A procession gathered in the Eastern isles, solemn and gloomy as they gathered to grieve the death of one beloved to them. The Isles had received a huge amount of gold and other rewards from the bounty on the pirates, but none of that was visible today.

Tens of thousands of half-Elves had gathered to grieve the death of their beloved Elder, and not a single person smiled for miles. Even the animals and beasts seemed to realize the occasion and keep silent.

Althea was sure there was something distinctly strange about seagulls bowing their heads as they passed. But this was a world of magic. Few gave a second glance when something strange happened.

The Elder was to be cremated in the tradition of the half-Elves, resting on a bed of wood, surrounded by flowers offered by his loved ones. A flower for each person that cared to give one.

Althea had chosen a white rose from her garden, feeling that the rare and magical flower would prove sufficient.

The rose settled in nicely among the other white flowers that many had given. In fact, there were flowers of several kinds and colors there. Even some from beneath the sea. The half-Elves had gone all out to say goodbye to their leader. Althea hoped that one day, when she died, she would get at least a tenth as heartfelt a farewell.

"This is quite a sight, isn't it?" Verest said from beside her. "I am glad I chose to keep the funeral in a field. The flowers are sure to occupy the entirety of it."

Althea looked behind her as the line extended literally for miles.

"I am sure the Elder would be glad." she said.

"I am not." Verest replied. "The Elder wouldn't have liked such an excessive show. A waste of flowers, he would have said."

"Hmm." Althea replied, silencing her answer. This was not the time to contradict the Elder on anything. Not when emotions were running so high.

"Isa wished to meet you." Verest noted.

"How is she doing?"

"Well." Verest said. "The girl is the most talented person I have ever seen."

"That is good to hear." Althea replied.

"Have you found out who was behind this?"

"The captured pirates were unaware, they were told that they received a tip from somewhere." Verest said. "If the captains knew more, they did not share with their crew."

"So we have no way to know who was behind this." Althea said.

"Do you think it wasn't the Duke?" Verest asked.

"The Empress implied that there are others that would benefit from this. The Elara Empire is apparently suffering from a famine, just like most of the continent. Had the fleet not reached them, they would be forced to participate in the war."

"The fleet was also far too close to the Mer archipelago." Verest noted. "I hear that is an important region of the Zun Empire. I wonder why the Zun Emperor did not interfere when it was threatened. "

"The Empress has asked me to ensure that the Zun Empire does not invade this winter." Althea said. "The international situation is far too delicate to risk a war. Perhaps the Emperor feels otherwise."

"The Zun Empire is weaker than the Soleria Empire, yes?" Verest asked.

"Yes, but the Solerian Empire is not unified internally. The Zelorian Duke controls a huge amount of the Empire's forces, and it will be difficult to justify a war in the current scenario. The nobles may just decide that the county can fend for itself."

"And we cannot fight the Zun Empire alone."

"No, we cannot. I recently learned that Duke Zerolain has as many as thirty-seven Adept stages under him, and over a thousand at the Master stage. Opposing him in battle may be more than we can manage."

Verest was silent for a moment, presumably deep in thought.

"I do not like having to hide my anger, your grace. I am familiar with it, but I do not like it."

"I doubt there is a person on the continent that likes doing it, Prime Minister, and yet, we must. The position we find ourselves in demands it of us. "

"I am aware." Verest replied. "Please, feel free to return to the county. I doubt the cremation will take place today."

Althea had to agree. The half-Elves would take days to finish laying flowers, and she had far too much work piled up to wait here.

"I shall work from here." she finally said.

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A long pillar of smoke rose into the air above the Eastern Isles as the Elder's body was consumed by a wave of magical fire. Althea added her own mana to it, wishing that the Elder rest in peace. Even though she did not know him well, she admired him, and his sacrifice.

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Just the goodbye he had received was enough to show how respected he was among his people. But she could not spend time grieving. Choosing to spend a day cultivating had just made things harder for her now.

"Are you ready?" the Empress asked.

"Of course, your majesty. Thank you for helping me with this." Althea said, silently wondering how she could find some space mages of her own. Teleporting was far too useful an ability to let go. In fact, it could be considered crucial.

"Call me whenever you need my help." the Empress smiled. "I am your aunt before I am your Empress, Althea."

Althea smiled, a warm feeling spreading through her chest as she felt guilty about her outburst a couple of weeks back.

"I wanted to apologize for taking my anger out on-" she began.

"Do not worry about that." the Empress said. "Keron deserved it. Letting Nathan fall into a risk like that was incredibly careless of them."

Althea sighed as the teleportation took them away. When she opened her eyes, she was alone in her garden, the Empress having already left. The sky had already darkened, but she didn't feel like sleeping.

"Are you alright?" Pulsie asked. "I am feeling a lot of emotions from you."

"Just thinking about stuff." she replied.

"Like Elder Bel?" Pulsie asked. "That must have been hard."

"I suppose I should get used to it. This isn't going to be the last time someone dies for me."

"The first time for a lot of things is the hardest." Pulsie's tone was conciliatory, but Althea did not feel calmed at all. A wave of sadness after another assaulted her as she felt the consequences of her actions. Elder Bel was dead. And she had a huge part to play in it. After all, she was the one who sent the Elder on the mission to begin with. Knowing that he could die.

"I suppose I should sleep."

"Sleeping is a wise choice." Pulsie said.

"Perhaps sleep will resolve this…whatever this is." Althea replied as she made her way to her bed.

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Sleeping did not make it go away. In fact, nothing seemed to make a dent against her realization.

The fact that no matter what she did, people, people she was close to, were likely to die haunted her. That a single mistake of hers would leave people hurting and dead. That even if she didn't make a mistake, even if she worked day and night, people would still die.

The fact haunted her. But it also made her work harder. This responsibility was not something she could give up. The title was hers for life.

So she worked. Made a schedule to help prepare her for the future, and prepare her allies too. Isa was training with Verest, Vanessa with Keron. The only one left was Nathan, and hopefully, he could get stronger by practicing with her. Practicing her mental defenses was a good idea anyway.

"Are you ready, Countess?" the Steward asked.

Althea nodded. If she was going to participate in the Human cup, then she needed practice. And battle experience. The Steward was the one that could give her that.

A wind rose in the garden, circling her as she readied herself to fend off attacks.

"As a guardian of the Empire, you cannot falter in the battle, you must appear invincible, but remember that you are not. The longer your image lasts, the more people will trust you. If you fall, however, then your reputation will be in ruins."

Althea read between the words, sensing what the Steward was implying. This mattered doubly in the Cup. Losing was not an option for her.

And then she was sent flying.

"Do not let yourself be distracted, this is a very common tactic. An underhanded one, but that will not stop your competitors." the Steward said.

The Steward had been implying that the Empress was asking too much from her. Laying on the ground, Althea could see where he came from. The cup was a big risk, politically. But if they won, or even got into the second round, it would be a great victory for the Empire.

Winning meant that you gained access to the Sea of Mysteries. The mysterious sea that had treasures and teachings of many ancestors.

The Southern continent monopolized the sea now, but once it had been in the hands of the northern continent. Then the burning killed most of their leaders. The Southern continent took over. The Grandmaster had given them a chance to take a part of it, giving away parts of the sea as reward to the participants of the Human cup.

But no one from the northern continent had been able to win in centuries. After all, the Northern continent had ruined much of its legacy, and lost most of the resources it gained from the Sea of Mysteries.

On the other hand, the Southern continent made sure to keep its lead with the Sea. If what they had could even be called a lead.

"Are you ready to go again?" the Steward asked.

"Of course." Althea said, getting up again. The Sea was far more helpful at the Journeyman stage than at the Master stage, and basically useless to the Adept stage. But there were rumors that one could find the secret of becoming a Grandmaster there. So many Adept stages wanted to spend time there.

Althea hoped she would get a chance to go there too. But that would depend on whether she could succeed in the Steward's training. At least this proved she was right to make him the Dean.

Wait, she'd forgotten to ask him about his progress on that.

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"Come on, you can't do too much damage." she said, trying to encourage Nathan.

"Countess, you have the same cultivation level as me. I could do a lot of-"

"And that is why both of us need practice. Now, put those viruses in my head." she said, cutting him off.

Nathan sighed, his hesitation clear as he called upon mana. Althea stopped her urge to stop him. The easiest way to stop him from attacking her was to simply attack him before he could finish his spell. But that would defeat the purpose of this.

Althea slipped into her mind, readying herself for Nathan's attack. A tickling sensation spread as his mana came in contact with her forehead, and she was able to sense his viruses approaching. Like little ants climbing up her foot, there, but it was hard to see where it was exactly.

Calling on her mana, careful to only call upon pure mana that did not have any element, she sensed at the tickles. The sensations made it hard for her to see what was happening, every tickle breaking her concentration. In the end, she gave up and just swept the area with mana, sweeping the viruses away like a flood. And of course, consuming far too much mana while doing so.

Althea looked at the boy before him, finding him sighing in relief.

"That was well controlled." she noted.

"I found a lot of resistance in your head, your grace." Nathan said. “That made it significantly easier."

"That just means you should practice your powers some more on me. Now you don't even have to worry about harming me. And stop with the grace stuff, you're the Crown Prince of the Solerian Empire. Do you want me to start calling you your majesty?"

Nathan shook his head, giving a slight smile. "As you wish, your grace."