Interludes

— Butler —

I had dreamed of a lifetime as an artist. There was an opportunity. I put my faith in her.

It has been two weeks since I became the personal attendant of the empress, but I have had no time to do art whatsoever. I am busy out of my mind with tasks both menial and managerial.

She took my dream away from me, without consideration or mercy. For that, she must pay.

I will make her pay with her heart. Upon my broken dreams, I swear that I will conquer her.

It will not satisfy me to merely have a romantic relationship with her. I must have the upper hand, the dominant role. I will make her willingly submit to me, overwhelmed by her desires.

To conquer the conquerer, that is my ambition.

“Butler, feed me another strawberry.”

She is currently taking a bath. Her feet are sticking out, and her left and right foot massagers are doing their work.

I am feeding her strawberries. It is the perfect chance. There is a fine line between a servant presenting food to a master, and a pet eating out of the palm of one’s hand. Naturally, I intend to blur that line as much as possible.

Rather than placing the strawberry in her mouth, I hold it slightly away from her face, forcing her to lean forward if she wants to eat it. Will she call me out on this, or allow herself to submit to me just a little?

To my immense satisfaction, she leans forward and eats the strawberry out of my hand without a second thought.

She closes her eyes as she chews, letting out a soft moan, a satisfied smile on her face. I catch a glimpse of her naked body, her movement disturbing the concealing layer of soapy suds. My heart flutters and my blood starts pumping faster.

After she swallows, she glances at me and lets out a snort of amusement.

“Huh, Bez was right. Male biology is weird,” she says.

Damn. I have been outplayed once again.

— Symphonia —

I cannot contain my rage.

“She’s demanding taxes?”

Mom places her hand on my shoulder.

“Symphonia sweetie, this is expected. We collected taxes from the noble houses every year.”

“No! I won’t accept it! She said she wouldn’t steal from us!”

“Sweetheart, she is already allowing us a shocking amount of leeway. I believe it would be prudent to simply play by her rules.”

“No! We will not pay!”

“You mustn’t anger her! I don’t want to lose another child!”

Grigori Larkmane, head of the royal intelligence division, clears his throat.

“Your majesty, our spies report that is it not Maribelle herself, but her brother Ferris who is managing taxation. The false empress has spent almost all of her time training her magic and luxuriating with her servants. She has almost no input whatsoever on her brother’s management of the city. It is likely that she simply does not care about such things at all.”

“What are you getting at?” Mom asks.

“I believe that she will not retaliate if you don’t pay your taxes. Unless you do something that enrages her on a personal level, such as harming her friends or family, we deem it unlikely that she will act violently against you.”

His words infuriate me to the core.

Don’t enrage her on a personal level? She killed Daddy and Theo! Does he want me to just forget about that?

“How have the assassination attempts been going?” I ask.

“We continue to send assassins almost every day, your majesty. All attempts have failed miserably. The false empress seems to have started to look forward to the assassination attempts, and even complains about their absence if a day goes by without us sending any.”

“That bitch is taunting me.”

— Talia —

Kaylee smiles mournfully as she accepts our mission reports, having just broken the bad news. It is just Zack, Norton, and I who are here today. Both Ferris and Ellie have been out of touch with us for the last couple weeks, swamped with their newly claimed political duties.

“Grant is dead?”

He was secretly working as a revolutionary, something that would have gotten him instantly kicked out of his position as branch leader if it had become public knowledge. He was killed by Theonius Arvali during the war against the Dark Empress. The story is unbelievable, but it is corroborated by the Dark Empress herself, even though Theonius was the one to announce it.

“I still can’t believe that Ferris’s sister is, you know,” Zack says.

“Is it as believable as him becoming a phoenix?” Norton asks.

“They’re a family of monsters, apparently. Nothing about them is believable,” I say.

“Well, he did save us though,” Zack says.

Kaylee furrows her brow as she skims through our reports.

“I’m sorry that I have to ask this, Talia, but do you have any evidence that what is written in this report is true?” She asks.

“No. If you can’t believe it, then don’t believe it. Though, I can assure you that the next scouting team you send to Telluria will just be picking sunflowers.”

She frowns.

“I’m not asking for me. Headquarters will want evidence that you really defeated a demon for the purposes of your promotion. A feat like this is practically an instant gold tag.”

“Don’t bother with that for me. I’m quitting the guild,” Zack says.

“You are?” Kaylee asks, clearly surprised.

“This mission made me realize that I should value my life more, and that I am nothing compared to what’s out there. There is no good reason for me to continue. I’m done,” he says.

I look down. Our team is just me and Norton now. Ferris and Ellie have temporarily suspended their guild activities as well. Hopefully we’ll get some new members soon. Until then, we won’t be getting any real missions.

“I see. I’m sorry to hear that,” Kaylee says.

“I do not wish for a promotion. We would have been wiped out if not for Ferris,” Norton says.

It has always been my dream to be a gold grade adventurer, but now I tremble at the thought of what they might send me to face. I’m not giving up, but I need to take a break.

“Me neither. I’m not ready. Not yet, at least.”

— Natalia —

“Ha! I win! My three-headed sea serpent beats your demonic pike bear!” Maribelle shouts, slamming her card down on the old wooden table so hard that it cracks.

“Aw damn it, one more turn and I would have won.” Ferris says.

I smile. My hand had been terrible this round. I didn’t even stand a chance.

“Wanna play another round?” Maribelle asks.

“It’s getting late. Don’t you two have to get back to Salsvale?” I ask.

“Are you sure you don’t want to come live with us in the royal palace?” She asks.

Ferris gives me a considering stare. We had a long conversation about this.

“Yes, I’m happy here,” I say.

The real reason is that Ferris fears for my safety. He informed me that the former princess is out for vengeance, and it is possible that she might make an attempt at my life. Even so, he wants to stabilize relations with the Arvali for the purpose of the city’s political stability. Giving them a new target to attack is a foolish thing to do.

Sadly, I agree with him completely.

“Fine,” Maribelle says.

“It will be okay if we’re a little late for dinner. Let’s play one more round,” Ferris says.

“Yay!” Maribelle exclaims.

Ferris deals the cards, and I look at my hand.

Two dragons and an ice wraith? My victory is all but guaranteed.

I let out a fake sigh of irritation as I look at my cards. Maribelle giggles savagely in response.

My daughter is still so easy to fool.

— Headmaster Gladrius —

There is a knock on the office door. It is strange. I have no appointments scheduled for today, and anyone who knows me better than a stranger would not dare to interrupt me during my afternoon reading time.

The knock comes again, louder. A surge of irritation pumps through me.

“Who is it?” I snap.

“I’m a prospective student. My friend suggested that I talk to you,” A young girl’s voice replies.

A prospective student? How did she even get in to the school?

With a sigh, I close my book. I hate dealing with nonsense like this. She is going to regret coming here.

“Come in,” I say.

I feel a ripple of space magic, and the girl appears in my office, somehow ignoring the school’s elaborate space magic wards as she teleports straight through the door. She has long red hair decorated with a crimson sunflower, and her green eyes twinkle with an unsettling majesty. She wears grey robes made of a peculiar silky fabric that billows gently in a breeze that isn’t there.

“Hi, I’m Maribelle. You’re headmaster Gladrius, yeah?”

Her casual tone throws me off guard as I compare the girl before me to the monster that I have heard about. I did not attend the royal tournament, so I have never seen her in the flesh before this moment. I imagined her to be more fearsome in appearance. I cannot sense her aura, likely due to the aura suppressing bracelet that she wears openly on her wrist. If one ignores the unusual way in which the light of the room seems to favor her, and the strange yet subtle reverberations of power in her voice, she could be just another student at the academy.

Even so, I cannot help but feel like I am in danger. The stories of her battle with Theonius are frightening. I saw the pillar of light from my office window. Even from this distance, I was temporarily blinded. That was Theonius’s power, the might of the heavens, and he lost.

She introduced herself as a prospective student, didn’t she? Gods help me.

Theonius Arvali only graduated from the academy last year, and his time here meant no end to my troubles. Now I must endure another three years of such nonsense? Despair is the only emotion available to my feeble heart.

Why is she staring at me like that? Oh, of course. I should answer her question. Sadly, I cannot deny that it is wise to foster an amiable relationship with her.

“Yes, I am headmaster Gladrius. Did you say you’re considering enrolling in the academy?”

She smiles, stretching out her arms over her head and flopping into the chair across my desk.

“What’s your archeology department like?” She asks.

I clear my throat as I consider the unexpected question. If she is interested in archeology, then perhaps there is a small glimmer of hope amidst this horrible disaster. Had she asked about our combat magic department, I would have cried. Once again having someone like her duel other students would mean heart attacks for everyone involved. Contrary to what our death toll over the past three years might indicate, I prefer to run a school where the students don’t die.

“Our archeology department is quite good. We offer a wide variety of archeology courses to students, such as artifact handling and restoration, practical ruin diving, and associated courses like the history of civilization and mythology. The head of the department is our esteemed professor Xenos. He’s currently away on an expedition, but he should be back by the end of the summer. If you are interested in archeology, you should speak to him.”

She nods as I speak, frowning slightly at the mention of professor Xenos’s absence.

“I heard you have some eldritch artifacts here. Can I see them?”

Can she see them? Is she mad?

“I’m afraid not. The aforementioned professor Xenos has the key to the vault, and he is away.”

“Oh, that’s no problem. Just tell me where the vault is and I’ll teleport inside.”

“The vault has various defenses against space magic. I do not mean to doubt your abilities, your majesty, but surely you have some limitations. Even if you are able to teleport in, you might not be able to teleport out. Furthermore, unauthorized entry would set off many alarms which would be quite a nightmare to deal with.”

“Ah, ok, makes sense. I’ll just be patient then.”

I let out a breath at her acceptance of my refusal. Perhaps she will be easier to deal with than Theonius after all.

“You know, you’re not annoying at all. I have no idea what Ellie was talking about,” she says.

“Elise Lasova? Did that numbskull say something terrible about me?”

“She called you one of the most irritating people on the planet.”

“I am, but only to troublemakers like her. If you truly wish to attend my school for academic reasons, then I doubt that there will ever be any enmity between us.”

“No repeating her toilet prank then?”

I shudder.

“I beg you, have mercy on this old man.”

“She got you too?”

“It is a trauma that I desperately wish not to repeat.”

— Camilla Xenos —

“Can you believe it Camie? We actually got back in time for your first day of school,” Dad says.

“Just barely,” I point out.

Our expedition returned late last night. Classes start this morning. With getting my enrollment paperwork completed, signing up for courses, and helping dad catalog all the artifacts we retrieved, I barely had time to sleep, let alone bathe.

“Did you notice anything different about the city when we came in?” Dad asks.

The left corner of his lip curls upward, indicating that he is testing me. Recently, he has been training my magic sense, something of critical importance for an archeologist.

“Of course. The ambient enchantments for the city have changed. The teleportation trap has been deactivated for some reason.”

“Yes, I wonder why,” he says.

The corner of his lip is still curling up.

“The teleportation trap here was rather outdated. It’s a hazard to public safety, an explosion of raw magic waiting to happen. They’re probably switching to a newer design,” I say.

“Very good,” he says, smiling as he flicks a lock of his curly black hair, a gesture that is known to indicate his satisfaction with a student’s response.

We reach a fork in the hallway.

“Well, this is where we part ways. Enjoy your classes,” he says.

“I’ll see you in a couple hours anyway,” I say.

“Yes, though I expect my ‘Introductory Artifact Studies’ course will be too basic for you.”

I smile at the subtle praise, turning away to head towards my first class.

“Oh, and be careful Camie. Symphonia Arvali will be in your year. Just make friends with a loner like yourself and stay out of any of the sociopolitical games that your classmates play. More than one student died last year because they got on Theonius’s bad side.”

“Thanks dad, but you don’t have to worry about me. I’ll be fine.”

I make my way to the classroom for introductory magic theory, a general education course that all students are required to take. The headmaster is a stickler about not letting anyone opt out.

Sadly, I am a little bit late. One should arrive to class five minutes before the starting time, but I have only arrived four minutes before the starting time. I only allowed such a blunder to occur because I really needed a bath. A whole summer of accumulated desert dust is not the kind of thing a dignified girl like myself would want to wear to her first day of school.

Inside the lecture hall, I look for a loner, Dad’s advice still fresh in my mind.

Most people have clustered into small groups and are cheerily talking to each-other. I’m certainly not sitting next to any of them.

My eyes are immediately drawn to a girl with flaming red hair. She is wearing drab grey robes, quite in contrast to the bright colors that are in style. I am wearing black as usual, so perhaps she and I will have something in common, though I cannot say I would ever wear a flower like the one in her hair.

Her appearance is not important, though. A comfortable buffer zone surrounds her, a circle at least three seats in radius where nobody else is sitting. There is not enough evidence to say with certainty whether people are avoiding her for some reason, or if she chose the spot specifically to be away from people. As I am getting closer, she does seem rather pretty though, which supports the latter hypothesis. Good news for me. My ideal friend would be a shy and pretty girl who is willing to listen to me talk about archeology. Yes. I know what I like.

I approach her and she looks up at me, a big smile on her face. I almost stumble when I see her eyes. My magic sense tingles in a way that I have never felt before, but she is wearing an aura suppressing bracelet. Something is unusual about this girl. My curiosity nearly kills me.

“Hi,” she says.

“Mind if I sit here?” I ask, gesturing to a seat not adjacent to her, but with a one-wide gap. If my theory about her wanting space is correct, she may appreciate the distance.

“Sure!” She says.

She seems very happy, probably because I left the gap, a pro move on my part to be sure.

“What’s your name?” I ask.

Her eyes widen for the slightest moment, and then her smile gets ten times wider.

“I’m Maribelle,” she says.

“Camilla,” I say, offering my hand for a shake.

She shakes my hand. Her grip is surprisingly firm.

“Are from out of town, by chance?” She asks.

“No, but I’ve been out of the city for the summer. I just got back last night. Why?”

“Oh, just curious. I’m not from Salsvale, so I was wondering if you were the same,” she says.

“Where are you from?” I ask.

“A town in the southern mountains called Lika Village.”

“Oh, with the sunflowers? I’ve always wanted to see that.”

“You’ve heard of it? I can take you there sometime if you want.”

“Really? That would be nice.”

She is shockingly friendly. Though, if she is from out of town, that explains why she doesn’t have any friends yet. People might be avoiding her because they don’t want to associate with a commoner. Though, considering her looks, I am surprised that no boys are trying to talk to her.

I guess I’m just lucky enough to be the first one she talked to.

“What’s your specialization?” I ask her.

“Archeology,” she says,

No way. No way no way no way no way!

“Me too! What courses are you taking?”

“Don’t remember. My brother made me write it down. Here,” she says, pulling a scrap of paper out of her sleeve and handing it to me.

- Introductory Magic Theory, 8AM every day, Room 201.

- World History, 9AM M/W/F, Room T14.

- Introductory Artifact Studies, 11AM M/W/F, Room 306.

- Theory of Enchanting, 2pm T/R, Room 102.

- General Academics, 3pm every day, Room B4.

“We have artifact studies together. Oh, and you’re taking theory of enchanting?”

“Yeah, I’m thinking about getting enchanting as a right, but I’m not sure. I might change my mind about taking that class if I don’t like it.”

She talks about getting a right as if it is the easiest thing in the world. I’m certain she knows that only those in the top of the class will be granted rights. She must be confident in her academic abilities, like myself.

“I’m just a little curious, but why do you wear the aura suppressing bracelet?” I ask.

Hopefully it’s not too inappropriate of a question, but I cannot contain my curiosity regarding the strange magic I sense from her. She seems nice enough that I’ll take the gamble.

“Oh I just don’t want to scare people. I sometimes end up accidentally breaking stuff with my aura of entropomancy if I get excited or angry or something. The bracelet helps a bit.”

That was definitely not the answer I was expecting.

“You’re an entropomancer?” I ask.

She nods, as if this is not strange. That is the last right an archeologist would choose. The whole point of being an archeologist is to not break stuff. Entropomancy is good for one thing, and one thing only.

“You’re an entropomancer but you’re not specializing in combat magic?” I ask.

She shakes her head.

“I am really interested in combat magic, but when I was enrolling in my courses, headmaster Gladrius repeatedly told me that there is nothing the combat magic department here could teach me. He was annoyingly serious about it, actually.”

That makes no sense. Of course the combat magic department could teach her things. The head of that department used to be a kingsguard! Why would the headmaster say that to her? Is she lying to make herself look better? She’s not acting like she’s joking. Maybe she just has a really dry sense of humor.

Hold on, why was headmaster Gladrius personally helping her enroll in courses? Yes, this is clearly a joke. How silly of me.

I let out a giggle. It is a bit late, so it’s awkward. I regret it immediately.

“Ugh,” Maribelle says.

My stomach sinks. I just laughed at her joke a bit late! She doesn’t have to ‘ugh’ me!

Then, I realize she isn’t looking at me. She is looking at the door to the lecture hall.

Symphonia Arvali has just entered, a small posse of girls walking behind her.

The princess is staring straight at me, and she is glaring! What on earth? I don’t think I have ever seen so much hate in someone’s eyes. Why? Why would she care about me?

She is walking straight towards me. Oh gods, what is happening?

As she gets closer, I realize that she isn’t glaring at me. Thank heavens.

She is glaring at Maribelle for some reason. This is not good. Whatever Maribelle did to offend the princess must be why nobody dared to sit near her. Crud! I messed up so bad! I was supposed to stay out of political stuff like this!

“Hi Symphonia,” Maribelle says.

No title, no ‘your majesty,’ just her first name.

My eyes go wide. Maribelle, what have you done?! You could die for that!

I hold my breath, trembling. There is no good way for this to play out. I am terrified.

“Did you enjoy last night’s dinner?” Symphonia asks.

“Next time you want to feed me poison, just invite me over for tea or something. There’s no reason to blackmail my maids,” Maribelle says, completely calm.

What?

Symphonia turns to look at me, her hateful aura filling the air. I almost piss myself.

I have no idea what is going on! I knew I should have caught up on the news before class!

“Maybe I should invite your new friend too,” Symphonia says, sneering at me.

A crack forms in Maribelle’s desk. The sharp noise makes Symphonia startle.

Maribelle takes a deep breath. She looks towards the blackboard, not bothering to meet the princess’s eyes.

“Listen closely Symphonia, because I am only going to say this once.”

Symphonia narrows her eyes as Maribelle speaks.

“I don’t mind you trying to kill me. It’s only fair, considering that I killed your father and brother.”

What?!

“However, if you ever hurt anyone close to me…”

Maribelle snaps her fingers. Symphonia winces visibly in response.

“There will be nothing left of you,” Maribelle says.

Her words reverberate through the air. The moment I hear them, I know that they are true. The room goes silent. The princess turns pale.

My mind is racing. If Maribelle killed both the king and the crown prince, then by our succession laws, that would make Symphonia the empress! Of course, if Maribelle is powerful enough to have killed Theonius and Langton Arvali, presumably also getting past their guards somehow, what can Symphonia do? Practically speaking, the person in charge of Salsvale right now is Maribelle. This is a clash between the two claimants for the throne!

What have I gotten myself into?!

“Well, that’s quite the way to start off the semester.”

The words that break the silence come from an elderly man who I know as uncle Fenji. I didn’t notice him come in. He stands by the blackboard, holding a piece of chalk.

“If I may I may be so bold, I ask that your majesties finish your posturing after class.”

Bold indeed.

Symphonia scoffs, turning away from Maribelle and making her way to the opposite side of the classroom with her posse of girls. They sit down without another word.

“Well then, let’s begin, shall we?”