-2 days later-

“Your presence has been requested.”

Lucille blinked and placed the teacup she was holding on the table before her. A few moments ago, she had received word from a servant of the estate she resided in that someone would like to speak to her. So now, standing in front of her, was a man with his hands behind his back, dressed in the official uniform of the main wing of the Palace of Nine Pillars’ servants. That could only mean one thing.

“How soon should I visit?” she asked, prepared to leave at any moment.

“Within the half-hour,” the servant replied indifferently. “You are not expected to dress formally or bring anything due to the limited time frame in which the meeting may occur.”

It was unlikely the man in front of her would leak any details if he was the representative of whom she believed he was, but it was better to be careful. She glanced towards the door ‘nervously’, and then turned back to him. She hesitated a moment before asking a question. “Can I… bring my aide?”

He shook his head. “No. No guards are allowed to come either.”

She let out a short breath to calm herself and stood up. “Let’s go then. I don’t have anything to do right now.”

As the man nodded and left the room, Lucy followed him from behind. She briefly expanded her perception field to find Vincent working in another room, and then she sent him a spiritual transmission to alert him to what she was doing.

‘A messenger from the Palace’s main wing has visited me. I have to go alone, so don’t panic if you can’t find me. I don’t know when I’ll return.’

Vincent paused when he heard her message, and hesitation and unease warred on his face, but she watched him let out a sigh and give her a slow nod. With that response, she shrunk her perception and followed the messenger out of the building, where a coach with the insignia of the royal family sat before the front entrance. She got into the coach that was covered in a maze of strong protective enchantments, and the coach began moving as the coachman lifted the reigns of the magical horses. The messenger sat opposite her with his eyes closed, showing no intention to tell her anything more.

Lucille was going to visit the Emperor.

Well, she expected this. He would want an accurate understanding of her real personality before allowing her to return to the Gilded Dome plane, to ensure she didn’t become an unpredictable factor. He’d likely also want to make sure she had no intention of supporting Olden, which would be the last thing she would ever, ever do.

Without fail, every annoying uppity noble or mage she met in the past was from Olden. They were the plague of the Empire.

Radical and Olden were the Empire’s two strongest political factions. Olden, named after its connection to those who existed before the assimilation of the realm, proclaimed their firm support of the Empire’s traditional laws and customs, with a strong belief that it was these customs that allowed the Empire to keep its strength up to the present day.

Radical was formed after the assimilation of the realm and was a group that stood up for more progressive and new regulations and policies. They supported the idea of allowing commoners to hold more sway within the Empire and had been a main instigator of the Coalition’s eventual rise to power. Not to say any of them believed in a concept like democracy, however.

The Eternal Empire had a very different culture and societal structure than Earth, with the inheritance of power being something handed down through bloodlines and Constitutions, and physical power being a requirement for rulership. The authority granted by birthright wasn’t something they advocated to change.

But they did wish to allow the Empire to gain more control over the major Guilds and other commoner Factions of the different realms due to the combat ability they had, and so tried to instil goodwill among the commoners so they would form Factions that would be willing to work for and alongside them. Radical had seen a major rise to power after the creation of the Metal-Borne Coalition, becoming a true rival of Olden a few thousand years prior to Lucy entering the Tower.

Both political factions had forces in all four of the Supreme Institutions, although the Citadel of Fate chose to support people based on the reading of Fate, so their political alignments were considered more wishy-washy. Olden was the faction with fewer numbers, but around 70% of all high nobility, wizards and Archmages were part of it. Radical was larger but made of the less powerful lower nobility and influential commoners.

The middle-level nobility was roughly split into thirds, with a third being Olden, a third being Radical, and a third neutral. The neutral faction was what the Aurelian Commission was part of because as merchants, they didn’t want to lose out on any potential sources of revenue. The Commission’s four Counties, along with several Marquesses, were considered the leading figures of the neutral faction.

Although it was rumoured that the position of head of the neutral faction would be usurped by the Archduke in the coming years…

With coincidental timing, a massive estate covered by a sky-blue dome appeared outside her window, the carriage travelling past the Aethereal Duchy’s official residence in the Capital. It may have been called the ‘Aethereal Duchy' residence, but truthfully, it was the residence of only one person. The Septamere Duchy only had one bloodline member.

Before she could continue thinking about the Duchy, the carriage rolled past and the massive front gates of the Palace appeared. The carriage didn’t go through them but took a turn to take a side entrance. A little while later, the window revealed a view of the immense Palace of Nine Pillars, complete with the nine gemstone pillars that each resembled an eye colour of the royal family’s lineage. The Eterial royal family of the Eternal Empire were descended from nine individuals, and the traits of gem-like eyes were inherited through the generations. One lineage had died out though, so only eight eye colours could be inherited by the royal family’s descendants now.

The coach pulled to a stop, and the messenger exited. He offered his hand to help her step down which she took out of politeness, and then the man turned to face the entrance.

“Follow me,” he told her curtly, before walking forward.

Feeling slightly nervous, she followed him, making sure her perception field was smaller so nobody would have a chance of sensing it, and so she wouldn’t upset her soul’s stability by forcing her mental constructs to analyse the huge amount of mana contained within the Palace. They entered the building, walking down the long, ornately decorated hallways.

She had met Emperor Rodrigue before when she was Admiral. In her 15th year of being in the Navy, because of… an unusual situation that occurred back then, she was called to the Capital to be rewarded for her merits at a decennial military event hosted by the Empire. They had a short private meeting afterwards, where he wanted her personal report on the events of the Distorted Depths. Ten years later, she quit the Navy, and the Emperor abdicated only two years after that to retire on the Empire’s origin plane.

Which meant that personality-wise, she didn’t have much to go on. She knew he was very politically capable, as he was the first Emperor from Radical to ascend to the throne and a good ruler who formed policies to protect commoners from noble authority yet never created instability within the Empire. He was also charismatic and mostly well-liked by the nobility when political differences were ignored.

But none of this meant she knew what he’d be like to her, the ‘Commission Head’ and not an Admiral, and what he’d ask her, whether he would demand answers about her past, or if he’d want her to complete tasks in return for keeping her position.

The messenger turned a corner to take a narrower hallway which would contain fewer people, and she followed calmly. Then the messenger paused when they heard voices, and slowly walked forward to see two men discussing something while walking past.

One was a man dressed in military uniform, while the other man appeared in his mid-30s with brown hair and brown eyes. Her eyes widened slightly when she realised who the man was.

“-but the finance allocated for these levels of Main Army military operations is not high enough, so if you want to organise an Aberration Conquest in the Aethereal Duchy, you’ll need explicit permission from a General in the Duchy. I can put you in touch with one if you wish, however-”

The brown-haired man paused when he noticed them. He dipped his head to the messenger. “The Emperor is unoccupied. His Grace has just left the study.”

The messenger nodded, but then the brown-haired man gave her a curious look. “And… the new Count Goldcroft, I see.” He stepped forward with a smile as the military man next to him nodded politely to her. The brown-haired man held out his hand for her to shake, which she did. “Congratulations on your new Title. But I should introduce myself, as you probably don’t know me. I’m-“

“Count Daymar Bentsen,” she replied. She gave a slight shake of her head. “No, I know who you are. It wouldn’t be fitting of a noble of the Empire to be unaware of the aide of the Archduke.”

The man blinked, surprised, before smiling. “Well, I’m still flattered you know of me.” He glanced at the messenger and then nodded. “I won’t keep you here for any longer. It was a pleasure meeting you, Count Goldcroft, and…” He gave her a strange smile. “I look forward to enjoying a longer conversation with you when we next meet.”

Count Bentsen and the man from the military walked off, continuing their discussion. She watched him go cautiously but followed after the messenger.

He’s probably referring to tomorrow when I’ll have to go to the Archduke’s estate to meet him. But if he’s here… is the Archduke here as well?

She looked around but didn’t see any sign of the man with long, white hair. She felt slightly relieved by that fact, as over the past two days, she had been getting increasingly worried about why she felt so uncomfortable about the Archduke.

Archduke Stolas Eterial wasn’t a bloodline member of the royal family. The Archduke had been given the surname of the royal family by the Emperor, so he was technically adopted into the royal family. That was why he was an ‘Archduke’ rather than ‘Grand Duke’, having no bloodline connection to them. It was also why his fiefdom was only a ‘Duchy’ rather than ‘Archduchy’. His title of Archduke wasn’t inheritable by his descendants, and so if he had any, they would have the last name Septamere as well as only the Title of ‘Duke’. All this was why one of his other Titles was ‘Foreign Prince’.

But she didn’t know that much about him, besides what personality most of the nobility described him as having. A passive person who didn’t have much interest in things outside his Duchy besides his job of improving relations between the Empire and other realms, especially the Heavenly Realm. Politically capable and on good terms with the Emperor. An incredibly talented user of the high-level element of Aether, someone who used barriers to protect his domain. Polite and well-mannered to all nobles, regardless of status. The youngest sovereign Duke ever, at just under nine years from turning two and a half centuries old.

Now that Lucy was considering it though, his description almost sounded too perfect. Normally a few rumours about someone always leaked out when it came to high nobles, but she couldn’t remember ever having heard a single bad thing about him. That event Vincent described about the fire Archmagus also seemed like it had a justified reason for occurring. But even if he secretly had a terrible personality, that didn’t explain why she felt he was so familiar.

The messenger came to a stop before a fancy carved door, and she was shaken out of her thoughts. Two armoured guards were on either side, barring the door with their blades.

The messenger turned around and bowed to her, then stepped to the side for her to go through. “You will enter this room alone,” he said.

Giving him a shaky nod to keep her image, she straightened her white gloves as the two guards removed their weapons from the door. It swung inward, revealing two people, one brown-haired man in a chair with sapphire-like eyes, and a standing man in his mid-50s with black and greying hair.

Lucille walked forward with rigid, awkward movements, and kneeled, keeping her head low so she wouldn’t make eye contact with either of them.

“L-Lucille Adrienne Goldcroft greets the Emperor of the Eternal Empire,” she said, trembling slightly.

Through her perception field, she saw the Emperor watch her curiously, then trade glances with the man next to him. The Emperor held his chin thoughtfully. “If Harpax Extermina had this level of ability to hide his real emotions, I dare say the Empire would already be in dire straits,” he remarked with amusement.

“We should certainly count our blessings when it comes to that one,” the man beside him replied wryly.

“Indeed.” The Emperor gave her another curious glance, then waved his hand. “Well, I don’t believe we could have any meaningful conversation with this manner of behaviour, so how about we lose our masks and speak properly to one another now, Count Goldcroft?”

There was a pause before the trembling of her limbs stopped. Her stiff movements relaxed and became fluid and regulated, and the tone of her skin returned to its usual colour. She lost her nervous expression and instead, a calm smile appeared on her face. She dipped her head in a bow, this time a confident and self-assured one, with no awkward movements. Lucille looked up and made eye contact with the Emperor, a wide smile on her face as her eyes narrowed.

“Then, let me introduce myself properly, Your Majesty,” she replied. “I am Lucille Adrienne Goldcroft, the new Faction Head of the Aurelian Commission.” Then she looked at the man standing next to the Emperor and gained a slight smirk. “And I greet you as well, Prime Minister Hepherson Ashthrope.”

The Emperor tilted his head slightly. “I had almost thought Count Evisenhardt had been exaggerating when I had seen how you’ve been acting this past week, but it’s evident he told me no lies regarding your abilities.” Then he narrowed his blue eyes at her. “But it’s yet to be seen if he’s lied about other details relating to you.”

Her smile only widened. “I’m ignorant of what you discussed with Count Evisenhardt, so you may have to enlighten me on what particular details you’re interested in, Your Majesty.”

Prime Minster Ashthrope held his chin, gazing at her with curiosity, while the Emperor showed no reaction.

“Hmm.” The Emperor tapped his fingers on the armrest of his chair, then seemed to make up his mind about something and shake his head. “Let us start with the less important details. Do you happen to know the location of your home world?” he asked seriously.

She shook her head. “Unfortunately, the System prevented any attempts to discover my world’s location in relation to the planes. I doubt the Empire will be able to locate my home world until it’s been assimilated.”

“Disappointing, but expected, considering the Citadel and Astrologers both revealed that they were unable to find your origin,” the Emperor said. He gestured to the man beside him.

The Prime Minister took out a sheet of paper. “Now, Count Goldcroft,” he began. “Out of all the Archmagus, Archmages and Wizards in the Athenaeum reported missing or dead over the past over 200 millennia…” He smirked as he looked up from the page. “None have been documented to have your characteristics or ability to use soul magic.”

If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

Lucille grinned slightly. “It’s not mandated that a magic user must join All-Aeon Athenaeum, and there have been past examples of people reaching the pinnacle of magic without going through official channels.”

“Even so…” The Prime Minister considered it and shook his head. “Well, I suppose it’s not important. Instead, what is important…” He looked at the man on his right.

“Lucille Goldcroft,” the Emperor stated solemnly. “Do you intend to break the Aurelian Commission’s neutrality policy?”

Her expression went serious, and she shook her head. “No. The Commission is needed to balance the conflict between Radical and Olden. Changing its position would strengthen either faction to levels that would cause instability within the Empire.”

“But that doesn’t inform me of your personal agenda,” the Emperor said with a stern expression. “So, tell me… what do you want?”

She fell silent for a few moments in the expectant silence, and then slowly replied, her face expressionless. “What I want is to obtain personal power that can let me stand among the many members of the Empire and realms as an individual and not just the leader of a Faction. The Commission is only a shield until I believe I have the power I desire. Then I will take matters into my own hands.”

“So you’re saying you won’t interfere with the central Empire’s politics until you’ve reached this level of power you want,” the Prime Minister said.

She dipped her head. “That is correct, sir.”

The two men traded glances, some unspoken message passing between them.

“Very well,” the Emperor stated. “We will wait to ask you this again. Instead, let us discuss in detail the plans you have for the Commission and the nobility’s potential response to these changes….”

…

Lucille left the Emperor’s study soon afterwards. The timeframe they could have a meeting was small, so they couldn’t talk for long. But it was enough for Lucy to plant a seed in the minds of the Emperor and Prime minister that the ‘power’ she wanted to regain was her status as an Archmage. Becoming an Archmage could take as long as 10 to 30 years depending on the talent of the individual, so the Emperor likely thought it would take at least that long before she’d begin using her status as the Head of the Aurelian Commission. In reality, the ‘power’ she wanted to gain would take a lot less time, if she was careful.

And she didn’t plan on abandoning the Commission once she earned that ‘power’. The Faction was too useful for her to do that. She needed political backing as well as individual power if she ever wanted a chance at defeating the Hero.

But it seemed the Emperor was now sure she was older than she appeared. She was aware he would find a way to determine her age for certain, but she had detected the presence of Leng Xiuying behind a wall and had felt the faint whisper-like sensation of the Sect Leader’s spiritual sense brush over her. The woman had quickly retracted her spiritual sense once she had detected Lucy’s soul, having seen her soul age and that her soul was strong enough that she couldn’t analyse her strength, but Lucille believed she must be revealing what she discovered to the Emperor. As the Emperor, Prime Minister and Leng Xiuying now believed she was a reincarnated Archmage, that was the image she must uphold.

The first and most important task before she returned to the Commission’s Headquarters was now complete. Normally, that would remove most of the stress she felt, but the second task…

The next day she would meet with Archduke Stolas Septamere Eterial to negotiate a deal, and she was determined to discover just why his very presence triggered such a strong sense of repudiation in her.

…

-The next day-

The door of Lucille’s carriage swung open and she stepped out, faced with the towering white building in front of her. The carriage had passed through the Aether wards shielding the estate with ease and the blue-armoured guards and gatekeepers had formally saluted the carriage as it entered through the gates, demonstrating the fact that she was permitted to visit the Archduke that day. A fountain spraying mana-imbued water into the air sat in the centre of the estate’s front paved entranceway. Straightening her black half-mask and white gloves, she climbed up the steps of the white and grey mansion. The frosted blue and pale white glass was set into the windows.

The tall double doors made of white wood were opened to allow the staff easy access into and out of the building. Two men servants on either side of the doors spotted her and one stepped forward.

“Count Goldcroft?” he asked.

She nodded and took out her violet pocket watch for them to Inspect, where he nodded back and then gestured with a hand to the entrance hall behind him. “This way please, your ladyship.”

She followed the servant as his partner walked behind her, guiding her to where she would find the Archduke. She looked around the place to pass the time and also for her own interest. The ornaments were tasteful and matched the curtains, wallpaper, and carpets' blue, white, and silver décor. None of them were gaudy or flashy, nor were they releasing extravagant waves of mana in a show of power. For a high-noble, it was quite bland. It seemed the Archduke wasn’t very materialistic and didn’t care much for objects or decorations.

She was led down the main hallway until a familiar man with brown hair crossed their path. He looked up and smiled when he saw Lucy.

“We meet again, Count Goldcroft. It was quite coincidental to have that meeting yesterday, wasn’t it?”

He dismissed the servants with a wave of his hand as she smiled and gave him a polite dip of her head. “It was, indeed, Count Bentsen. I don’t believe we should consider the accidental crossing of our paths a true meeting, however.”

Count Bentsen chuckled and gestured down the hallway. “No, I suppose not. Let me lead you to the room where we will meet with the Archduke.”

She nodded in agreement and followed him, the Count talking happily to her in the meantime.

“It was unexpected for us to find a letter from the Aurelian Commission Head herself appearing on the Archduke’s desk when the Duchy’s weekly letters were delivered,” he began cheerfully. “After all, there has been no word of anyone receiving a message straight from the new leader of the Commission.”

“Well, until I had met the Emperor, I was not allowed to go to any public events, so I would always have to have been constrained by the walls of the Commission,” she replied with a smile. “There wouldn’t have been much reason for me to contact anyone before the banquet.”

He gave her a slightly wry grin. “So, you mean to say that Vincent Evisenhardt isn’t the one all correspondence between the central nobility and the Commission should go through?”

She smirked and shook her head. “I never said that.”

“Hmm.” He looked at her curiously but moved on. “Well, I have nothing to say on the rumours of the Aurelian Commission Head’s status within the Commission, whether they be true or not. But is it possible that I may know what you plan to discuss today? Not that I want the deeper details, as they should be saved for when His Grace is with us.”

“Ah. Well, the main reason I wanted to organise a meeting with Archduke Eterial is because I intend to strengthen the neutrality position of the Aurelian Commission,” Lucy explained. “While the relationships between the other Duchies and the Commission are relatively firm, the connections between the Commission and the Aethereal Duchy are less formalized.”

“And so, you want to negotiate a few deals to strengthen these connections?” he said thoughtfully. “I can understand your reasoning. The Aethereal Duchy could indeed benefit from more economic involvement from the Aurelian Commission as well. I believe this may be possible, depending on the specifics of this arrangement, and on the will of the Arch-”

Count Bentsen paused when he saw someone standing in the hallway in front of them and bowed. “Your Grace.”

She stiffened slightly as she saw who it was and then bowed, a fist pressed against her chest in the Empire’s traditional salute. “It is an honour to meet you, Your Grace. I am Lucille Goldcroft, the Head of the Aurelian Commission.”

“You may raise your head,” she heard him say. “It is a pleasure to meet you too, Count Goldcroft.”

She sped up her thoughts to analyse the man in front of her.

The man known as Archduke Stolas Septamere Eterial appeared like he was only around 25-26. He was wearing the imperial-style formal jacket worn only by royalty, made of sky-blue fabric – the Duchy’s official colours – with silver fastenings and tassels to secure it. He wore a cloak of white and silver over one shoulder, and his hands were covered by white silk gloves. He had no visible weapon or sheath attached to his belt, appearing completely unarmed, although it would be a disastrous mistake to believe he was defenceless.

His eyes were a near-neon bright blue that seemed to watch her movements with piercing acuteness. The Archduke was tall, very tall. Lucy was five foot five in height, but he stood head and shoulders over her even then, which would put him at over six foot seven. The average height of people in the Tower was higher than on Earth due to Rank-3s and above having the ability to change their appearance, so he was only somewhat taller than normal for the realms, but he still had an intimidating appearance as his physique didn’t suggest he was the pure Aether manipulator he was spoken of to be.

As for his looks… she couldn’t think of a more proper descriptor than ‘gorgeous’, as much as it was strange to apply it to a man. His androgynous appearance made him a striking figure, although the impression wasn’t helped by his long white hair that reached mid-way down his back. She couldn’t associate his features with a human.

Half of his blindingly white hair was pinned back, the rest falling over his shoulders. She had heard he was known as a desired partner for many noble women of the Empire, but he was still single after 242 years of his life, with no rumours of him ever being entangled with someone. She didn’t know why he kept his current young appearance if he didn’t want to have a relationship with anyone.

In summary, Lucille felt like something was very, very, extremely wrong about the man in front of her, and every single one of her thought strands was telling her to get away from him.

I also still can’t shake this distinctly strong sensation that I’ve seen him before. But I am certain I have had no interaction with him nor appeared at any events he was present at.

Actually, he almost looks like an exact replica of that portrai-

She hesitated as she considered her thoughts.

Haven’t I… thought… that… before…?

She set one of her major thought strands to pilot her body while she considered the problem in more detail. “I’m glad to hear those words from you, Your Grace.”

The Archduke only had a calm smile as Count Bentsen spoke to his lord. “Your Grace, do you intend to begin our discussions in the main sitting room?”

The white-haired man glanced at him, nodded, and then turned around to walk down the hallway without another word.

Lucy watched as Count Bentsen gained a slightly strange expression in response to the Archduke’s actions, but he quickly schooled it into a smile as he turned to her. “Then, let us have our discussion there before we have refreshments.”

She returned his smile, mentally noting the brown-haired man’s reaction. “If that is what has been arranged.”

She walked next to Count Bentsen as he followed the Archduke. “Have you accustomed yourself to the ways of the central nobility yet, Count Goldcroft?” the Count asked.

“Some of it has been tiring, but for the most part I’ve had no struggles,” she replied, trying to ascertain why she felt déjà vu about her thoughts.

My thought strands have registered that I’ve thought that before, but my memory contains no records of that occurring to me before this. All the data comparison strands tell me he shares many similarities with another individual, but for some reason, a cohesive image of the individual keeps failing to be recreated by my other thought strands. That’s not a symptom of an unstable soul, so why…

“Is that due to the support of the four Counties?” Count Bentsen asked curiously.

“They have been helpful, but the credit mostly belongs to my aide,” she responded.

The level of familiarity is far too high for it to just be an error, but the information I’m getting seems to be making my thought strands very disturbed or scared in some way. Even before my return, I can’t think of something that would cause me to feel that way. And this growing headache...

“It seems the relationship between you and your aide isn’t quite as different to what you both portray as I suspected,” the man beside her said, giving her a sideways glance.

Let’s put aside my emotional changes and assume I do know him for now… why would I be unable to remember who he is?

“Vincent Evisenhardt is my aide, in all understandings of the word.”

It can’t just be that I’m forgetting something, because I don’t-

She stiffened up for a moment as her eyes widened, then she sped up her pace slightly as they continued walking towards the room, following the Archduke.

I don’t forget anything! It’s impossible for me! That’s the core reason why this entire situation has felt so wrong! I’m being influenced by a thought and memory-altering effect!

Now aware that her own thoughts and memories had been compromised, every single one of her core personality matrix’s thoughts was thoroughly analysed by her thought strands under accelerated speed by applying her mental power, working through the splitting headache that had formed in the meantime. She double-checked everything in her panic, trying to make sure she missed nothing that could be a clue.

Lucy released a sigh of relief when she finally determined that nothing was being changed right then. It seemed it only occurred when she focused on the Archduke and the incongruities she felt.

“I see,” Count Bentsen said. “Then I’ll take your words into account if the negotiations proceed smoothly and further contact with the Commission is required.”

She nodded distractedly, feeling highly disturbed.

But what kind of thought manipulation is this? It’s not intrusive enough to make me unaware of the effect, but I still can’t form any connections that could give me insight into what the issue is. And the e-emotions I’m feeling from my lesser thought strands are beginning to get overwhelming for m-my consciousness…

Count Bentsen gave her a strange look, but she didn’t notice. He tilted his head slightly. “Did your meeting with the Emperor go well?”

“It was successful,” she said. Then she paused, feeling slightly stunned at what she said because the results of a private meeting with the Emperor were not something she was supposed to reveal to anyone.

And it seemed Count Bentsen had asked her that on purpose as a test because he slowed his walking to turn to her with a slight frown. “Count Goldcroft, are you well? You’ve been acting a bit dazed.”

“O-Oh, ah…” She internally winced as her headache increased in intensity, before replying, “N-No, I’m fine. I’ve just been a little tired from this week’s events.”

He studied her but didn’t seem satisfied by her answer. “Are you certain? We could postpone this meeting if you’re truly not feeling well.”

“No, this meeting will not be postponed,” a voice interrupted.

They turned to look at the Archduke, who was looking back at them. “Count Goldcroft has no need to leave, and is fine.”

Lucille was feeling very nervous about the fact the Archduke had chosen to interrupt them only when the prospect of her possibly getting away from him was brought up, but Count Bentsen had a very slight frown when he heard the Archduke’s response. Eventually, he sighed and dipped his head. “As you wish, my lord.”

The Archduke continued onwards without a word as soon as he heard the response, leaving Count Bentsen and her to follow after him in a slightly uneasy silence. Count Bentsen didn’t try to continue the conversation, seemingly preoccupied by his liege’s strange behaviour, frowning at the man.

And Lucille was preoccupied with the sensation of mind-splitting pain pounding inside her head, her headache having increased to the point she was struggling to think.

I can’t- I can’t think straight. My thoughts are fragmenting before I can collect them back together. Any time I try to associate the sparse few details I can keep consciously thinking about, the pain increases and scatter- scatters them into… into pieces. E-Every time I try to c-connect two thoughts, t-this damn headache keeps b-blocking more thought, especially when I think a-about that portrait and that realm and that m-meeting and why can’t I just ASSOCIATE them with this PERS-

Every single one of her thoughts froze to a halt as one single word resonated with her.

Association..? Assoc- Association?! No, I know what this is! This is an Association Limiter! I can’t associate anything because the very construct connected to my soul is preventing it!

Association Limiter?! The System is interfering with my mind? It doesn’t want me to recognise this person- why doesn’t it want me to recognise this person?!? What am I getting involved in right now?!?!

Her hands felt clammy as she clenched them tightly, the pain in her mind being tossed aside as anxiety and confusion took its place to near-overwhelm her. Her normal ability to suppress her emotions with her thought strands was failing, and she focused on several sentences to keep herself fully aware of what was happening to her. Instinctually, she knew her heightened emotional state wasn’t because of her own doing, but she was barely able to keep a grip on her thoughts right now.

The System- the System is- is preventing me from thinking about something. I won’t be able to associate anything because of it. There is nothing I can do about this situation right now unless I discover what’s going on with the Archduke and find out why it doesn’t want me to recognise him, but I can’t, because of the limiter. And I can’t do anything to remove the limiter until I work out what’s wrong with the Archduke. This… I can’t resolve this! I’m just going around in circles!

She rubbed her temples and ignored the worried look Count Bentsen gave her. The Archduke didn’t pay them any attention, walking onwards.

And it’s affecting my emotions now. This isn’t good. I need to work this out before I lose recollection of all concrete facts about this situation. I’ve dealt with the Association Limiter before, I just need to do it again. I can still remember how I went about it, so none of my past memories are changing…

The silence drew on as Count Bentsen glanced between her and the Archduke.

The Association Limiter works the same as an info lock. It will be impossible to break unless complete and undeniable fact is placed before the individual. I already know something is extremely off, I’ve reached the first step. I just need to see one more key detail before I can fully break it. But to do that, I’d need something capable of detecting the System, so I’ll be able to see past any disguise the System has set up through Influence. But any object like that can’t be found until the 7th realm. An object like that is…

But there was one item she had that was capable of seeing Influence, the medium for skills. One object she had decided to put aside researching until she had the power to do so. An object called {The Shard of Totality}.

She hesitated as she considered the idea.

But if it did help me break through the limiter, that would mean this shard in my eye has a level of power close to the… No, that’s not important. I have no other option if I want to understand what’s wrong.

She glanced at the Archduke and took a breath.

Here goes nothing.

She took her internal mana, making sure none escaped her body in a way that could alert the two men near her to her mana manipulation, and moved it into her right eye, allowing her to see through her mask.

At first, nothing happened, but with the feeling of her soul grating against its very self, her perception was opened up to a new sense and her vision distorted and twisted. The fabric of the world frayed and bent, rearranging itself to reveal the links and connections of intertwined cause and effect, stretched out over distances immeasurable with her mind. A new image transposed itself over her sight, revealing the hidden aura of the Archduke.

At first, she could see the sky-blue hue of the high-level element of Aether around him, blending in with the lower-element version of itself, the non-elemental mana around them. But with the straining of her mind, that vision was erased to reveal the chaotic red energies tinged with flashes of black, the fierce aura pressing down on the spiritual energy surrounding them.

And the white hair of the Archduke- no, not white hair, but was now black-as-night hair transformed, falling past his waist. The constant pressure that had been on her mind which she hadn’t even noticed had been suffocating her thoughts released, and her mind broke free of the mental shackles with a hallucinatory sound of shattering, the pain gone. She instantly made the connection.

Oh… no, no, no, no! There were still three months left! I don’t want to deal with him again so soon! No wonder I felt something was strange, change the hair and eyes and the Archduke looks exactly like him. He even has the hair colour that the demon is supposed to have. This is bad. I need to finish these negotiations before he realises I know who he-

But then her eyes widened as the shard acted again. The Archduke’s image was reverted back, the red aura withdrawn. Instead, the sky-blue aura made its reappearance but morphed and structured itself into plates of blindingly brilliant semi-translucent armour, interlocking and overlapping to cover the Archduke from the shoulders down.

And in the same fashion as what she had seen when she received the shard, within the armour mechanical cogs of illusory material whirred and turned, threaded through by white-blue chains ascending up through unseen layers of the realm, the immaterial armour functioning as small parts of a much larger, much more powerful, invisible mechanism and construct of unknown origins. Placed over the Archduke’s heart was an instrument made of the same cogs, beating in sync with the rhythmic workings of the armour.

There was only one individual she had managed to obtain information of in her deep delving into the Obelisk Repository that had such a fundamental, intricate connection to the very System itself.

Ah...... crap. He’s the Authorizer.

There was no way she was leaving this place peacefully.

Can I run now? Is it too late to back out? Oh, who am I kidding, it was too late to back out the second I stepped into this building. Am I able to erase my memories? No, I can’t even do that, my accelerated thoughts mean I’ve generated far too many memories to resolve it so simply. I’d be affecting my consciousness permanently if I did that.

She stiffened up slightly when Count Bentsen finally looked at her, the three of them coming to a stop in front of a door. “Here we are, Count Goldcroft. In around half an hour we’ll take a break to have tea, and then we can further discuss-”

“Count Bentsen.”

Lucy and the Count paused when they heard the Archduke speak up and turned to him. The Archduke wasn’t facing them, his gloved hands held behind his back.

“You won’t be needed for this discussion, so you can leave us to continue your work. I will continue the negotiations with Count Goldcroft.”

Lucille’s thoughts froze when she heard what the Archduke said, but Count Bentsen just gazed silently at his lord for a while. The Archduke didn’t look back. The man bowed with a sigh. “Yes, Your Grace. If that is what you wish.”

Count Bentsen smiled and nodded at Lucille. “It was a pleasure to meet you, Count Goldcroft. I look forward to when we will meet again.”

She gave him a slightly strained smile in return, dipping her head and wishing she could ask him to stay. “…likewise, Count Bentsen.” She went to turn around as the man left.

If the Count leaves it will be… just me and… him. That’s… not good. That’s not good at all. What does he want with me? …is he asking the Count to leave so he can kill me? I should’ve put a clause in the contract stating he can’t kill me, but then I’m not even sure it would work with a clone-type skill like-

She froze as she realised the Archduke had turned around and was staring at her. She didn’t move as he tilted his head slightly, no expression on his originally calmly smiling face.

“You know who I am,” he said.

It was not a question. It was a statement. He was aware, without a doubt, that she had broken through the Association Limiter.

But she couldn’t just admit it so easily, as she was unaware of how he would react.

She gave him a wide smile, hands behind her back. “Your Grace, I’m not sure what you mean. Are you referring to your status? Then yes, I’m aware that you’re the Arch-”

The words died on her lips as the Archduke disappeared from her vision, and she felt a gloved hand slip around her neck, the Archduke reappearing right in front of her. His eyes, while not having the large glowing irises of his main body, had turned the same brilliant ruby-red that could only indicate he was emitting strong killing intent. He lowered his head to whisper into her ear as he tightened his grip on her neck.

“Did you think that was the response I wanted to hear, Goldcroft?” he hissed icily. His hand began to squeeze harder.

“…no, Your Majesty,” she managed to get out, feeling choked.

There was a tense silence as neither of them moved, but then he slowly pulled back his hand and straightened up with a cold expression. He turned around and walked off.

“Follow me.”

She quietly followed the Archduke as he had ordered and internally, Lucille sighed as she switched off her expression regulator.

Time for a deal with the Demon Emperor…. take two.