Days went by, each one allowing Lia to recover more of her calm. Sometimes the Unbreakable would stop at a city, but Lia would never leave it, not until she was more herself once more Eventually she reached a point where she wasn't spooked by every little thing and could even maintain a poker face in front of Delilah. It was just as well, since they reached a critical point in their journey. The fact that there were no sightings of Infected since they left Trestia helped as well.

“There is much to report today, not only will we arrive at Ardenne in a few hours, but it also seems that jamming of communications is being lifted all over the Empire.”

That could only mean one thing.

“Oh.”

Rommel pressed a button that brought up a short video to the screen. It showed Frederick.

“Come! I will crush you!”

He said it with such strength, such ferocity. Most people would feel intimidated merely by his words, his presence. Yet, Lia couldn't help but sigh.

“Somehow... It feels lacking in terms of persuasion, honestly. Is this serious?”

Oh. She had said it aloud. No good! She looked around. Delilah looked bored. Oh good. Hopefully nobody took that in meaning that the Matriarch was actually much more powerful than their memories showed. Was she still being paranoid?

“Well, after seeing what happened in Trestia, even going back to our battle with Charles, I guess it really is going to take something huge from him to shock us.”

Good follow up, Chelsea! Nothing suspicious at all. It was completely normal to just not get that impressed at this point, considering what they had already been through.

“Well, maybe it's just because we still haven't seen any of his handiwork. Information coming from Ardenne doesn't paint a good picture.”

“What, Ardenne? I thought the city was all about a good picture!”

Colonel Rommel wasn't very amused.

“I'd appreciate if you wouldn't crack any jokes during my explanation, Lady Shadow.” Chelsea pouted even as she kept silent. “As you all know, Ardenne is the last city before the capital, all routes to the capital through the Imperial Road eventually converge there. As such, its surroundings are often the site of a battle during a Great Race. It is also famous for its art academies, which don't exist anywhere else, but that's not all that relevant. What's relevant is that it's were Prince Richard made his last stand and was crushed by Prince Frederick.”

Franz raised his hand.

“So what information do we have on this battle?”

Good question! As always, Lia could count on him to be relevant!

“For the moment, not much, although we are collecting a lot now that we have a connection with Ardenne, for now, the most I can say is that apparently Prince Richard prepared for a protracted siege, but was surprised by a furious assault from Prince Frederick which he couldn't hold for very long.”

Jonah interjected.

“A furious assault without much regard to strategy... It does match up with some rumors that are coming from the capital. Princess.” He turned towards Lia. “Did Prince Alexander tell you anything about Prince Frederick's personality?”

Did he? For a moment, Lia wasn't sure. She really didn't want to think about anything that happened in Trestia. Why did she have to? No way. But it was important, so she swallowed her fear and tried to recall it...

“Ah, yes! According Alexander, Frederick is a natural-born winner. He has never in his life accepted a loss, which is just as well, because he had the skills to win most competitive activities he ever took part in. He also has an arrogance to match that.”

How was that! She remembered it! Even though it was so scary, she did it! Maybe she would eat some cake tonight to reward herself. Ardenne 's cakes were fairly famous for their quality.

“I see... An arrogance to match his skills. It might not be all that far-fetched then. Him leaving all the Capital's main gate open to let us in might not be some kind of grand strategy, merely a show of force.”

The surprise in most everyone's faces was palpable.

“What?”

Was all that most could say. Rommel followed up on the Egregius words.

“Yes, he isn't even going to try to whittle us down with a siege apparently. He probably intends to win on the power of his troops alone. Until we reach the Capital, we must do our best to understand what kind of battle we might face. And with that, I hope the princess can trust in my information gathering skills.”

He bowed respectfully. Lia could only answer with a confident smile.

“Our hopes ride on your efforts, Colonel.”

These last few days Franz felt irritated, like something deeply inside of him was nagging at him. It was strange. He never felt such an urge to snap at people as in these few days after they had fled Trestia, he didn't feel like he was quite himself.

“Aww, that was just so boring! Are we really going to do these meetings every day? I want some action, some action! Or at least something fun, can we do something fun?”

That Delilah girl... Sure, she might have saved Lia, in body and spirit, but something felt wrong about her. Franz didn't like it.

“It's not supposed to be fun, and we are not here for fun! Damn, for someone so creepily good at reading people's intentions and feelings, you sure can't read the mood sometimes.”

Delilah's expression completely changed. From a childish demeanor, her face became deadly serious and apologetic. She bowed towards Franz.

“I'm sorry, it's just I didn't see anyone looking at me in disapproval, so I thought my conduct was appropriate.”

There. There was the creepy let-me-please-everyone attitude that irritated Franz. But what could he say? Anymore and...

“Come on, don't bully the little girl! That's not very nice.” Chelsea came to her defense. Somehow, she also seemed to have changed after Trestia. She was... softer somehow. Not that she didn't have her moments before, but now something seemed to have somewhat dulled some of the edges in her personality. “Anyways, this dress you're wearing, isn't it just like the one when I threw you off the Unbreakable?”

Delilah took quite a long while to respond. Of course, she was probably just thinking of the perfect, most friendly answer she could give.

“Oh, this... It's a kind of uniform given by the psycho bitch to all Heir Maidens.”

Huh, she seemed slightly uncomfortable with the topic.

“Is that so? Why are you still wearing it then?”

Oh shit. Chelsea and Lia were glaring at him. No good... Well, that was kind of cruel and bullying. But aren't they curious about it? It's strange that her clothes ares so durable. There has to be something behind them.

“Oh... you want to know? Here, try to rip this sleeve.” She then held her arm to him. No. He wasn't about to ruin her clothes and have the others even angrier with him. She tried offering to Lia and Chelsea but they also refused. “No, seriously, it's okay. Try it.”

After much insistence, Chelsea the sleeve and tried to rip it apart. However...

“Huh? I can't? There is no way...”

She kept trying with more and more force. Far from ripping, it didn't even stretch.

“Weird isn't it?” There was a sense of pride in Delilah's voice. “It's made from a special fabric produced by a certain group of Mutants, they also made the clothes. Not even the psycho bitch has any idea how exactly they are made.”

That certainly answered some questions, but there was something else.

“How did you get your hands on those?”

The Empire separated the Lost Lands and the Wildlands. There shouldn't be much contact between Mutants and Infected.

“Apparently, the psycho bitch always gets arrangements with influential people of the Wildlands. After all, there is a Pool of Reorigination in her lands, and there are more than a few mutants who consider them sacred, or something.”

Sacred, huh. Franz had heard about the Mutants' heretical religion. So they liked to worship at these “Pools”? They were said the be the cause of most mutations, so it did make sense. Well, it was good to talk about something else other than the Great Race sometimes.

As the Unbreakable approached the city of Ardenne and more information was collected, the picture of the battle between Frederick and Richard became clearer.

“Is that... Richard's crucified corpse atop Ardenne's broken gate? Good thing this is in the heart of the Empire, where even roaming Infected are fairly rare.”

Richard had arrived at the city two full days before Frederick. Fueled by fear and a conviction any sacrifice was worth winning the Throne, as soon as he arrived, he declared a curfew and essentially halted life in the city. Accompanied by his Templar Knights, he swept the city in a fever, looking for anyone that might be a sympathizer to Frederick or a heretic to the Flame. In a day, he re-purposed the thriving city into a somber fortress. People were herded to central locations, bombs were planted in various famous locations and institutions as part of a plan to hold back Frederick. Any protests were stifled with the idea that all was to be done according to the Flame's will: Arts as well as entertainment were superfluous, perfect sacrifices.

When Frederick arrived at Ardenne's gate, he was met with an ultimatum: He could assault the city and lose so much art as well as traditions that his mother loved so much or mount a very disadvantageous siege that risked putting his entire campaign at risk, as he would get bombarded by artillery within the city. Replying in kind would also destroy the city. Expecting hesitation to be born of such an unfair and difficult situation, Richard had expected a chance at victory.

Instead, what possessed Frederick was not hesitation, but fury, the kind of fury that once awakened could topple or build great legacies. Merely a day after Frederick's arrival, Richard was confronted by multiple reports of attempts to climb the wall by Frederick's troops, as well as an incessant pounding of cannon shots at the city's gate. In the first few hours, the city had been breached in multiple points, neither Frederick himself nor his Knights could be stopped.

In an attempt to buy some time, as well as make good on his threat, Richard had the multiple bombs planted go off. Frederick wasn't stopped. Over rubble or corpses, Frederick's Knights continued to advance, inflicting three casualties for every one they suffered. It wasn't even a matter of strategy or tactics. As the battle degenerated into a confusing mess, Frederick's troops merely proved to be the better trained ones. With a much more flexible authority structure that allowed even lower ranking officers to make a decision in absence of orders from superiors, as well as plain superior skills, it was at just the third day of battle that more than half the city was under Frederick's control.

It was only at this point that figures for casualties started to reach a one for one ratio. Richard's Templar Knights, with their backs to the wall, saw their chances of winning dwindling. The more radical elements of the Flame felt a decline in zeal from the people of the Empire, so they sought to put Richard on the Throne in order to turn it into a theocracy. Everything was permissible, as long as it was done to rekindle the Flame in people's hearts. Sins, weakness, temptation, impurities, heresy, everything had to be burned away for the Empire to be reborn as the true hope of humanity. Fueled by these convictions, the Templar Knights managed to fight as equal to Frederick's men. A stalemate formed that would last for three days.

Impatient for victory and still controlled by rage, Frederick, along with with his Sword and Shadow, as well as a few of his best men, mounted a charge directed at the city's Governor's Palace. Despite its name, the building would be more aptly described as a keep rather than a palace. Despite that, it was a slaughter. Taking the advance into his own hands, he rampaged through the streets on his way to the Governor's palace. No swords reached him and the very few bullets that were not stopped by his armor or augments did not cause enough harm to stop him. Unparalleled, he did not lose a single man. In a matter of hours, the palace fell and his brother was captured. One last chance was given him as he was offered a direct duel with Frederick, but he was completely demolished.

For his actions, Richard was publicly flogged and humiliated. How many threw things at him because of anger due to what happened in the city, how many threw things because it was what Frederick wanted, none would know. After a day, when Richard begged for mercy and at least a swift execution, Frederick determined his ultimate fate: He was crucified atop Ardenne's broken gate to serve as an example: Such an end would await any foolish enough to awaken such anger in Frederick's heart.

Unfortunately, practical details on how the battle evolved were hard to come by, so all of that information was of limited use for Lia, however, it helped prove her suspicions: Frederick wasn't a man who relied much on strategies, instead he relied on his own individual power as well as well coordinated small groups and tactics. Frederick's army was not only bigger than Lia's, it was also more experienced at the kind of fight they were likely to engage in. It was true that she had already experienced much worse than Frederick, but the truth was that ultimate victory seemed as unlikely as ever. There was only one hope, or so it seemed.

Frederick loved and always relished the opportunity of a direct confrontation, one last fight to settle everything. So it would be highly likely that he would leave breaches in his defenses in order to lure a small group in. Lia was wiling to indulge in Frederick and attempt to assassinate him: She, Chelsea, Franz and Delilah. Delilah was her trump card. Lia knew that the Matriarch, Wu, likely preferred her on the Throne. Delilah would be a very strong asset. Once the Throne was hers, Lia would have many years to figure out how to escape the Matriarch's grasp, but for now, she would use anything, even an almost godly adversary, in order to take the Throne.