Later that day

“Her majesty is not in the mood to deal with it.” Says Daniel, the queen’s Servant.

“We understand, however, we have serious problems that need her majesty utmost attention.” Explains a blondish old man, leading a group of nobles.

“Her majesty. Is not. In the mood.”

They stand in front of the gates of a chapel, in the middle of a cemetery inside the capital city.

“We won’t leave until we speak with her majesty.”

“Why you…”

The small door on the right gate opens. Queen Aldorah comes out followed by two servants.

“Your majesty! We need you--!” Another noble speaks up.

“Do not trouble her!”

“It’s alright Daniel.” Aldorah speaks, with a weak voice.

“But…”

“I already mourned enough, at least for now anyway.” She looks at the nobles. “Now, is time to deal with the consequences.” She says, but this time with a strong tone.

“... If you say so, your majesty.” Daniel replies.

“I do, Daniel. Now, I want every family representative in the city assembled in the palace in two hours.”

“It will be done your majesty. But if I may…” A 40 years old orange mage, steps forward and kneels. “Your majesty, please forgive me. Because of your absence, I took the liberty to order the Royal Army to capture lady Nightingale. I know I stepped out of my authority and I assume the responsibility.” He bows down.

Aldorah closes her eyes and takes a moment to reflect.

“You did what was necessary. I will not punish you.”

“Thank you, your majesty.” He gets up.

“We’re done here. Dismissed.”

The nobles bow and hurriedly walk away.

The queen heads towards the carriage that stands 30 meters in front of her.

“You sure you are alright?”

“What do you think, Daniel?” She replies with an annoyed tone.

“I-I didn’t mean--”

“My son was killed, and if my suspicions are correct, this might be the beginning of a war. A war! It’s been centuries since the last one.”

“... A war?”

“All this because of those two. I never expected them…”

“They will pay for their crime.”

“They are innocent.”

“Excuse me?”

“Nora would never kill anyone. There’s more happening than that.”

“But what about the maid? She said your son died by that Servant hands.”

The guard standing by the carriage opens the door and they both enter. The maids stand outside.

“I don’t believe her. I want her interrogated.”

“Your majesty?” Daniel becomes perplexed by Aldorah words.

“Daniel, first thing you do once we get back, is to take care of her. Do whatever it takes to get the truth out of her.”

The carriage starts moving.

“What truth?”

“It was someone else or maybe she herself. But they only did the deed. The true killer is one of the other countries.”

“... It can’t be… What would they accomplish?”

“For starters, we can no longer recruit those two for ourselves. Since they are the prime suspects, we are politically forced to put them under arrest. And if we cannot prove their innocence, we have to execute them… If we could, that is.”

“I see…”

“And now with them out of our hands, it’s practically a game of who gets them first. Whoever gets Alddan to join their side, they can win any battle, any war. That Servant is like the sword of the promised victory.”

“Aren’t you overestimating his abilities?”

“Daniel, you surely know the damage that ten thousand mana can do.”

“Of course. It’s enough to set an entire town aflame.”

“Now imagine a battle between two balanced armies. The most important step in a battle is gathering enough resources to match the total of the enemy mana. If the enemy manages to have an extra ten thousand mana that the other cannot counter, the battle is pretty much decided. In the past, since the battles were so balanced, it was rare to successfully cast Area Magic.”

“Yes. In my battles, we were lucky when we landed an Area Magic hit on another ship.”

“Now imagine adding someone like Alddan to the equation. More than 100 thousand mana units in one single person. To rival him, you would need to add to your army ‘A’ more precious mages and their Servants. And for that, you would have to sacrifice the strength of your other armies, ‘B’ and ‘C’ for example. I could take advantage of that and attack multiple points, forcing you to choose between a tremendous defeat of your army ‘A’, or defeat of your other armies,”

“I-I see.”

“Nevermind the fact that Alddan is S rank. A rank Servants are already powerful, S rank must be a monster. Remember, he defeated the White King himself without using positive mana. He clearly knows a lot about Inner Magic, I fear what he’s capable of if he goes all out.”

“...”

“Half kilometer radius. That’s the damage that World Magic can do at its minimum. Imagine the damage caused by 100 thousand mana. It might be enough to destroy a country, if not half the continent.”

Daniel shows a frustrated expression as he looks down on the floor.

“But I never expected them to go this far… We were at peace for such a long time. Even our grandfathers never thought about wars. I should have known better... I never planned to wage wars with those two, but now… I might end up being remembered as the fool who wasted the chance to conquer an empire.”

“What are you saying your majesty!?”

“I might… I might indeed.” She closes her eyes for a moment. But then looks again at her Servant with determination. ”However, I will not allow them to have their way.”

“...”

“Daniel, do whatever it takes. I want the truth out of her.”

“Yes, your majesty.”

“Then, kill her. And make sure she dies slowly.”

“... Yes, it shall be done.”

The queen murmurs to herself. “What if it was my brother who killed him…?” After a moment of reflection, she shakes her head “No, it can’t be…”

*******