Not finding what I was looking for, I decided to return to the cave which I hid Princess Aire in. For the sake of not being followed, I traveled from the village to the cave with time frozen.

As I made it back to the cave, I could feel one more ache of anxiety. A rather strong one. Worry, Fear, Nervousness, Duty.

It was odd that I still had this feeling, so what could be causing this ache now? But as I returned time to its original flow and made my way into the cave, I was tackled to the ground by a red kimono-wearing girl!

Suddenly, the unease I was feeling was washed over by relief, and as I looked up at the girl who had crashed me into the ground, I saw Yenna, who's face was buried into my own dress, as she clung to me. Ah, so this one too...

"Come now, there's no need to be so physical," I said, as I pet the worried girl on the head. "You're gathering everyone's attention," I whispered into her ear.

Without a word, she pulled herself away from me with an expression that couldn't decide between worry, relief, and anger, before she spoke to me.

"You dumbass. Leaving me like that out of nowhere," she said to me.

"Sorry sorry, guess I should have explained, but something came up."

With an angry pout, and an audible "hmph", Yenna turned her face away, and puffed out her cheeks.

I could hardly resist, so as I pressed my finger against her bloated cheek, I smiled at the sound of air escaping her lips. She in response groaned, as she pulled herself off the ground, and gave me a hand.

Over it already, huh?

As I took her hand, and pulled myself to my feet, I noticed there were plenty of onlookers, but I chose to ignore them.

Putting aside everything else, I walked passed Yenna, towards the room that was unofficially designated as Princess Aire's. Yenna followed close behind.

As I entered the cove, there was a silence that overtook the room. Looks like they heard the bit of commotion, and were waiting for me.

"It seems there was something that required my attention," I said, bringing my trademark smile back up.

"Is that so? You left without any warning. Your... servant was about ready to chase after you,"

"Yes, I did worry this poor girl, didn't I?" I said, taking a peek back at Yenna, who tried maintaining a blank expression, but couldn't help averting her eyes.

"Still. Lein is watching over your village for the time being," Aniel said, as he got into a thinking pose.

How did he know?—ah, the Fay girl with the powerful senses, huh? What sort of physics are going on that she can accurately hear what's happened all the way in Ohen?

Well it's magic. Thinking too much on the subject will hurt my brain.

—Actually...

I wanted to ask this girl about the limitations of her ability. There were certain things I wanted to know, but... No, I shouldn't sidetrack this conversation any further.

I shifted my gaze between Aniel and Princess Aire. "I suppose it's time we get back to business," I said. "Right, well the situation has more or less escalated," I said.

"Yes, thanks to you."

"I had my reasons," I said frowning at Aniel.

"Well now that they suspect you're hiding us, we have no choice but to lay low until they leave," Aniel argued back. So that girl's hearing is that good, huh?

"That... might not be a good idea."

Before I could answer, Aire spoke up instead.

"Because if we wait too long, Lein will send more soldiers here to look for me. If they suspect Toyaru is hiding me, they will search the area, or any place Toyaru is known to frequent."

"Then we'll have to escape while they're occupied here," Aniel suggested.

"Actually, it's more complicated than that," I said.

As the two looked to me, I only gave an eerie smile, as I narrowed my eyes in a bit of amusement. Ah, it might be a bit mean to point out this fact...

"Lein doesn't merely want to exterminate the royal family. They want to crush it. Meaning, they want you to submit, Princess Aire."

Her expression seemed to twitch, seemingly aware of what I meant, but not quite certain.

"Submit?" Aniel asked.

Stolen novel; please report.

"Declare yourself and Senilea a vassal of Lein. If you refuse... Well, you have other uses," I said as I looked between the two.

"How could I ever submit to them!?" She shouted indignantly. "They... they've murdered my family!"

"That... is not quite the case," I corrected.

Shock seemed to be evident on Aire's face, as her eyes widened, and she seemingly resisted demanding answers.

"Your siblings are being kept alive for the time being. Your father however, has gone into hiding."

"How do you know this?" Aniel interjected before Aire could say anything.

"I found Lein's camp last night. Went through reports and logs they had on them. It was all written there."

"But... Why? Why go to the trouble of looking for Aire?" Aniel asked.

"They want to control the populace," Princess Aire said. "If they get a member of the royal family on their side, it legitimizes their power. The rest of the Royal Family can just be used as hostages."

"And I'm guessing you knew this already?"

"No... I suspected it though," She said dejectedly.

Her life was certainly in danger. Killing her would be easy for Lein, and maybe even beneficial. They wanted her out of the way, one way or another. But if she escaped, and then came back to condemn Lein, it could hurt their hold on the populace. Still, Lein has her family hostage. She probably wouldn't be able to say anything, but she's decided to forego that, and merely escape with her life. As long as one of her siblings gives in, the rest will at least be spared as bargaining chips.

Aniel didn't seem to notice this possibility, but it probably bothered Aire for quite some time. And now she has confirmation.

"So? What do you intend to do princess?" I asked with a smile that only seemed to broaden.

If she escaped now, knowing that her family is alive, imprisoned, she might not be able to handle it. The anxiety and guilt of having abandoned them. It might be better if they were already dead in that case. Or at least if she thought they were.

—Ah, but I'm not so nice to let her escape such thinking. Seeing that anxiety ridden face, as her fingers fidget and she thinks with all her might, unable to come to a decision—somehow, all of it just excites me. Am I a bad person? Nah. I want to help her, but seeing her suffer a bit from her own regret isn't in itself a bad thing, right?

"I can't fight," She said, looking down at her own hands, which tightly clung to her dress. "Maybe if father were here, he might know what to do," she said. "With Aniel's magic, he might know of a good way to topple our enemies, without sacrificing too much," She convinced herself.

"Sacrifices will be made no matter what decision you make, girl," I tell her, "Your father is still only but a human."

"And you're what?" Aniel asked with a glare, as if communicating a secret only we know. Of course he caught onto me; the fact I understood his reference to a "trap" should have been obvious.

"I am but mere flesh and bone," I said with a grin. Turning back to Aire, I let my tail float over towards her, and hover inches away from her face as if pointing towards her, before I continued, "Your father is not here. Whatever decision you make is your own. However, I'll lend you this meager self of mine. So, use me as you wish," I said, as I pulled myself to my feet, and turned about.

As I made my way to leave I stopped and turned my head back towards Aniel.

—"Ah, I didn't mean use me literally, by the way."

...

—"Dumbass, don't go putting nasty thoughts in my head!"

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Author Notes:

And we're back!

Next chapter is a POV chapter.

I did end up rewriting parts of this chapter back on Friday or something, so it's possible I missed something that seems inconsistent, because I only reread it once or twice.

On another note, I was wondering about changing the name of the series. What's everyone's input on that?

Anyways, feedback and suggestions are well appreciated.