"Professor Yoshida. To what do I owe the visit?" Dawn asked, shifting the papers on her desk to hide her picnic plans. She also forced down all the seething hatred and her desire to shear away the man's soul into ribbons.
"I was hoping we could resume our project, your Highness. I was unable to progress without your help."
Dawn rummaged through Lumina's memories. What she found were only standard, boring spellcraft lessons. The Princess would go to Yoshida's office, usually escorted by some cadets from the Knight Corps, sit at his desk, and go through the books. Very boring, nothing special. Very repetitive.
Too repetitive.
Dawn focused and evoked Mind mana. One of the drawbacks of having three people's worth of life experiences was that. Things got blurry. Truly, Dawn had one year worth of life under her belt but it was still complicated. She inherited all of Aidan's fantasies of "Dawn the Adventurer" as her own backstory. To her, it was as if she really killed the topiary dragon. She could feel tumbling on the garden path to avoid its deadly razor leaf breath as if it was real. As if she did that.
Enough digressing. With the Mind magic reinforcing her recollection capabilities, Dawn browsed the memories of Lumina taking lessons. They were repetitive, to the point of being the same. Dawn almost gasped as she realized these memories were copies of one another. The environment would change but clearly, the Princess' mind was doctored.
And without access to the originals, they would be locked for a long time. She was not going into Lumina's head.
"I'm sorry, could you refresh my memory regarding what was that project?" She asked. "It's been two years."
He stifled a chuckle. Glad to know she was pleasing, thought Dawn.
"I didn't expect you to remember," He replied. "Anyway, I dropped by to see if you are interested, but seeing how busy you are with Astromelicus' work..."
"You will tell me about that project, professor Yoshida. It is an order from the acting Headmaster."
He slightly raised a single eyebrow. "Not from the Princess?"
"Titles are irrelevant within these halls of learning, professor." She replied, moderately annoyed.
Dawn remembered, now that Lumina's corrupting influence was removed, she could use magic sight. The girl turned her power on and watched Yoshida. He had an ongoing detection spell. Sixth circle, Element...
Blood.
She lingered her gaze on the spell long enough to memorize its circle and pattern.
"How did Astromelicus make you, girl? This is so perfect." Yamada's tone turned creepy as if he was a knight admiring plate armor in a master dwarf's smithy.
"What do you mean?"
"You are a puppet. An artificial lifeform in the shape of Lumina. I wonder what happened to the Princess... She disappeared two months ago only to be replaced by you. You are marvelous. A great work of flesh shaping!"
"Thank you?" Dawn was feeling a shiver running up her spine but tried to hide it. "But I am Lumina," She lied.
"Did you lie or do you really believe you are Lumina?" He grinned as Dawn blinked her eyes. "The former then. You are fantastic and just what I need, construct."
He started to cast a spell, Dawn could see the circle forming in her magic sight. She broke it before even analyzing its Element or purpose. "Don't. Professor, you are under arrest on my authority as acting Headmaster. You tried to cast a spell on me inside my office. Wards."
The Headmaster's office was not just a room. It was a fortress in itself. The number of wards and enchantments woven in that room gave the Headmaster absolute control of what went inside. Yoshida was quickly assaulted by the enchantments, draining his mana and stamina, rendering him powerless and immobile.
Dawn stood and walked around her desk. She looked at the immobile man. "I'm asking just this once before I charge you with treason. What was your project with Princess Lumina?"
Dawn already had a very good idea of what it was. She used one of her favorite Spells and tapped the man's solar plexus.
"Soul Reveail."
Fire, Earth, and Water. The man was a Blood mage. His mana affinity was a C.
He was still able to speak. Just now what Dawn wanted. "Funny. Lumina would never be able to use Underworld magic, puppet."
"I bet she will once she wakes up. This is the last time I'll ask politely. What did you do to the Princess? Speak or I'll take the answer straight from your mind." Dawn threatened as she gathered Mind mana over her hand.
Yoshida's eyes betrayed his complete lack of determination. The former confidence waned. He was staring at the empty space over Dawn's hand.
"Good. You can see magic as well. That explains why you dispelled Aidan's spell when the Rhinorses you sent broke them. Speak."
"I was hired by some nobles. They wanted to stop the trade treaty between us and Heath. If Lumina married into Heath, there was a real threat of annexation."
It all boils down to money. They lost two years because of commercial disputes and the preservation of monopolies. But Dawn was no idiot.
"Why were you messing with Lumina's mind?"
"I was studying her Regalia. That is why I know you aren't Lumina. I made a spell to sense Regalia without the use of Royal Blood. If I could copy it..."
If he could copy it, which he couldn't ever, he could make himself King.
"Do you even know what grants the Regalia upon the Royals?"
He sighed and shook his head. He didn't.
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Dawn called the guards.
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Yoshida was in mana-binding shackles and in the castle's stockades. Dawn took him to the castle herself, after sending a messenger to warn the King. After delivering him, she went to meet Helios.
While we thank you for the list of nobles that supported the attack on our daughter, it will be hard to punish all of them at once. It will cause an uproar in the nation. They will pay for what they did, but in due time."
Politics. Yutis was still in a delicate moment. Not a season ago they purged some minor nobles that were embezzling taxes and punished the ones that couldn't be demoted.
"I understand. Yoshida is expelled from the academy and his documents are being seized as we speak. We will soon learn more of his illegal research."
"Thank you once again, Dawn."
Dawn left the audience chamber and went to the garden to catch some fresh air. She had no hurry to return to the academy and dive into the paperwork of managing the institution. She wondered how Astromelicus did that. His secret would probably sum up to not doing it.
She met two Princesses in the garden gazebo. Claire and Pearl were chatting and having their tea.
Claire got up to hug her. "Dawn. You finally got out of that damp dungeon. I've missed you! I'm so sorry you had to pick up the Academy's administration after Astromelicus left so irresnponsibly!"
Dawn shrugged and chuckled, "I've given Astro a radical shift in his perspective of life. He went on a journey to mend old wounds, so don't hold it against him."
"Please sit, darling. You surely aren't expecting authorization from us, are you?" Pearl leveled her inquisitive gaze on her.
"Wouldn't this be the proper way of doing things?" Dawn teased. "I'm no princess."
She took the seat anyway. One thing the hardships of running a magical and martial academy brought was the balancing of opposing conflicts. And all the factions decided that the new and seemingly fragile girl suddenly taking over was ripe for the taking. It was nice to also make the supporters of the absent Headmaster rise up against what seemed like a ploy by the royal family to take over the academy's independence.
And one consequence of these hardships was a critical lack of leisure. Dawn hadn't tasted sweets in weeks. With all the refinement of a starving lady, she attacked the pastries on display.
Claire smiled, "Leave us." She commanded the servants.
Dawn smiled at the Princess with her eyes and doubled her assault on the delicious fruit-flavored carbohydrates bombs in front of her to the amused giggles of the two girls watching the scene unfold.
"I'm amazed you finally caught the one responsible for the rhinorse attack, Dawn." Pearl broke the verbal silence once Dawn stopped indulging on the food.
"He went in thinking I was good old Lumina. If I were, he would resume his control over her with his conditioning magic."
Claire squinted and pressed her lips, suppressing her anger. "That guy was brainwashing a Princess. I swear if it weren't for our laws he'd be dead already."
"At least now I know what he did and how he did. I can reverse the conditioning. Already working on it."
"Too bad we didn't catch him earlier. We could've gone for their supporters," Claire sighed.
"I let him slip too many times. I had my suspicion but never acted on it."
Pearl reached out and held Dawn's hand. "You can't do everything, darling. Not even you and the other you together. You had other things to worry about, like surviving, breaking the laws of the world and saving the country from a madman."
"Thanks, Pearl." Dawn held the other girl's hand and gave it a gentle squeeze.
"Now, if you allow me to say, I have something very important to ask you." Pearl leveled her gaze, shifting from mellow to serious like a professional.
"Yes, anything. What is on your mind?"
"Why did you refuse the Regalia? Are you insane?"
Dawn blinked at the Princess' word choice. "No, I don't think I am. I just refused because becoming a Princess would be too much trouble."
Some irritation floated up on Pearl's diplomat mask. "Again, are you insane? Are you so blinded by your own pride that you can't even see what is right in front of you?" She sighed and paused to catch her wits. When Pearl resumed her speech, it was back to a soft, lecturing voice. "Dawn, have you looked at yourself in a mirror? You are an exact copy of Lumina, you have already passed the Ring's Trial, and every single Royal out there will know you look like Lumina. You'll have a really hard time to prove you aren't a Princess.
"You are setting yourself up to suffer all the drawbacks of being a Princess without the perks associated with the position. Just because of some stupid pride. I understand you don't want to cause a disturbance the line of succession, but all you have to do is ask the King to disown you after you accept the Regalia."
"Pearl has a point, Dawn," Claire added. "Lumina reached high levels of infamy in our continent. Every Royal and most nobles would recognize you. Without the Regalia, they would try to take action to harm you. You'd defend yourself and then things would escalate beyond proportion. Having the Regalia would work as deterrence against these idiots. It would even make it easier to get favor or help in saving your... Aidan's parents."
Dawn withdrew into her mind to think. The God-Slayers usually avoid associating with a single country to avoid causing a polarization of regional politics. But there was also the one-per-generation rule they already broke. She had both Royal blood and the God-Slayer's power. Would it make that much of a difference?
Add that the fact she wielded all six Elements. Her Water, Air, and Light affinities were a little below the D-rank required to change her Element designation, but she still had one month to grow using the exercises Astromelicus taught her. The stressful, painful and arduous exercises to improve one's affinity.
Dawn remembered one thing and tried the spell Yoshida used. The detection spell. She had a hunch what it was but she wanted to make sure. She carefully built the diagram and used it. In her sight, an aura appeared around the two girls. The aura around Claire was the yellow of Light and for Pearl the orange of Earth. The glow had the same pattern with slight modifications. It was a Blood spell to detect Regalia. Satisfied with her test, she quietly dismissed the spell.
"We can talk to Helios. If he agrees to disown me from the line of succession, I'll accept it." She decided.
"Excellent! We will go talk to him now!" Claire clapped her hands and, in an unusual move for her, went on with her whims.
Pearl waved her hand, "Good luck. The foreigner will remain here awaiting the good news."
They went back to the audience chamber, Claire tugging Dawn by the hand.
"You'll be the one explain it to Lumina!" She told the former handmaid. "You'll be the one to explain everything to Lumina!"
"I accept your conditions," Claire smiled back. She shifted her gae to the men guarding the door. "Guards, let father know we need to talk to him."
After waiting for ten minutes, a Viscount leaves the chamber, gives his respects to the Princesses, Dawn still acting as Lumina, and goes on her way. The seneschal announces and guides the two girls in the room. They approach and give the King a deep and long curtsy.
"Daughters. What brings you here before us?" Helios asked. While it wasn't a full court session, several nobles, officials and civil servants were present.
"We request time to speak of a private matter, father." Claire declared and shifted her gaze on Dawn, giving the King the needed hint about the subject.
"The session is adjourned. We shall retreat to our chambers." He declared.
The two girls followed Helios and soon were joined by Lucien. They moved to the private room behind the audience chamber and took their seats. After checking the wards, Helios spoke.
"What is the matter, daughters?"
Claire glanced at Dawn, nudging her head to tell who should speak.
"Your Majesty, after consulting Claire and Pearl, I reconsidered my choice. I would like to know if the offer to make me part of the Royal Family of Yutis is still valid. I don't want to disturb the line of succession though. If it is of your interest, you may disown me."
Helios paused for a few minutes. Nobody else made a sound. Dawn felt aprehension. Did she ruin it? The arguments Claire and Pearl presented were very good. She knew there were several places and people out there that would like nothing more than get back at Lumina or Yutis, and a commoner that looked just like Lumina could be a good sacrificial pawn, the target of a wtich hunt, or even forced to marry into some noble house.
She'd fight back and cause an even greater problem.
"I need to consult the rest of the Royal Family. While Claire and Lucien here already stated their opinion, I need to hear from Lumina. If my daughter does not object, I'll grant you what you want."
Because now instead of an offer, it is a request. Dawn expected as much. Helios could even be using this as an incentive to speed up Lumina's awakening.
"I understand, Your Majesty," Dawn bowed. "I'll wait until you have an answer then."