

“I don’t know, it could be a bit risky,” said Corvina. “Both of us leaving the city around the same time could already seem suspicious. It might be better if we avoid even the chance of being seen together for now.”

Anne sighed. “Fine, I get it.” Anne turned her face away.

“Hey,” Corvina reached up to gently turn Anne’s face back towards her. “If it’s that important to you, of course I’ll come see you off. I can make it work.”

Anne nodded. “Okay, thanks. See you tomorrow then.”

When Anne had gone inside, Corvina sighed and rubbed her temples. She was getting a tension headache again.

Everything today had gone exactly as planned. The plan was right on track. Just a short time ago, Corvina had thought there was no way she could ever go against her father or her fiance and survive, and here she was running circles around both of them. She should be proud, she was proud, but…

What was with this strange tension between her and Anne? Why did things feel so off?

Corvina just couldn’t understand it.

“You must be tired,” said Ulrich, putting a hand on his niece’s shoulder. “We should get you home.”

Corvina shook her head. “No, you go ahead. I have something to do first.”

There was a knock on the door of the Emperor’s office.

“Come in,” he said, not looking up from his paperwork.

Duke Marshal came through the door. “Sire,” he said, with a stiff bow.

“Ah, Robert, I was just about to send for you,” said the Emperor. “I’d like to discuss guard rotations over the next few days. This will be a pivotal time to observe the public’s reaction and I want to make sure guards are placed strategically throughout the city for that purpose.”

“Of course, your majesty,” said Marshal. “I only wish you had informed me of your plans ahead of time.”

Truthfully, Marshal was absolutely furious to have been left out of the loop. Was he not one of the Emperor’s closest confidants and advisers? What was the point of all the work he’d done over the years to secure his own position if the Emperor was going to make these sorts of decisions without even informing him?

The Emperor scoffed. “Why should I have told you anything? What role do you think you needed to play in all this?”

“Well, I could have helped plan the guard rotation ahead of time,” said Marshal.

“Huh?” said the Emperor. “What the hell are you talking about? Why would that matter? Just help me with this now, will you?”

Marshal thought about how easy it would be to kill the Emperor right now.

Of course, Emperor Richard Wyernwolf was a famous and highly skilled swordsman. Marshal had no lack of sword skills himself, but he wasn’t certain that he’d be able to defeat the Emperor in a straightforward duel.

But that was only if he was dumb enough to fight a straightforward duel.

All the sword skills in the world couldn’t save you from an unexpected blade.

Of course, if he did draw his sword and run the Emperor through right now then that idiot prince would inherit the throne. And Corvina would still be running loose causing trouble, without even their marriage vows to keep her on a leash. Yes, better to show restraint for now. His moment would come.

There was another knock on the door.

The Emperor clicked his tongue. “I can’t get a moment’s peace today,” he said. “Who is it?”

Lady Corvina came through the door with a curtsy. “I’m sorry to disturb you at this late hour, your majesty. I had some pressing issues to discuss with you.”

Looking up, Lady Corvina spotted Marshal in the room. Marshal relished her brief startled look before she got herself back under control.

“I apologize for interrupting,” she said. “I can return later after you’ve concluded your business with the Grand Duke.”

“Nonsense,” said the Emperor. He waved the Duke off to the side and beckoned his daughter forward. “Whatever you need to say to me, you can say it in front of the Duke.”

Oh, so now he wants to keep me in the loop, thought the Duke. The Emperor’s whims could be useful sometimes, but they were annoyingly difficult to plan around. But Marshal would be a fool to voluntarily leave at this point.

Corvina hesitated a moment, then nodded. “Your majesty, I came to request that you send me to Longren.”

The Emperor stared at her for a moment. “Why?” he said. “Why would you want to leave the city the moment we’ve regained control.”

“The fact that we’ve regained control is why I feel it would be good timing for me to leave,” said Corvina. “With the Saintess problem solved, there aren’t any more pressing issues keeping me in the city. With that in mind, I believe it would be prudent for me to turn my attention to other problems elsewhere. Specifically the problem of the Sacred Woods..”

“Go on,” said the Emperor.

“Since the alchemist disappeared, progress on discovering a workaround for the Sacred Forest’s natural defensive magic has stalled entirely,” said Corvina. “Keeping track of the alchemist was my responsibility, so I feel it is my responsibility to take over her task now that she’s gone. By travelling to Longren I will be better situated to personally discover a way for our armies to advance through the forest without impediment.”

“Hmmm…” The Emperor steepled his hands on his desk in front of him. “You make a strong case. But what if I need you here?”

“I can bring an alchemical communications device with me,” said Corvina. “So you’ll be able to get in touch with me any time.”

“I suppose it wouldn’t be a problem then,” said the Emperor. He glanced over at Marshal and then back to his daughter. “But what would your fiance say to you travelling so far on your own? It could be seen as inappropriate. I’m aware that the two of you care about such things.”

“Actually, that was something else I wanted to talk to you about,” said Corvina. She got down on one knee, bowing her head before the Emperor, not looking at Marshal at all. “Your majesty, I would like to formally request that you dissolve my engagement, effective immediately.”

Eva knocked quietly on Anne’s door before entering the room. “Hello, Anne! I just wanted to check in on you before bed. A lot happened today, so I just wanted to see if you were doing alright.”

Eva had expected to see Anne in bed already, or at least in her bedclothes, but she was sitting up at her desk, still in her regular suit, staring at the door like she was waiting for something.

“Oh, Eva!” said Anne. “I’m doing okay, really, thanks for checking. But today made me… realize some things.”

“Oh?” said Anne.

“Don’t freak out,” said Anne. “But I sent an acolyte with a message to—”

There was another knock on the door and Acolyte Betty poked her head through. “Saintess, your guest has arrived.”

Prince Sebastian was standing behind Betty. He smiled and waved when he caught Anne’s eye.

“Sebastian!” said Anne, jumping up from her seat. She rushed forward and grabbed his hand, pulling him further into the room. “I’m glad you came! I have something important I need to tell you.”

“Oh?” said Sebastian, a bemused look on his face.

“You may want to sit down for this,” said Anne. “It’s going to be a lot to process..”