Clang!… Clank-clang! Clank!

Outside the palace, in the garden, Cycelia watched the guards trade blows in a ferocious sparring session with a smile on her face. Fully armored and using real swords, they aimed vicious strikes at each other's vitals, and blocked the strikes with practiced ease.

She watched attentively them from underneath a gazebo and leaning onto the railing with her elbows, propping her head up on her hands. Neither of them gained ground, nor lost it.

Clankrrrrrk! Clunk!

Their swords clashed, and sparks flew. A rough kick to one of the guards' breastplate broke the stalemate and reset their position.

「Ah, princess, there you are. I figured you'd be here.」

The captain of the guard walked out into the garden, closing the door to the palace behind him.

「Captain? What is it?」

She straightened out and looked his way as he approached. The guards having had noticed the captain, and that they are no longer keeping the attention of the princess, have paused their practice duel.

「The count is looking for you, princess. He asked me to tell you that.」

The captain walked underneath the gazebo, resting his palms on his sword's pommel as it sat in his sheath.

「Count Bellatis? Why? Aren't father and mother waiting for him in the dining room?」

Cycelia tilted her head with a furrowed brow, and the captain shrugged his armored shoulders.

「I don't know, princess. Perhaps he just wants to greet you, but… What are the chances, really?」

He shrugged his hands, taking a glance at his men standing on the grass.

「Ughh… Those nobles… Always trying to pry a favor out of me, or attempting some political maneuvering… I'll go see him, but I really just wanted to watch the training session today.」

Cycelia leaned forward, groaning and hanging her head down in exasperation for the distasteful noble world. Straightening out, she sighed in defeat.

「I'll watch the men in your stead, princess. You can be sure of that.」

The scruffy, middle-aged captain of the guard smiled with a degree of pity for the princess as he sarcastically jested.

「Yes… I'm counting on you, captain.」

She sighed, walking past him.

「He said he'll be waiting by the paintings.」

The captain said to Cycelia, before walking further underneath the gazebo.

「Ah, you're leaving already, princess!? But you're going to miss the best part, where I beat this training dummy down!」

「Tsk, you've got a big mouth for a someone who can't take a swing worth damn!」

One of the guards previously engaged in a sparring duel shouted in disappointment, that Cycelia is heading back to the palace. His sparring partner yelled back at him, and they began butting their helmeted heads incoherently saying something to each other, much to Cycelia's amusement that she reluctantly had to leave behind.

「What are you idiots slacking off for!? Do I have to go there and get my sword out, huh!?」

The captain of the guard bellowed at the men from the gazebo, glaring menacingly at them with his fists on his hips. As Cycelia opened the door, she could only hear panicked and timid mumbling from the men outside, before closing it behind her.

She walked up the stairs, and after crossing one of the corners, she saw Count Bellatis looking up at her late grandfather with his hands behind his back, one holding the other.

「Count Bellatis, you were looking for me? Wasn't my father waiting for you in the dining room? He's not short-tempered, but keeping him waiting is just unwise…」

Cycelia cautioned, as she approached the pensive count.

「I have all the time in the world, Princess Cycelia.」

Count Bellatis took his eyes off the painting to look at Cycelia beside him. His carefree, calm tone, mild smile and relaxed posture perplexed her, as most men would be groveling for forgiveness for even a few minutes of forcing a king to wait, even as mild-mannered one as her father.

「Uh, forgive me if I'm mistaken, Count Bellatis, but I don't believe that's the case…」

Forcing an inappropriate albeit fitting chuckle back, she shook her head with a grin at the count's brazen attitude. Not only he was baffling her by ignoring the king, the way he carried himself struck her as odd. Cycelia never elevated herself above the other nobles, or even the bourgeoisie, but the count was pushing even her limits of patience.

「Do you think some men are just born to rule, princess?」

The count asked, turning his head away. His disinterested eyes glanced at the portrait of her father, before they returned to her grandfather's painting, affixed onto the crown.

「I… I haven't really thought about it. I don't think I am, at least. Otto might be.」

She looked up at the portrait of her grandfather as well. Her emerald eyes shifted to the painting of her younger brother, and Cycelia shrugged with a smile.

「I don't believe so.」

The count bluntly announced.

「Huh?」

「I don't believe men are born to rule, that is.」

The count clarified with a side-glance at Cycelia. He stared at the portrait with a serious expression, keeping his hands behind his back.

「No king was born to rule. It's nonsense to suggest so. Every king's power comes from his people. A good ruler can hold the throne in perpetuity, but an inept king's rule will always end either in rebellion, or assassination. A king and his power is simply a sum of his decisions.」

The count spoke staring at her grandfather, and Cycelia listened attentively, albeit very confused.

「Well… I am inclined to agree, but why did you want to see me, Count Bellatris? If you wanted to have a philosophical discussion… I would be glad to, after you meet with my father.」

Cycelia blinked, further perplexed by the count's statement and his unclear reason for their meeting.

「While I don't believe men are born to rule, Princess Cycelia, I do believe some men are uniquely blessed to do so. Like your ancestors were, through their draconic lineage, don't you think?」

The count looked at Cycelia with a piercing gaze that for one reason or another, drove a chill down her spine. She looked the other way, towards the painting of the dragon, before turning her head back to the count.

「…Perhaps it is so, but Count Bellatis, for your own sake, I really think you should go see my father. I will keep everything between us, so please-」

Cycelia tried to plead with Count Bellatis, in an attempt to spare him the ire of her father.

「I have a little favor to ask, princess.」

The count said, as he smiled.

「Tsk, of course… Yes, Count Bellatis? What is it? If it's not something too unreasonable, I might help you.」

Cycelia involuntarily rolled her eyes and mumbled under her breath, as she heard the tired old phrase that came from many nobles before him. The count turns to fully face her.

「Oh, I am certain you will help me. Go kill your family and Albus, then fight the guards to the death in the throne room. Go.」

He commanded, staring straight into Cycelia's green eyes.

「Wha…」

A momentary confusion had set on Cycelia's face, before shifting into a blank expression, her dull emerald eyes stared ahead while she turned around, walking away from the count in a quick pace. Count Bellatis began to chuckle, when he saw Cycelia draw her grandfather's sword and disappear behind the corner…

…

Cycelia walked the halls with wide, quick steps, passing by a few maids that were cleaning or collecting laundry from the rooms. They looked at her, and her drawn sword with concern.

「Princess Cycelia, is everything alright?」

One of the maids dared to ask, receiving no reply in return. Cycelia rushed past with a blank face, as if she was watching a very boring theatrical play, and the only thing on her mind was leaving. She navigated the winding corridors of her home with ease, heading directly for the main dining room.

Moments later, she was there. She reached for the door handle, and pushed the door open. There, Cycelia saw her father sitting and waiting at the end of a long table, along with her mother right next to him. She entered the room, walking towards her father in a hurried step.

「Ah, I thought it was the count. Cici, have you seen him? I've been told he arrived quite a while ago…」

The king asked, failing to see the drawn sword in Cycelia's hand due to the table decorations and chair backrests in the way. Her mother only gave her a momentary glance, before returning her eyes to the king to continue her conversation. Cycelia continued approaching the table, blankly staring at them.

「…Cycelia?」

He called out again, with furrowed brows. Only when she reached the striking distance, did the king realize that something was wrong. Cycelia gripped the hilt with two hands, and moved her arms to perform an upward diagonal slash. A move she saw many times, but never had the chance to practice.

The king took his green eyes off his daughter's expressionless, faintly freckled face, and saw the blade of his father's sword appear from beneath the table. His momentary confusion, mixed with confidence that Cycelia would never harm him gave her enough time to look precisely where she wants to strike.

Swish. Thud! Splash. Sploosh. Sploosh.

Her father had realized that she really is going to swing the sword at him, and jumped up in attempt to dodge the slash, but he lost the chance of doing just that, when he allowed Cycelia to walk up to the table. Cycelia's sword viciously ripped through the center of his chest, from lower rib cage to just below his collarbone on the other side, slashing his heart and lungs apart. There was no difference for her blade between bones and flesh.

The king falls over backwards, knocking the chair over with himself. His mouth is agape, and blood from it noisily stains the white marble floor red. Limp and unmoving, he blankly stares at the ceiling with an expression frozen into shocked surprise, clutching at his chest.

The queen jumped out of her chair as well, knocking it backwards and dropped to her knees at the king's body, grasping at his fine bloodied clothes in shock and disbelief. She looked up at her daughter with abject terror on her face.

「Cycelia! What are you d-!?」

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Swish. Gurglegurgle. Thud.

Her mother screamed an abruptly silenced question, as Cycelia performed another unpracticed, ruthless slash. The queen clutched at her carved throat, and stared with wide eyes at the waterfall of bright red blood that she couldn't possibly hope to stop with her hand. After a second, her eyes drifted elsewhere, and the soon-to-be-dead queen collapsed onto the soon-to-be-dead king.

Cycelia turned around, both her weapon and her clothes splattered in blood, and left the dining room in haste without bothering to even close the door…

…

Cycelia arrived at Otto's room. She opened the door, and walked inside. Her brother wasn't immediately in the vicinity, but she knew he is likely in his study. She walked across his bedroom, and opened the door to the study. Shelves filled with books to the brim, and then some piled on the floor. A venerable library in and of itself, and yet it was merely a young boy's reading room.

Cycelia approached Otto, sitting at a desk with his back turned to the door, hunched over a massive tome. Not much older than she saw him in the portrait. He flipped a page, and straightened out to look over his shoulder, squinting heavily.

「…Sister? Do you need something?」

The young boy asked, his gigantic round glasses hanged low on his nose. He looked up at his sister's emerald eyes, she was nothing but a multi-colored blob to him, however. Cycelia assumed a pose she saw in many duels before, and pointed the tip of the sword at his back, holding the hilt low in both hands. She thrust, but the sword only jerked forward a little in her hands.

The movement attracts Otto's green eyes lower. He adjusts his huge glasses, and through them, he takes another good look at Cycelia. He looks at the sword with furrowed brows.

「What-?」

Cycelia thrust again. Her brother's calm question with a tilted head was interrupted by a breathless gasp.

Thud.

Otto fell off the chair onto the floor, and a large bloodstain grew larger and larger on his white shirt. Cycelia turned around, expressionless, and pushed the door to the study further ajar. She left Otto's room in haste, and continued onward…

…

A floor below, Cycelia reached the library. She knew Albus was within, endlessly sorting the magic tomes and mundane books, day after day. She opened the door, and hastily stepped inside. Albus was indeed inside, standing on top of a stepladder. He peeked over his shoulder due to the noise of the door breaking the otherwise perfect silence in the library.

「Ah, princess! Did you finally change your mind about studying for the Academy? Or will you let- Hmpf. Otto graduate before you do?」

Catching only a glimpse of Cycelia's chestnut hair as it trailed through the air, he called out to her. He stepped down the ladder cautiously, grunting and going easy on his old bones while Cycelia was drawing closer, and closer, navigating through the book-cluttered floor and between the reading tables.

The old mage chuckled, as he took the final step down and turned to face the murderer princess. He saw the blood splatters on her clothes, and immediately deduced what happened. The mage jumped backwards, pointing his palm at Cycelia as she continued closing in.

「Fifloandturst! Domandsubwisthirat! Rithewroandsilfalson! 『Disrupt Mana』- 」

Swish.

Shouting gibberish, Albus kept his arm outstretched, his palm pointed at Cycelia. Just as he finished calling the spell's name, her blade descends on his torso. Projected from his palm, the air shimmered between his hand, Cycelia and the rest of the library behind her in a wide cone.

As the air hit her, a rainbow-colored vapor was thrown off Cycelia's entire body backwards, as if she was coated head to toe with rainbow dust, and a gust of powerful air blasted it all off. Her sword carves into Albus with a well-taught, but inexperienced blow.

Thud!

「Gyah!-」

Albus fell backwards, toppling a large stack of books and clutching at his injury.

「Albus!」

Cycelia screamed, her expressionless face twisted into abject terror as her dry eyes finally filled with tears. She dropped to her knees near Albus, throwing the sword down and attempted to pointlessly staunch the old mage's rapid bleeding.

「Albus! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry, Albus! Please don't die! Count Bellatis told me to kill dad, mom, and Otto, and you! And I just did it! I wanted to scream but I couldn't! I was just watching, I couldn't do anything! I couldn't stop it! Even Otto!」

Cycelia started to explaining herself through the stream of tears dripping down her face onto Albus, sobbing heavily.

「…Princess Cycelia… Calm down…」

Albus said, breathing heavily and wheezing with each breath.

「I killed everyone, Albus! I wanted to warn them, but I couldn't say a word! They trusted me, and I just-!」

Cycelia began hyperventilating and choking on tears, clutching onto the old mage's robe.

「Princess Cycelia! Hrk-!」

Albus mustered out the last shout he possibly could, causing Cycelia to snap out of her fit of panic. He coughed up blood all over his beard as soon as he called her name out. Her terrified, wet, emerald-green eyes stare at him.

「Tears and panic… Will do you no good… Princess… Calm yourself…」

Albus said, gasping for air every few words, exhausted after his shout. Cycelia sniffled and bit her lip, trying her hardest not to cry, shaking terribly head to toe.

「I should have known… It was Count Bellatis, wasn't it?… He sent me a letter recently, asking if there exists a magic to control minds, and if there are counter-measures and ways to dispel it… It struck me as odd, as I never thought of him as a scholar… He said he had a nightmare, and was paranoid about it ever since… How stupid and naive of me…」

Albus explained to Cycelia, looking into her huge eyes as he bled on the floor.

「It's not your fault, Albus… Please don't die, you're the closest thing to family I have left. Everyone else is dead.」

Cycelia clutched onto his robes, desperately choking back tears with her teeth clenched. Albus lifted his hand off the wound, and looked at his bloodied palm. His eyes return to Cycelia, albeit with a troubled expression on his face.

「Princess, listen to me closely… You can't stay here… The count is surely plotting something, most likely he will frame you for the murders. You have to leave.」

Albus pointed his palm at Cycelia, and mumbled an incantation under his breath.

「『Purify』.」

He said, and the blood on the her clothes and body turned into clean water with after a golden glow enveloped her.

「…Water?」

Confused, Cycelia looked at her shaky, wet hands, now clean of blood.

「This will help you… Get away from the city, without attracting attention… Leave by a public carriage, Princess…」

「Albus, no! I'm not leaving you! Maybe if I hurry I can get you a potion-!」

Cycelia shook her head, and clutched onto the mage's torn robes again.

「Princess. Even if you poured a potion into my mouth right this moment, it wouldn't change anything. Unless you can teleport a healer here, right this instant, I will die.」

Albus raised his voice, interrupting Cycelia's bargaining.

「No…」

She whined, shaking her head with her teeth clenched.

「That is fine, princess… Other than failing to protect the king, and you, I have no regrets… I'm sure my name will be uttered in the Academy here and there, every now and then…」

Albus sighs, looking up at the high, dusty library ceiling.

「Then I'm not leaving you Albus… I will wait-」

「Princess, every second counts. You must go now… It's a race against time, and every second longer you spend here… Is a second longer the treacherous count gets.」

Albus looked into Cycelia's eyes with a grave expression, insisting she leaves.

「No, Albus! I'm not going to! I don't want to leave you here! I'm sorry I never studied. I'm stupid. I'm just a stupid noble girl and I wasted a chance commoners would kill someone over. I wasted a chance of having you teach me. I'm sorry, Albus…」

Clutching onto his robe and refusing to leave, Cycelia began sobbing again.

「Ahh… I used to be like you, princess… I used to think magic is boring… And now look at me. Old and wrinkled, and a grand magus… And sorting books in the library…」

Albus reminisced his past with a faint smile, breathing heavily between his sentences.

「…What? Really? Tell me about it, Albus…」

Cycelia pleaded with trembling lips, and wet eyes.

「…Promise me you're going to graduate the Academy of Magic if you get an opportunity though, princess.」

「I promise, Albus. I will. If I only get a chance…」

Cycelia nodded with energy, biting her lip.

「…And heed my word… All the same…」

Nodding with a smile, Albus mumbled something under his breath, only bits and pieces audible.

「What? What did you say?」

Cycelia furrowed her brows, and leaned in closer to Albus.

「Huh?」

She vocalized, staring at the mage's palm.

「『Command』.」

Albus said, with a fatigued voice.

「What?…」

Cycelia straightened out, mumbling. Her sad frown twisted into an expressionless, blank face.

「You will escape the city, by public carriage if possible, and you will flee to safety. Take revenge if you wish, but you must live, princess… And forget what you did today. I'm afraid that's the only way I can accompany you on your journey, princess… Go.」

Albus commanded Cycelia, and she blinked. She stood up.

「Ah, I have to get out of here!」

Cycelia announced, running in place in panic. She turned around, and started jogging for the door, before stopping and turning back around.

「Ah, the sword… Why is it so dirty?」

She returned only to pick up her bloodied grandfather's sword off the ground, and place it in her sheath, completely ignoring Albus bleeding on the ground. Cycelia runs out of the library, and quietly closes the door behind her.

「Farewell, princess… I hope my attempt to ease your pain won't end badly…」

Albus said, looking at the ceiling with half-closed eyes, breathing heavily…