A day after ‘the Battle of the Rainbow Moon’, Auros and her Maid-Knights returned to their castle.
Of course, there were still things that needed to be done in the Capital, but for Auros who wielded spatial magic as easily as she did, distance was nothing but trivial.
Meanwhile, in the Kyrie Kingdom, there were already talks of a parade, honorary titles, and even the institution of a yearly festival to celebrate such historic victory against the enemies of the world.
A victory that had felled two especially important Dragon Lords, Eternal Winter and the eldest of the ‘Chosen Four’, Violet Death.
And if the Head of the Church’s report of the battle was not enough confirmation of it, then what happened shortly after said report got to all the relevant people surely was, for the Goddess herself crossed off the crests that represented the slayed Dragon Lords from the Allied Nations’ lists of targets.
Thus, no one was able to doubt that report after that divine confirmation.
After that, not even a day passed before lots and lots of letters from all the members of the Allied Nations found their way into Ludovica’s personal quarters, all saying the same thing:
We respectfully request for Lady Auros Argento, Nightmare of the Dragon Lords, and her Maid-Knights to visit our country after all their matters with the Kyrie Kingdom are resolved. Furthermore, we would be honored to provide the proper accommodations for them to rest after such heroic battle.
The elven country of Deamis, the Demonic Kingdom of Zenji, the Empire of Rosar, and more. They all wished for such heroes, and ‘villain’, to visit them. And why would they not? Their power, their resources, their being, they wanted to ascertain all of that for themselves.
"Non, non, non~~. You are all being too hasty! My best friend forever has other things to do before visiting any of your countries. And even if I do not know what those things are, I totes cannot wait to see what she does next! Yes~~~!"
So said Ludovica as she got up from the fairly comfy sofa she was resting on, left all those important letters on the nearby tea table, and began undressing while she went straight to her personal closet.
As she did, her cinnamon-colored skin was bathed by the sunlight that filtered from the skylight in the ceiling, tracing her gorgeous figure and making her hip-reaching light blonde hair shine with an unblemished luster.
"And I totes have a good feeling about the special dinner that Auros invited me to! So, I must wear my best clothes! Yes~~! Maybe I will even have a fateful encounter! Or maybe the Goddess will descend! Aaaahn…! That totes would make me go so cray cray!! Yes~~!"
Alas, it was fair to say that the shine of the joyful anticipation she felt at that moment overshadowed that luster by far.
Still, if she wanted to have her fun, she needed to take care of a few things first.
One of those things was choosing the outfit that she would wear to that event.
"Maybe I should wear the dress I had made to match Auros' black dress!"
With that, she excitedly pulled out a Gothic Lolita dress out of her closet. It had bountiful frills, laces, and ribbons, and it clearly resembled her best friend’s dress. Although, instead of being mainly black with some white, Ludovica’s dress was of a pure white with some gold and blue linings here and there.
Besides that, it was indeed just the same as the dress she got so acquainted with when she met her dear best friend.
"Mhm! Yes~~! The tailor was so proud of it that not using it now would be disrespectful for him too! As for the matching lingerie, it must be...here!"
Ludovica rummaged through her closet's drawers for a moment, pulled out the set of lingerie that was included with the dress, which came with a thong, and put it on before putting on the rest of her now chosen clothes.
"Auros looked so cute in hers! But I am not losing either!"
Fully clothed now and with eyes brimming with the same increasing excitement that permeated her body, Ludovica nodded in confidence at her own words after spinning around and striking a pose in front of the body mirror that was close to her closet. Also, she was quite proud of how good she looked in her new dress despite her real age.
"Non! Non! Non! Those thoughts can fly away! Yes~~! I am an eternal 21-year-old! Yes~~!"
Indeed, her skin was fair and tender, her face was youthful and free of any wrinkle, and gravity seemed to not be doing its work on the parts that it normally would. All thanks to the incredibly well-trained body and mana she had nurtured throughout her whole life.
But that was not close to being a trait unique to her or her occupation, as anyone could achieve those very same results if they only put in the necessary hard work. Alas, not many in Arte did, to the dismay of their Goddess.
"Hmm...but to think that she predicted that they would be my ‘plus two’ and wrote it on the invitation..."
Having finished with her clothes, Ludovica began moving to her dressing table to do her make-up, all while reminiscing about the contents of the invitation that she had gotten just the night prior, one delivered via the spatial magic of a certain someone, of course.
It was then that another someone knocked on her door.
"Your Holiness, it is Julian, I have the two of them in my custody now and they are dressed as you asked. Shall we go and wait for you in the teleportation hall?"
So said her personal aide and her right-hand man, Julian Gardos.
"Yes~~."
"Very well."
With that, Ludovica wasted no more time and continued doing her make-up.
And as she did so, her usual smile turned into a complex expression.
"Those two...the path they walked was so dangerous. Any misstep and they would have truly fallen. And all for love. It really saddens me..."
As she said that, the memories of a certain confession flooded her mind.
________________________________________
A confession heard only by a certain group of people that was far from those who were celebrating the end of the colorful battle that had just taken place.
A confession that had already been interrupted by the arrival of Ludovica herself, who exchanged a few words with those present. Specifically, with two of the three Kyrie siblings there, Euphemia and Licht, the latter being bathed in Ludovica’s pressure as she asked him to continue.
“Nnn…alright. It all started five days before you returned from your mission to subjugate the Mutated Manticore, Elder Sister…”
So…he did, but not before turning his gaze to the person whose reaction to such confession mattered most, Erevain.
“I was investigating a number of irregularities that had appeared in the various reports I usually received. The numbers for certain things like money and crafting resources did not add up, as they were strangely changed. Yet, it was all very subtle. So much so that if it were something that happened once, I would have thought of it as a simple accident. Someone made a typo, someone did not rest enough, someone did not check their math, simple accidents like that. Sadly…”
Licht then paused, let out a sigh and shook his head before he continued.
“…that was not the case. There was a pattern to it…and that told me that someone was behind it. At first, I thought that someone was the Dragon Lords rather than the allied nations, as the latter were not ones to use those methods. Not even the Empire, whom we have had some ‘heated debates’ over the years, would do something like that, as they have always been quite…upfront about their qualms, any qualms. So, as I would always do, I decided to consult with Father on the matter…”
While Ludovica’s expression remained unchanged, Erevain, Erica, and Euphemia, grimaced as Licht told them how the King strongly dismissed everything about the irregularities. Of course, that only served to give such inquisitive prince a feeling that something was afoot and prompted him to secretly delve deeper into the matter. That led to him tracing everything back to his Father and not the Dragon Lords as he had thought.
“Or at least he was my best suspect. The one that could make all the other pieces fall in place. Of course, I refused to believe it. That is…until I received another strange report, one from Ryze Village. At first glance it seemed perfectly normal, but there was something off about it, and as I read it, that feeling only grew stronger. It was just too clean, too normal, like it had been made to be like that on purpose and that could only mean one thing. Someone did not want eyes on Ryze Villlage.”
“…!”
“…!”
Hearing that, Erevain’s and Erica’s eyes widened slightly as they glanced at each other and then back to Licht, who nodded, confirming their suspicions.
“When my people arrived there, they did not find a losing battle, but a massacre taking place… An injured scout told my people that both the soldiers and the Knights stationed there had sent countless reports about the incoming draconic forces, pleading for reinforcements to Father and yet…no reinforcements were sent. And that was because…”
“…they were ignored.”
“…”
So said Erevain as anger, frustration, impotence, and more, painted her expression and permeated her voice. Meanwhile, Erica could only clench her fists in silence, and she did it so strongly that her fists were shaking.
“Yes…and I would not have known about any of that if not for the sacrifice of most of the people I had sent. But that is not all, for as luck would have it, the day my surviving agents returned was also the day that I received another report from Ryze village. One that was much, much different than the one they gave me. One that certainly could not have been written by the dead village head. That is when I knew for sure that Father had betrayed us…and then everything else fell in place.”
Before such confirmation, the prince of back then was not only shocked but terrified, and just like his heart, the image he had of his Father had been completely and utterly crushed into pieces.
Yet…even in that state, he kept going, delving deeper and deeper into the abyss that was the investigation of his father’s betrayal.
Regardless of how painful it was for him every time he discovered something else.
Regardless of how desperate he grew as he still wished for none of it to be true.
But it was.
And so, he kept going, searching and using every resource at his disposal to try and unravel it all, only stopping when he realized something.
Something that involved those who were important to him.
“While back then I was yet to fully understand Father’s objective, much less his plan to stop the Capital from falling, I knew one thing for sure. He needed you out of the picture to achieve it, dear Elder Sister, as it was obvious that you would never support his actions, and he knew it. Just as he knew that you would try to stop him. Of course, both Euphy and I were also a problem for him, so he needed to cut us out too. And he was going to use the siege to enforce that death sentence. That was why I made a choice.”
Licht, whose gaze had momentarily turned to his youngest sibling, once again looked at Erevain in the eyes and said the following without regret nor hesitation:
“I was going to save you both and I was going to do it by joining him and ‘taking care’ of you in a way that would let me do just that, even if my Father’s plan failed and the Capital fell. Even if…nothing would be the same after that.”
Thus, with a clear goal to reach, he overworked his mind almost to the point of breaking to come up with as many plans as he was able to. Plans that accounted for every eventuality he could think of and had as many contingencies as possible.
As for thinking about how the Capital could survive such a siege…
“I did not care. At least not at that moment, as I had to save you both. And if I was to achieve that, every second mattered.”
Indeed, there was nothing more important to him than that.
“So, when the time came, I enacted my first plan and I used Ryze Village to take you away from the Capital long enough that even if the Capital was destroyed, you would be alright, Elder Sister. You would be…alive.”
“You f—!”
In that moment, Erica, letting her anger get the better of her, attempted to grab Licht by the collar, but…
“Licht, you fool…!”
…Erevain was quicker than her and did it, causing Licht to...
“Heh…”
“…!”
“…”
…smile, which only intensified the emotions that were swirling inside both maids. Something that manifested in Erica raising her fist and Erevain tightening her grip on her brother’s collar. But then the former was stopped by the hands of Ludovica and Euphemia, who held on to each of her shoulders, and Mary, who shook her head at her.
Thus, Erica closed her eyes for a moment, regained control over her emotions, and nodded.
She had accepted it.
That was a moment between Erevain and Licht.
Not hers.
No matter how strongly she felt about the whole ordeal too.
“Yes, you could say I am a fool, but…I did it for you and Euphy.”
“You should have told me! Trusted me…! We could have done something…! Together!”
Pain filled not only Erevain’s voice, but her expression too. A pain that had been inside her heart for five years, a pain that threatened to take her voice away, but did not, for she would not bend the knee to it.
“No. You would have died. And that was out of the question.”
“…”
Yet, Licht was unfazed by it and shook his head while he said that with absolute confidence.
And so, Erevain…released Licht from her grip as she looked down, her face covered by a faint shadow.
“But as always, things never tend to follow the plan perfectly. And sometimes…those deviations can come knocking to your door rather strongly.”
Fixing his collar as he continued, Licht began to tell them about what happened when the siege started. About the forces being in disarray and more, but most importantly, he tells them about his encounter with Mary and how she thought that he was truly helping his father in branding Erevain and the Order as traitors.
It was then that Mary interjected.
“When I confronted him, I was met with…proof. Proof of everything the King had been doing up until then and his plans to get rid of the people I care for…”
Erica grimaced as she looked at Mary and imagined what went through her head at that moment, the desperation she surely must had felt…and the heartache that followed from both the choice she made and the consequences of it.
“Licht then asked me to help him save those very same people…you! How could I say no to that…? I just could not bear the pain of knowing and not doing anything about it! Even if that meant being hated! Even if that meant betraying you!”
“It’s fine!”
In response to Mary’s teary eyed but resolute declaration, Euphemia embraced her, and once again…someone else was quicker than Erica.
“It’s fine…I already said that I do not hate you for it!”
So exclaimed Euphemia with tears in her eyes.
Meanwhile, Erica’s eyes began to be filled with tears as she nodded, making it clear that she too did not hate her. Furthermore, as Mary responded in kind, hugged Euphemia back, and extended one of her hands towards her, prompting her to join in, she was unable to control her emotions any longer and let it all out without reservation.
If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.
“How…? How could I hate you…after listening to that…? And still…oh Goddess…I resented you for all these years…while you…you… Forgive me… Ple—!”
“You idiot…! I should be the one saying that!”
Not needing to hear any more than that, Mary stopped the sobbing Erica from saying anything else and pulled her into her embrace with Euphemia. Thus, both their heads now rested on the shoulder of the person they considered their big sister, all while the three of them kept crying.
Before such a scene, Ludovica simply gave them a pained, yet happy look for a moment, and then turned her gaze back to Licht, who picked up where Mary left off, explaining that, while he was indeed the one to blame for Euphemia’s travel to Deamis, such was not what he told the King. Instead, he told him that it was her servants, Charles and Sistina, who, following their duty to protect her, carried out such sudden relocation in the chaos caused by the siege.
“That way Father had to accept that she was no longer an obstacle for him, even if her fate was exile rather than death. Still, I believe he was fine with that since he always had a soft spot for Euphy…”
“Dad…”
In that moment, said princess showed a saddened and pained expression, the clash between her memories of her loving Father and his horrible actions turning into a knot in her throat. She knew he was unforgivable; she knew he had become a monster, a traitor to all he taught her, and a traitor to her beloved Mother. She knew she should hate him. Yes, she knew all that…and yet she could not help but feel such conflict, such…grief.
“…but I digress. Euphy would be safe and well taken care of in Deamis, so there was no need to worry about her, while you would return in a day or so, ready to try and stop us, but you would sadly, and luckily for me, find yourself shut out by Father’s machinations, your Fallen Prince status, leaving you no choice but to either fight in such state, and most likely cause a very unneeded civil war that would weaken the Kingdom further, or exile yourself until a better chance to fix things appeared. And knowing you, dear Elder Sister…I knew that you would choose the latter, giving me all the time I needed to prepare and stop him.”
“…”
While Erevain continued to listen with her head down, Ludovica slightly raised an eyebrow, somewhat impressed by Licht’s craftiness and understanding of the big picture. Yet, it was only ‘somewhat’ as it took more than that to fully impress someone like her, a person who had literal world unity and balance as one of her responsibilities. There was no bigger picture than that, at least not in a mortal sense.
“Of course, this was all assuming that the Capital would still be there when you returned that first time. And if it was not…I made sure to at least leave you with everything I knew through a certain insurance I had prepared beforehand. But then…you returned far too quickly and complicated things for me, Elder Sister. Why? I was even forced to move on to my contingencies and more importantly, I was forced to go from certainty to…making a bet.”
Indeed, it was a longshot, a bet that no one would want to make, for it was so risky, so close to impossible, that it was almost the same as if asking for a miracle.
No.
It was exactly that.
Because while it was painful for Licht to accept it, he knew very well that Erevain would go and fight against that which threatened the lives of everyone, the Dragon Lord. Even if that meant certain death.
As such…
“…what else would you call betting everything, including my plans to save you, on you surviving that encounter, even if barely? Because that is what I did. And let me tell you, dear Elder Sister, while every second that passed was a living hell for me, I would make that bet again if I had to, for you were going to survive and I was going to save you.”
So he declared, showing a faith in his elder sibling that bordered on a certain strain of madness, and showing that he was the kind of betting young man that would be called either a hopeless fool or a lucky one.
And speaking of bets with high risk, that was not the only one he made back then, as the plan he had made to save his now elder siter’s Order rested on the fate that would be brought by the end of the battle, the siege.
Luckily for him, such bet paid off, as the sudden withdrawal of the draconic forces meant that he had a clear path.
“To have us by the neck, only to leave…I was honestly baffled by that result, but that worked for me.”
He knew that the Knights were going to be arrested and promptly executed after a quick trial, that is…if the Knights did not escape.
“But your Knights were not ones to sit and wait for that to happen. No. Your scouts would see what was happening and immediately prepare an escape plan for the Order as a whole.”
And just as he had predicted, the moment some of the Knights were arrested, the scouts hid themselves before freeing their comrades and escaping.
“As for Eric…Erica…I was genuinely surprised to see that she was not among those who were arrested, and instead was in front of me. Something that needed to be corrected, even if it pained us. So—”
“I had to do it, Erevain…”
Still embracing Erica and Euphemia, Mary interrupted Licht and looked up at Erevain as she said that with a painful smile, which crumbled immediately as she lowered her head towards Erica’s, touching her forehead with her own.
“Eric… Your words back then…I could feel myself wavering with each one. And it pained me…it pained me so very much to do that to you, my Eric…I’m sorry…I’m so sorry…”
“…Mary…”
Her tears were honest.
Her broken voice was genuine.
She was speaking the truth with a clear pain and regret that could only belong to the deep wound in the heart such thing left.
“Indeed, while it may seem hard to believe, it was…difficult. We both were so close to telling Erica everything, but I could not do that, we could not do that. The escape plan needed her for it to work. After all…”
They both threw away their last chance to explain themselves in exchange for better chances on saving Erevain, and in turn, all of them.
They damaged a deep bond for the sake of another.
“…I had intentionally leaked to her a weakness in our gate system, one that Erica could exploit. Things needed to happen like that if I wanted them to reach you in time, as you were most probably barely holding on to your life.”
Erevain clenched her mouth as she listened to Licht, her emotions becoming clearer and clearer.
"I never asked you to save me...I was fine with dying there fulfilling my duty...protecting those I love..."
Muttered Erevain through her teeth.
"I know. But I was not fine with that."
"Nor me you moron."
So declared Licht and Mary, both as serious as they could get, and, in the case of the latter, even angry at Erevain’s words.
"..."
Erevain’s response to them? Silence. A certain kind of silence.
From there the story went as he predicted, the Knights escaped and were on time to heal a barely living Erevain.
“With you truly gone, I was able to shift my focus back to Father and the Kingdom, and the first thing that I needed to understand was the reason why the siege stopped in such a convenient way for him. And it did not take long for me to discover that Hilde was a servant of the Dragon Lord who organized the siege. Sadly, the fact that she was Eternal Winter, another Dragon Lord, eluded me until this day…”
‘To think that there were many times when we were in the same room and neither did Julian nor I were able to detect her true nature. She really managed to deceive us all and that is troubling, yes. While I can hope that the arcane knowledge that let Violet Death hide Eternal Winter died with them both, I cannot be complacent about this, there is much work ahead of us. We as the Church need to be better. For the Goddess’ sake and ours.’
So thought Ludovica as her mind showed her all the times she interacted with Eternal Winter in her guise as Hilde, prompted by Licht’s words, and while the others did not notice it, her eyes were showing quite the serious glint. The very next day she gave the best Arcanists the Church had at their disposal access to the most ancient of the Church’s archives and a mission, to find that which will prevent a mistake like that from happening ever again. Be it spell, artifact, scroll, or grimoire. As for their findings…that shall be left to the future.
“Either way, I was able to figure out what she was really after thanks to a certain discovery I made, and if I wanted to save the Kingdom, just like I saved you, she needed to be stopped. For that I did many, many things I am not proud of, but they were things that needed to be done. Like kidnapping those who were too close to discovering the truth and those who had already done so and were about to reveal it, even if they were nobles like Baron Cuhalin.”
Almost as if the mention of such Baron were a cue from Licht, Mary, who stopped embracing Euphemia and Erica, proceeded to give Ludovica a list of their kidnapped victims and a map with their location, which she pointed at.
“They are here. It is a house that Licht owns under another name. My role was to capture them, take them to the house, and impersonate them using letters. Meanwhile, they were kept in a state of stasis caused by a drug made from Muksis poison. It has no side effects besides some numbness and a simple use of [Detoxify] will wake them.”
So said Mary with a complex expression on her face, there was regret yes, but there was also a clear acceptance of her responsibility.
“We stole them away from their families, their duties…but that was necessary. Father had to be stopped. But he and Hilde were enemies that I could not beat with simple subterfuge and sabotage. No. He would only double down on everything and march through because that is who he was. So, I needed to do something that even he would not expect. A mistake.”
Thus, Licht recounted the reason for the plan that birthed ‘the curse of the Goddess’, a plan that involved using his people to give a reason for the strange happenings in Illumbee Village.
“Convincing Father was simple enough, he knew well the power that the Goddess’ name holds, and how it would make people simply accept things and stop asking questions. Of course, it was risky, but I convinced him that the risk of the Church finding out would be minimal.”
At no moment did his tone change from an unapologetic one as he admitted to committing sacrilege in front of the Head of the Church, who only smiled in response.
“And it worked, for a few years at least. Father was confident that his plans would not fail. That victory was coming. Hilde too. I needed that. I needed them confident and their plans sailing.”
Erevain slowly raised her head and gazed at Licht as he said all of that, unable to stop herself from clenching her hand and turning it into a fist.
“I mentioned Baron Cuhalin before. He is the one that oversees the land where the story of the ‘Curse of the Goddess’ was spread. But he is also like a dog, once he gets the scent of something wrong, he will pursue it until it is dealt with, or he is stopped. Yet, he is also more careful than people give him credit for. And so, he told the Church just enough for your Holiness to start an investigation. That was my ‘mistake’.”
“…”
Ludovica’s gaze turned sharper after hearing those words, but before she was able to say anything someone else spoke up.
“Licht…you must have known that letting him do what he wished without opposition would bring harm to many. To our people in the villages who were close to their operations, to the people they forced to carry them out, and the people that tried to resist. So much pain, so much grief was caused…and for what?”
With her voice seething with anger, Erevain asked that, but she did not wait for a reply…
“FOR WHAT, LICHT?!”
…for she asked again, louder than before, her gaze twisting into the fiercest of glares. A glare that caused a shiver to run down the spines of Mary and Euphemia. Meanwhile, Erica and Ludovica remained calm.
As for Licht…his smile only grew bigger.
“For the plan, of course. It was all but a necessary sacrifice to save the Kingdom.”
*SLAM*
That was it.
No one was able to see when she did it.
But she did it.
Erevain had punched Licht in the face, and he was now on the ground, covering the side where he was hit, all while a metallic taste filled his mouth and blood trickled down his chin.
And that was not all, as one of his ears could not stop ringing and everything around him seemed hazy.
But none of that was what surprised Licht.
What surprised him was that he was still alive and conscious, as he had seen firsthand how strong his Elder Sister had become.
‘Just how much did she hold back while still acting on her emotions?’
Such was the question that was in his mind.
“People died and not in battle, Licht. They were just trying to live their lives peacefully and you let Father ruin those lives. And all…for the plan…”
So said Erevain with a pained, saddened, and disappointed expression that made something stir within Licht.
He had thought that he was ready for such thing, he even wished for it…yet that was not the case.
That expression of hers, her voice, her eyes, all of it, it was more painful than the punch he had just received.
It felt like a million needles were piercing not only his heart, but his very soul.
Even more so, the pain was increased tenfold by Erevain’s similar appearance to their Mother, a Mother that would have been as disappointed and saddened as Erevain was.
He could feel it.
He was sure of it.
Still…
He could not just take that.
He could not just accept those saddened eyes while lying down.
So, he did not.
He mustered all his strength and stood up.
“You have to understand! If I had done something to stop him—anything! I would have entered a useless cycle of small battles! And I needed everything to go as he wanted to win the war!”
“At what cost?! You…you bloodied your hands too much, Licht!! Too much!!”
“I know! But I needed them at the doorstep of victory, so that I could take him and Hilde down as they dropped their guard! There was no other way! None, Erevain! None!”
“…”
Erevain understood it then.
She hated it, but she understood.
Licht truly believed that doing what he did was the only way.
Still, she had nothing but complicated feelings swirling inside her.
Feelings that made her wonder…
Feelings that made many paths appear in her mind…
But…those were just ‘what ifs’, simple illusions.
“You wanted us to investigate.”
Ludovica said in a sudden, yet expected, serious tone.
Of course, Licht was not surprised by it at all, for he had indeed admitted to using the Church to further his plans.
“Yes, your Holiness, that is when I took Baron Cuhalin out off the board. He had played his part. You see, the mere idea of the Church catching their scent pushed them to hasten things, and then the idea of them being able to hide from your Holiness’ eyes helped that confidence grow even stronger. It was all for creating that chance. But that is when my plan was thrown off by the appearance of an unknown factor.”
Licht, having already calmed down, said that, wiping away the blood on his chin with the side of his hand before continuing.
“Lady Auros Argento and my dear Elder Sister. If I was trying to do everything with a scalpel, then what she did was use a hammer and a bell to surprise all of us while we were sleeping. But in the end, she did a better job at saving the Kingdom than me, so much so that saying anything more is irrelevant.”
With a defeated smile and a self-deprecating tone, Licht looked down and uttered such words, marking the end of his confession…
*clap*
“Nee~~, nee~~, what an incredible story! Yes~~!”
…or so he thought, but Ludovica had other plans and clapped once, forcefully grabbing everyone’s attention, before saying that and she was not done.
“You were so focused on saving your siblings that you never even thought to ask for my help back then. Non, non, non~~. Bad Licht~~! Bad!”
Indeed, for she made all the tension go away with her sudden return to a light tone and her casually wagging her finger at Licht like she was scolding a little kid.
“But are you able to provide me with proof, yes~~? After all, the words of a conspiring, manipulative, and sacrilegious prince are not to be simply trusted. Non, non~!”
She said as she waggled her finger at Licht once more.
Her words might have been hurtful, but, in the end…they were the truth.
He had conspired.
He had manipulated.
He had committed sacrilege.
All for the benefit of his plans.
Even if Ludovica had a certain relationship with him, regardless of how indirect or direct, it would not be enough to warrant trust.
His word had no value in the eyes of the Head of the Church and Ludovica Aldert.
And as Erevain looked at Licht with a concerned expression…
“There is proof.”
…Euphemia spoke up.
“When I was teleported, my brother and big sis Mary gave me these…”
In that moment, her bracelet lit up and many books, dossiers, and scrolls appeared on the ground, surprising Erica and Erevain. To put it simply, it was the proof Ludovica had asked for.
“…they were in a bag. His insurance. Sistina and Charles had already agreed with brother’s plan and knew about this. Brother kept sending more of them throughout the years and my attendants stored them away. They waited until I was old enough to understand their contents and the actions of my Father before giving them to me. And when that day finally came, I also understood why he made me promise something so strange as never becoming like him. He did all those terrible things and gathered so much…all to protect us and the Kingdom. Even if he knew that he would be no different from Father in the eyes of many. But he is wrong.”
“…?!”
The moment such firm declaration left her lips, Euphemia reached out for and pulled Licht into an embrace. One that Mary became part of soon after, with Erica following closely.
“He did what he thought was right…and thanks to him I am here. Alive and well.”
That clearly surprised him as his eyes widened before he started sobbing. And then…
““…?!””
“You…fools…just why…”
…someone else joined in that surprised Mary and Licht, but not Erica nor Euphemia. That person was Erevain.
She knew it too… even with all that proof their circumstances would never be the same again.
She knew that they would surely be separated again.
That they would most likely never share their times of joy and sadness, nor they would hear the voice of each other as close as they were at that moment.
That was why that embrace was important.
That was why no matter what whirlwind of feelings went on inside her heart, she would not let them go.
Yes…because at that moment they were all together once more.
They were…a family.
__________________________________________________
As she stopped reminiscing about that night, Ludovica had already finished doing her make-up and was now grabbing all the letters that she thought her best friend needed to read, those expressly addressed to her, and lastly, a certain piece of paper that was on her desk, one that had her signature and seal on it.
It was a document of special importance for those who were there that night.
It was the verdict that she and the rest of the Church reached.
The verdict that the nobles of the Kyrie Kingdom approved after reviewing the case and evidence presented by her and the accused.
It was a long, painful day that one.
The nobles were baffled, for the Prince was loved by many of them and the people...
Some were disappointed, some were rightfully angry, and others empathized with the accused.
Even some among those of the awakened nobles found themselves understanding Licht after seeing the full picture.
Baron Cuhalin being one of them.
But in the end an agreement was reached.
The sentence both powers agreed on would be carried by Ludovica herself.
Their fate was sealed.
Of course, the main instigators, the...cause of everything, the Traitor King and the two Dragon Lords had already been dealt with the harshest of punishments.
Death.
What she was judging was the reaction towards those actions.
The tragic, yet still punishable acts of people that had no apparent choice but to get involved.
To get…stained.
To darken themselves willingly for the sake of others...
They knew that even if they won, they would lose...
"Nothing will be the same for them..."
Her usual smile disappeared as she looked at the contents of it once more and then looked up at the painting that was hanging on the wall, a painting of a black-haired woman raising her silvery shield to protect the innocent.
"I am sorry, Theresa. Not only did I fail to fulfill my promise to you, but I also must punish one of your children and the girl you saved back then. If only I had been more observant…if only he had come to me—no, they made their choice knowing the consequences, just like you did when you protected all those people. Hehe…you…you really gave birth and raised quite the selfless children. All four of them."
And so, she smiled again with both nostalgia and heartache before looking away, storing the document in a storage bracelet and walking towards the door.
"Goddess, bath them with your blessings of love...for they might still be redeemed."
With that last prayer, she exited her quarters.
Shortly after, the allotted time came and the [Door] to her best friend’s personal space appeared, whisking not only Ludovica away, but also the two people who were closely following behind her, and while they were in handcuffs that had runes inscribed on them, their attires were what one would expect of people invited to a special dinner.
Those two people were Mary Ibaaru and Licht vi Kyrie.
Today was the day they would hear the verdict on their crimes and the sentence that would seal their fate, but not before sharing a meal with those who were their family.
That was the only thing Ludovica was able to do for them, for the woman who died upholding the values of not only the Church, but those of the people...and the dear friend with whom she shared many joys.
____________________________________
Meanwhile, deep inside the forest area of Auros’ personal space, a small child wearing a bunny hoodie seemed to be looking for something inside a small cave near a lake, all as she was using one of her incandescent hands as a torch.
"It is...fine. Come...do you want to play with...Ilya?"
So she asked to that which was hidden in the shadows before her, extending her small hand and smiling.
The shadows stirred as something, no, a little someone moved towards the girl and held her hand, answering with a…
"...yes."
To be continued...(cue Ludovica figure ad! Only for $999!) (The volume cannot end before we see this family's issues get completely resolved, right? But before that, Auros is...cooking something? UP NEXT: EPILOGUE 2: REVERSE ISEKAI COOKING AND ????)