「Yup, that's a boss fight room if I ever saw one.」

Straf stares up at the large double doors Cycelia has lead him to, nodding his head with his fists on his hips.

「A… What room?」

Cycelia glances at Straf with nervous eyes and narrowed lips, and quietly asks.

「It's hard to explain. Forget it for now.」

Straf shrugs his shoulders and walks up to the doors, placing his palms on each them.

「And… Hup!」

Straf gives the doors a rough shove, and they swing open with massive impetus, causing a gust of wind to blow the dust on the floor away. A grim-looking middle-aged man sits upon a throne across the room, with only a single guard beside him staring at Straf with a tight-lipped grimace.

「See? I told you he'd be here.」

Straf says, grinning at Cycelia. He looks closer at the throne. The usurper is dressed in a purple cloak, a golden crown rests on his head, and he holds his sword in a similar fashion as the old man from the painting, displaying its blade to Straf. Where one would expect the old man's warm smile, there is only a scornful frown.

Straf takes a step forward, and Cycelia peeks into the room. She immediately gasps in shock, looking with eyes wide open at the dark-red carpet stretching all the way to the throne's steps.

「…This carpet used to be white.」

Cycelia mumbles in shock, still staring at the floor.

「So? He changed the carpet out, big deal.」

Straf shrugs, taking a quick glance at the carpet before returning his gaze to the terror-stricken Cycelia.

「Straf… It's the same carpet.」

Cycelia shakily turns her head to Straf, looking at him with giant, dread-filled emerald eyes, and lips tightly pressed together.

「…So he recolored it.」

Straf grimaces, then shrugs, and walks into the room. Cycelia hesitates to follow him in, but when she catches a glimpse of the man on the throne, she almost jumps in, albeit refusing to walk on the carpet. She opts to follow beside Straf on the stone floor, she warily looks around as she passes the massive, chiseled stone pillars on the sides.

「Welcome, princess. It's been a while, hasn't it?」

The usuper king says in a loud voice, echoing across the throne room. Straf and Cycelia stop just short of the center of the room.

「Count Bellatis. How dare you wear the royal regalia? Haven't you a shred of shame!?」

Cycelia's expression changes. Though she is visibly on edge, indignance fills her green eyes, and her pink lips twist into a scowl. She shouts back a question, ignoring the usurper's facetious welcome.

「Shame? Shame? You dare talk about shame? The Redwing dynasty?」

Count Bellatis leans forward in apparent injury to his honor. He grips at the armrest in anger, glaring at Cycelia below the throne. Straf opens his mouth.

「More importantly, aren't you going to-」

Thud!

A booming echo of the doors slamming shut resonates across the throne room, interrupting Straf's question towards the count. Straf snaps his fingers and points at the count.

「…Do that. Nice, classic. Never gets old.」

Straf grins, nodding his head in approval as Cycelia looks over her shoulder in terror. She does her best to regain her brave expression, but it gets increasingly more difficult as three men and a spearwoman walk out from behind the pillars close to the throne.

Clap clap clap clap clap.

「Oh! How long have you been practicing that!? That was perfectly synchronized! This is already getting good!」

Straf points at the mercenaries, and starts clapping with a massive grin.

「…I was wondering, where are your guards.」

Cycelia glares with disdain at the smugly smiling count. With his elbow on the armrest, he stares with bored gaze at Straf and Cycelia as he props his head up on his hand.

「Did you really think I'd only have the captain of the guard with me? I have figured the riot was a distraction, but ignoring it would be just as dangerous, as if I were to be left completely unguarded.」

The count explains the guards' response was planned, as he points his hand to the young captain of the guard beside his throne, and sweeps it across the mercenaries below.

《Oh shit, oh shit, oh shit, oh shit, oh shit. Do I run? Do I fight? Do I pretend to fight? Do I just let mercenaries handle it and cheer on them? This guy looks like bad fucking news, why didn't I just become a fucking baker!?》

The captain of the guard thinks as he stares at Straf with a tight-lipped grimace, gulping nervously.

「Straf… That woman… She's dangerous, I recognize her…」

Cycelia leans in and whispers into Straf's ear, staring at the golden-haired spearwoman. She scoffs with a smug smile when she sees Cycelia whispering.

「Hold on! One, two, three, four… That's an even, but!」

Straf exclaims, then rubs his chin as he counts the mercenaries in front of them.

「But! This guy is obviously not a physical fighter! Making this whole group actually an odd number! Which means…」

Straf points at the robed mercenary, and glances to his side. A partially transparent, masked man in leather armor is leaping at Cycelia with a dagger in hand, ready to strike her in the neck.

Thwack!

On a reflex, Straf swats him with a backhand blow to the face, and the man is sent flying in the direction of the throne with a meaty sound of impact. He bounces off the floor, and almost slams into one of the mercenaries, but the mercenary jumps out of the way just in time before the assassin can become a bowling ball.

Thud!

The man slides into a wall with force, and remains perfectly still for a moment. His partial invisibility dissipates.

「…So much for his plan.」

A bearded man with a massive axe comments.

「…Hey, orphanage boy! Have you bought it!?」

The golden woman peeks over her shoulder at the leather-armored man.

「-Hrark!」

He spits out blood, and starts coughing. He rolls over on his stomach, coughing and spitting as he's trying to recover from the blow on all fours.

「…Guess not. Yet.」

The woman shrugs her shoulder and scoffs with a smirk, now attentively looking at Straf.

「So you first murder my family, then you murder my people, then you pilfer my coffers to hire mercenaries against me? You shameless wretch. Is there no low too low for you!?」

Cycelia glares with pure hatred in her eyes at the usurper king, and he scoffs with an amused smirk, straightening out.

「Low? Good idea, you and your mercenary are in the king's presence after all. Kneel.」

Count Bellatis commands as he glares with hateful eyes at them.

「Straf is not a mer-」

Cycelia protests, but stops in the middle of her sentence.

「Make me.」

Straf scoffs, smirking at the count as he stands tall and proud with his fists on his hips.

「I said kneel.」

The usurper king commands again, even more forcefully than before. He stands up and walks down the steps just one pace in front of his mercenaries.

「I said make me.」

Straf shrugs, still staring at the usurper with an amused smirk.

「Lia, you believe this guy? Thinks he can just-」

Straf glances at Cycelia while pointing his hand at the count, and sighs heavily.

「Lia…」

Straf calls out to Cycelia with a disappointed grimace, as she's kneeling on the ground with one knee. His arms slump limp.

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「…Huh?」

She blinks, and looks up at Straf.

「Come on, get up. Good grief, you really need to be more assertive.」

Straf gestures his head, and Cycelia looks down at her legs.

「…I can't.」

She blinks puzzledly at her legs, propping herself up with her hands on her knee as if she was about to stand up, but doesn't.

「What do you mean you can't? Just get up, he's not going to do shit to you. Come.」

Straf grabs Cycelia's hand, and pulls her upward. She does everything to remain kneeling.

「Tsk. Lia, you're just doing this on purpose, aren't you?」

Mildly frustrated, Straf places his fists on his hips again and asks with a tilted head.

「No! My legs- I can't stand up! I feel them, I can move them, but I just…」

Cycelia exclaims as she appears to be trying to push herself upwards to no effect.

「Surprising. I expected there would be someone capable of resisting my blessing. You must have a lot of trust in your mercenary, both in his capabilities, and his loyalty.」

The usurper king glares at Straf in silence for a few moments.

「He is not a mercenary! He's a gentleman and a hero!」

Cycelia shouts at the usurper, slapping the stone floor in anger.

「Really? Tell me young man, how much gold do you want for her life? What titles do you desire to lop her head off right here?」

「Heheheh…」

Count Bellatis asks Straf, and he begins to chuckle with his arms crossed and head lowered. Cycelia looks up at Straf with a nervous expression.

「What's so funny? Name your price, there's very little I can't give you-」

「Ahh… Seriously, dude? I'm fairly sure I'm richer than you at this point, and I can just lop your head off, and get all the titles I want. You think you have the negotiation advantage here?」

Straf lets out an amused sigh and interrupts the count. He spreads his arms, grinning as he asks.

「Tsk. Suit yourself, loyalist half-wit. Since you were so eager to talk about shame, princess, why don't I tell you a story?」

The usurper clicks his tongue, glaring at Straf with hatred in his eyes again. His gaze drifts down to the scowling Cycelia kneeling on the ground.

「Oh boy, here we go…」

With his hands on his hips, Straf rolls his eyes as the count drifts into the past…

…

「Mother, when is father coming back!? My friend's father is already home!」

The young Bellatis said to his mother chopping the vegetables for today's meal. She let out a dejected sigh, looking at her son with furrowed brows, and very obvious sadness in her eyes.

「…It might take a while longer. Go play outside, but don't go too far.」

She said to Bellatis with a frown, and returned to preparing the meal. His shoulders slumped, and he left the small cottage. Worried and saddened by the fact that his father is still not back from the war that ended some two months ago, he headed for his favorite place in the village to sit down, and think on things.

Young Bellatis had arrived to a cliff, the beautiful wilderness stretched on and on below. A lake below provided prey and predators alike with fresh water. He sat down on the precipice, with his legs hanging down off the edge.

「Stupid war… And stupid king… I bet they're making father hunt for the army!」

Bellatis grumbled angrily. With an angry pout, he stared ahead with his elbows on his lap, sitting in a precarious position. Anger stirred further in his chest, as he reminded himself of his village friend playing with his father.

As he sat there, sulking, a little red squirrel ran up to the young Bellatis, sniffing at the air, pawing at his legs and hoping he'd feed it.

「Stupid squirrel, too! Leave me alone! Go kill yourself!」

Bellatis growled at the squirrel. It stood up on its hind legs, turned to the cliff, and leaped down.

「Huh?」

Initially surprised the squirrel listened, he watched the red dot plummet down into the water below. A quiet thud echoed upward from the water, and the dot disappeared beneath the blue surface. Bellatis got up, and decided to go back home. He wasn't sure what to think, he thought that it was perhaps just a coincidence.

On the way home, he encountered a boar. It tore the dirt apart with its hoove, preparing to charge at him.

「Run into a tree!」

Bellatis commanded the boar. It became still for just a second, before it turned sharply and broke into a sprint.

Thud!

A dull impact echoed off the trees. The boar had ran into a thick oak and shook its leaves with the impact. The boar flopped on its back, its legs stiffened up and outstretched, the boar twitched heavily.

Bellatis started laughing, he never had this much control over anything, but he still did not know whether it only worked on animals, or humans as well. He decided to test his newfound power on his friend's father.

「Okay, hold the fuck up. Does this story have a point, or are you just telling me that your mother should have investigated the dead animals around the house more closely?」

Straf interrupts the count with his index finger out, and Bellatis lets a frustrated sigh out.

「The point is… The girl's grandfather sent my father to his death in a pointless war. As a child, I realized I was blessed with a power to control the living things. Then, her father's incompetent handling of the plague caused my mother to die, and I had no one left. You see princess, I wasn't always a noble…」

Old Bellatis explains, spreading his hands.

「Hold on, so you kill thousands of people yourself, because your daddy died in a war? Are you actually not right in the head? What's wrong with you?」

Straf spreads his arms, shaking his head in disbelief.

「Means to an end. Nothing more, nothing less. If the goal is ending all war, then the one to end them is justified.」

「A war to end all wars, huh? Yeah, good luck with that, buddy…」

Straf scoffs, looking aside with an amused smirk.

「What do you mean, wasn't always a noble?」

Cycelia blinks, confused by the count's claim of low birth.

「I used my blessing to obtain the title of a count. He never saw it coming. From there on, the rest of my plan was simply a question of patience. I was too late to exact justice on your grandfather, but the rest of your family was still alive…」

「Justice!? You call cold-blooded murder justice!? Even Otto!? What did Albus have to do with this, then!? Why did you kill him!?」

With her teeth clenched, Cycelia screams at the count in fury.

「I admit, Albus was simply a loose end that I had to tie up. I was concerned he would dispel my command… And it looks like he did. You weren't in the throne room, waiting for the guards.」

The usurper shrugs his shoulders, scowling as he talks.

「W… What?」

Cycelia meekly mumbles out, stammering. Her shoulders slump, and her form shrinks. Her eyes widen slowly, as her face slowly twists into an expression of terror.

「What are you confused about? The command I gave you, using my blessing. You weren't waiting in the throne room to attack the guards, why? Did you manage to break its grasp on your own? Or did that old bastard Albus manage to do it before he croaked?」

Confused by Cycelia's confusion, the count attempts to clarify, before asking a few questions.

《…What? Command? His command? To who? Me? But why? Why? Why? Why?》

Cycelia desperately shakes her head, and her heart sinks. She already knows, no matter how much she attempts to deny it.

「You- You're lying! You're lying! You came up with this story to frame me even further! You're just lying!-」

She energetically shakes her head with her emerald eyes wetting as she looks at the count in terror. He furrows his brows.

「…Why would I be lying in front of my mercenaries? Do you think they care if it's true or not?- Wait, do you not remember?」

The count grins, chuckling as he spreads his arms. Cycelia clutches at her aching chest, holding back tears.

「You're lying…」

Cycelia hangs her head, clenching her teeth.

「How about this to refresh your memory, princess? 「Go kill your family and Albus, then fight the guards to the death in the throne room.」. Do you remember yet, your royal highness?」

Count Bellatis asks, with a disdainful grin. Cycelia's eyes snap to him momentarily, then drift downwards as she stares blankly at the ground in anguish.

「Okay prick, that's enough. I've heard enough and I have a rough idea of what happened. I think it's high time for Carrothead to bust in through the door and end you-」

Straf glances at Cycelia, who is simply staring off into space while kneeling on the ground.

「Oh, great. Look what you did, dick. Now it's Lia that's having a flashback. Thanks a bunch, now we need to wait for her to come back…」

Straf's voice fades out, as Cycelia begins to piece together the shattered memories of the day her family was murdered…