59

“This is mind-blowing," Diantha whispered in a low voice, staring at Iris’s flying craft. “Still, making it a room is genius. Now, you don't have to worry about finding a place to sleep."

Iris, of course, did not puff out her chest in pride. “Hecate wanted a softer floor to sit on... and we went a little overboard. Let’s go.”

Slowly, the room-like thing flew up above the mansion and in Sangfroid’s direction. Iris unconsciously made a place to live, as she never had one in her life previously. She understood, to an extent, why she made it like this, even if she tried not to dwell on it too much. It was just a travelling thing.

“Iris,” Diantha called, breaking her out of the reverie. “There is a little favour I need from you."

“What is it?” Iris asked.

“There are currently six Level 5 Kights in Sangfroid. Of them, only one is mine. The other four belong to Laurent or Lambert. I want you to scare them away.”

"Sure." Iris nodded. She did not mind in the least, but it did raise a question. If Diantha needed her help, did that mean she wouldn’t be able to do it herself? “I am a little confused about something; of the three houses, you appear to be the weakest in terms of manpower and strength."

After she killed Jeremiah, she had not seen anyone significant in strength or charisma. Jasper was not a warrior in a straight battle, nor there were any level 5 knights in the Lancaster Estate worthy of note. They were all standard. The only one truly strong and significant was Hecate, with still leeway to grow in the future.

“You are not wrong. I’ve killed entire houses of nobles, from where almost all knight commanders come, so I lack as many or as capable commanders as Laurent or Lambert. It would change in a decade or so once the civilian children receiving the education grow up and become strong, responsible commanders that I need.”

“And what will you do once the war that you so dearly wish to start starts? Are you expecting some sort of miracle to hand you a victory?” Iris asked curiously.

Diantha smiled mysteriously. “Of course, what you have seen is a minuscule of my strength—in a head-on war, the battle will always end in a single sweep. They are pitiful compared to my might."

“I see…” Iris nodded. “You can sit,” Iris said. Diantha had been standing the entire time. It was awkward to see her standing like that.

“I am not quite sure as to sitting comfortably on the floor,” Diantha replied. “Standing is fine."

Iris chuckled. Those words, too, matched Diantha’s image perfectly. She did not say anything and flopped down.

….

Iris sat on a chair beside Diantha. They were in the inspector’s cleaned-out office, which now belonged to Diantha along with the rest of the castle. Diantha had taken her seat behind the large and luxurious desk.

On the other side, stood a man at the end of his life. He was currently the chief in charge of taking care of the administration work at Sangfroid.

“Mr. Trueman,” Diantha said as she read through the file, which detailed all the tasks performed by the old man. “I already see embezzlement of funds. Still, this place was corrupt, and the worst you’ve done is make people sleep with empty stomachs, which, by the standards of Gracia, is saintly. So, I’ll give you a chance for a change. As to how? That’s up to you. You have one month; prove to me that I should let you live. Else, you know very well how I operate."

The scared man nodded. His white beard was wet from all the sweat flowing from his face. He was barely stopping himself from shaking.

“That is all. If you can order all the knight commanders to come here, I would be grateful."

“At once, Lady Lancaster."

Man bowed and left, shutting the heavy wooden door with a nod.

“How do you expect him to prove it?" Iris asked after the man left.

“Starting with establishing any form of organization for the betterment of the city with the money that he, otherwise, shouldn’t be able to use in the next ten lives, after that... devoting to performing the task handed to him with utmost diligence. That is the bare minimum," Diantha paused, “And cutting off his connection to the Yan Empire. It seems they have taken root far deeper than I expected.”

Iris nodded.

After another fifteen minutes of waiting, during which Diantha went through some more documents—what document? Don’t ask an illiterate Iris. She yawned. “How long will they take?"

“Probably an hour... They are trying to show they do not respect the non-mage Duchess and refuse to follow the order. But if I do not call again, they will begin to panic as to what I might do and run here like scared little puppies. It’s just a tiring process of working with arrogant nobles,” Diantha looked at her, “Are you bored?"

“I am. Should I capture each of the knight commanders and bring them here? Would be fun,” Iris said, as she conjured thread, trying to show how she would capture them.

Diantha chuckled, “No. I want them to leave on their own accord, though I am sure you’ll have a few battles."

Iris nodded again and folded her legs. She decided to meditate until the knight commanders arrived.

…

She woke to the sound of the opening door. It was a tall woman in knight’s armour. Her blonde hair bounced with each step she took, a frown on her sharp face. She seemed ready to fight. She wore blue armour—wasn’t she Diantha’s knight? Iris expected her to greet, go to her knees, or do something, yet Knight did none of it. She stomped toward the desk and slammed her fist. “What is the meaning of this?"

“Is there a problem, Miss… Audrey?" Diantha asked, looking up from the file.

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“Clara handed me this!” She shoved the crumpled paper on the table. “I am freed of my duties; why?"

“Lord Jeremiah is dead. The emperor has already dispatched investigators for this matter; you’ll be cooperating with them,” Diantha replied, her eyes already returning to the file.

“Is that why? Because Lord Jeremiah proposed me to be in charge, you don’t trust me," Audrey’s jaw clenched.

“There’s no such thing as distrust in Knight’s legion, Audrey. If I feel you’re untrustworthy, then at best, I’ll strip you of your duties, and at worst, I'll strip you of your life. You’ll cooperate with the investigator and figure out the events leading to Jeremiah’s death. Once that is done, I’ll assign you a suitable job. That is all; you may leave,” Diantha intoned monotonously before shifting her attention to the files.

Audrey stared at Diantha for another moment, attempting to say something, but she left, slamming the door as she went out.

“You don’t trust her,” Iris said after she felt Audrey’s presence fade.

“I do. She's noble-born yet alive. That is my trust. She’s the only one suitable to assist the investigator, as Jeremiah favoured her; otherwise, the investigator will assume I’m trying to hide something. Audrey is Felix’s cousin—her mother was Felix’s mother’s sister."

“Is it going to be a big matter?"

“He was the empire’s general; of course, it will be a big matter; nothing to worry about, though. If anything, we’ll have an answer to why he tried to murder me,” Diantha replied, placing the file into a drawer.

“I believe the Labyrinth dweller promised him an escape and power, where he would need to worry about returning to the frontline on your whim,” Of course, she was throwing random jumble that she came up right at this moment. She did not care enough for Jeremiah to give him a thought beforehand.

“You might be a genius…” Diantha said with a smile. A smile that meant she was trying to be polite, “That’s about an hour. Let’s go into the backyard. I don’t have anything else to note here as of now. I am done sooner than expected. Now we can rush the dealings with knight commanders."

“Let’s go.”

Diantha took off her glove and spoke into the red ring, “I want every knight commander to be on the training ground in the next five minutes. And that is an order of the Grand Duchess,” She wore her gloves again. “Let’s go."

…

All the knight’s commanders were on the field before Iris and Diantha arrived.

Iris walked excitedly, and she, too, wished for some action. Of course, it's not killing anything. Those were the things that made her confused. She looked at Diantha, who had taken on the persona of the grand duchess, her face lacking emotions as they stepped into the courtyard.

“From today onwards, I’ll be taking over Sangfroid; by extension, I will be taking over the workings of public security as well as the military of Sangfroid. As such, you’re all freed of your duties. You can, of course, stay here for however long you wish and use the quarters and every facility available before for free, but that is all the power you are allowed to have. Other than that, you all are civilians in sangfroid, and overstepping any laws would be judged accordingly. Dismissed.”

Of course, none of the Knight Commanders moved from their spot, staring at Diantha with a gaping mouth, failing to find their poise. The first one to recover was an old man. Iris assumed he was the strongest and oldest. He was in red and gold armour, belonging to Laurent House.

“You cannot do that, Lady Lancaster. We can only be removed by our head of house and none else. That is the agreed-upon procedure."

“The agreed-upon procedure,” Diantha paced forward and stood before him. “Is Inspector’s words, and he’s dead. I have revoked his policies. And this is the declaration of the dissolution of the Knights commander appointment procedure," Diantha walked back to Iris’s side after giving him the letter.

“This letter is a declaration that you are willing to kick us out of our offices, and we are free to resist. Are we to assume you are accepting of this clause?” Knight said.

This was a clause added specifically for this situation by both Lambert and Laurent. They wanted to keep hold of public security from Diantha. Of course, they never expected this to happen, but their shrewdness did not allow them to simply turn a blind eye to this issue.

“That is true. That is why I have called you in the backyard. Here is Iris—you are free to challenge her to a dual."

The Knights did not immediately agree. Iris's lips twitched into a frown; she did not think they would be afraid to try their luck. She needed to do something. “I am more than willing to fight all five of you—at the same time,” Iris said, looking at Diantha. “You should step aside."

“You can come to me any time."

The knights summoned their blades and used the basic enforcement spells to boost their physical powers.

All the knights disappeared and the next moment, they were at her head from every direction. They could not coordinate with each other through voice; they most likely had sealed their ears for fear that she might name a spell. Iris tapped her heel, and purple sparks gleamed above the grassy land.

Shirk!

“Argh!” All the knights screamed at the same time and jumped back. Sparks danced around their bodies, and their expressions failed to hide the grimace at the pain.

“Are you giving up?” Iris asked, her voice filled with disappointment. “I was expecting a little more."

“Like hell!” The oldest knight rushed again. Others followed his lead. Iris’s smile widened. Their faces, however, were stricken with horror as the floor transformed into thousands of small circles.

Argh!

Argh!

aRGH!

Argh!

After another minute of torture, they passed out.

“Is that over?” Iris asked.

“It is. You won, so this matter is over. Let’s go.”

….

Diantha walked out of the room, leaving Iris and Winny to sleep. It was already night when they returned. Hecate was waiting for her outside. “Lady Diantha! I was searching for you."

“What is it, Hella?” Diantha asked warmly. She gestured for her to follow. They could talk in her office.

“Iris will leave tomorrow morning,” Hecate said. Her voice was low, lacking her energy. Her fist clenched.

“You wish to go with her?” Diantha asked. One glance, and she could tell what Hecate was thinking. Wanting to be with Iris was within Hecate’s nature. Iris was the first person, other than herself and Lady Ilona, that Hecate was truly close to. Hecate was aware of the badness of Iris’s condition, even if she was ignorant of the true horror.

“Yes…”

Diantha twisted the cold knob to her messy, filled, damp office door. She sat on the large, comfy, yet abhorrent seat. The same chair she had been using for eight years. “I don’t mind,” Diantha said, with a sigh.

“Really?!” Hecate jumped at her, clutching her in a warm and painful hug.

“Wait…” Diantha said as she patted Hecate’s back. She had grown so much. Diantha still remembered the day she picked her up in her arms. She was so small and weak. Her lips curled into a small smile. Is this how mothers felt when their children grew up? “First, I want to have an honest conversation with you."

“Right…” Hecate replied, not as lively. Hecate flopped on the floor, folding her legs, and looked up at her with those big, round eyes. Diantha still felt uncomfortable seeing the change. Red, fire, warmth—that was Hecate’s colour. Not this black. Neither the eye nor hair was something Diantha felt comfortable seeing. This depraved color was Dr. Fenroy’s doing. She knew he was veiled by Laurent. That was also the reason she was willing to start the war. That man’s very existence tainted Gracia from betterment.

Diantha took her hand and clasped Hecate’s face from both sides. “Are you having nightmares?” She asked, less kindly and a bit distant. Hecate refused to sleep with her; Diantha knew it was out of guilt, so she did not force her.

“No… I haven’t had one since... since the end of the tournament,” Hecate replied. Her eyes looked everywhere but hers.

“You’re lying,” Diantha intoned. “I cannot allow you to leave, Hecate, if you’re going to become a liability—she needs to look after."

Hecate squeezed her eye shut. She looked at her and said, “I’ve dreamt of killing her every night since then, but! It is not those magical dreams... It’s just, that I... I still want to see... her still,” Hecate barely whispered in the last part. Her jaw clenched as she held back her grief.

Diantha stared at her for a moment longer. What she wanted to know was, if Hecate tried to harm herself while they were not looking. "And have you had the vision of the raven?"

“No…” Hecate replied that she was not lying. “I am fine. More than I thought I would be. I want to go with Iris and Ianthe."

Diantha let go of her. “As I said, you’re free to go as long as you’re sure you’ll not be a burden for Iris. She is in no condition to look after you, even if I know she would if she needs to."

“I know; I want to help her."

Diantha agreed. Having Hecate with Iris would be reassuring, as little as it may be. “Ianthe? She cannot go." Diantha shook her head. Isolde was one of the worst humans in general; letting Ianthe out of Ilona’s sight would be disastrous.

“She talked with Master, and Master agreed to let Ianthe go as long as Iris agreed.”

“I see, and I assume you want me to convince Iris?"

Hecate’s face took the brightest smile Diantha had seen in a long time—far too long, for she couldn’t even bring herself to say no.