Jacob’s entire body was wracked with searing pain. That was the only reason that he knew he wasn’t dead.

Jacob tried to open his eyes, then realized that one of them was covered by bandages. Actually, most of his body was covered with bandages.

“Jacob?!”

Jacob blinked and his vision cleared. He was in bed back at home. His mother, father, and sister-in-law Helen were looking down at him in concern.

“How-”

“You can stumbling back here, middle of last night!” His father cut him off. “You were delirious and out of your mind. What happened to you?!”

Jacob shook his head. “I faced the devil himself,” He whispered.

“Where’s Christopher?!” Helen demanded.

Jacob’s face twisted in pain as he remembered the sight of his little brother, withering in the flames.

Hellen’s face fell and she began to weep. Jacob’s mother wrapped her arms around her and they cried together.

Jacob’s father sat down heavily on a chair next to his bed, looking stunned. “What… happened out there?”

Jacob shook his head. “A bunch of soldiers in the Hilde army were ordered to go south and join a House Griest army. I never really got the straight of where we were going or why. Then a few nights ago, Malcolm an Griest captured Kairei an Ithil.”

His father nodded. “Good for him, I guess.”

“Suppose so,” Jacob said slowly. “But the other generals weren’t happy. Chris…” Jacob’s voice failed him as the loss of his brother hit him all over again. He fought to continue. “Chris claims that he heard the generals arguing with Prince Malcolm about how they wanted him to send the princess away immediately. They weren’t here to help him with private disputes and they didn’t want to be involved but Malcolm refused.”

Jacob took a deep breath. “That night the camp was set upon by mabeasts. Big ones. No idea where they came from, there weren’t supposed to be any mabeasts in that area. Anyway, by the time we drove them off, we heard an alarm from the camp that the Princess was escaping. So we were all ordered to go after her.

“Prince Malcolm and the other Acolyte Knights led the charge and we ran through a field of tall grass trying to catch up. Finally, we’d brought them to bay at the end of the valley and there was no escape but…”

“But?” His father prompted.

Jacob shuddered. “The entire valley erupted into flame…”

“What?!” His father gasped.

Jacob shut his eyes tight and trembled. “It was ghastly. The entire field went up like a torch and we were in the middle of it! Father, you can’t imagine the screaming. Everyone started bumping into each other, and knocking one another down, desperately trying to escape the flames. Once you fell, you got trampled by the others and even if you managed to get up, you were disoriented and had no idea which way was out and which way was deeper into the flames. Thousands of men burned to death in minutes!”

Jacob buried his face in his hands. “I managed to get out of the flames and I dragged Christopher out with me but Chris… he was badly burned.”

Jacob looked down at the bandages that covered most of his body. “More badly burned than this. He… he didn’t make it. He died a few minutes later.”

His father’s face twisted in grief.

“I stumbled my way over to the Acolyte Knights who had survived the blaze. I hoped… I don’t know what I was hoping for. Some… orders, some direction, I guess,” Jacob mused, uncertain if anyone in the room was evening listening at this point.

“The person who rescued the princess identified himself as Subaru Natsuki,” Jacob continued.

His father started. “The Butcher of Arlem?!” He whispered.

Jacob nodded slowly. “Butcher doesn’t even describe it. I saw it, Dad. Subaru Natsuki just… raised his hand and the entire valley burst into flames. One of the other survivors called him ‘the Fire Witch.’ I’d never even imagined anything so terrifying.”

“By the Gods,” His father gasped.

“Subaru Natsuki used some strange black magic and stole the spirits from the Acolyte Knights. He… he brainwashed them somehow. Every other spirit in the army panicked and fled. Then he defeated the knights and took them prisoner,” Jacob trailed off and shook his head. “I never imagined that monsters like this even existed…”

His father stared mournfully down at his son.

Jacob took a deep breath. “I don’t really remember what happened after that. I guess I just started running and one way or another, I found my way back here…”

Crusch stormed her way toward a small room in the castle. Crusch had been summoned there by one of Montefort’s lackeys and told in no uncertain terms that she had best be there immediately. Crusch’s fingers twitched and she had longed to draw her sword at this presumptuous command but her fears for Felix made her behave.

The three entered the room which was a simple sitting room with many comfortable chairs. Montefort, Pickett, and Zyst were already present.

“What’s going on, Montefort? What happened?” Pickett was asking Montefort.

Montefort just snarled and didn’t answer. Montefort saw the princesses enter the room and Crusch was startled to see rolling fury in Montefort’s eyes. In all the years she’d known him she’d never seen Montefort lose control like this.

“How did you know?” Montefort demanded of Crusch.

Crusch kept her face expressionless by sheer force of will.

“How did she know what, Montefort?” Zyst interjected. “What is going on?!”

Montefort ignored him and his gaze remained fixated on Crusch. “I never imagined that you could be devious enough to do something like this,” He hissed.

“To do what, Montefort?!” Pickett shouted. “What is happening here?!”

Montefort took a deep breath and then let it out slowly. “This morning, just before we were scheduled to begin our trial for Subaru Natsuki, Crusch Karnstein walked into the council chamber and submitted this into evidence.”

Montefort unceremoniously dropped the paper on the table in front of Pickett and Zyst. They began to read it.

Pickett looked up with a smile and a laugh. “Hah! It seems we weren’t so far off after all! Subaru Natsuki really is a Witch Cultist! Amazing timing that this evidence shows up right before the trial! Truthfully, I had my doubts that we could make the charges stick as things stood!”

Montefort stared at him for a long moment. Then he closed his eyes and seemed to count to ten. “Yes, Master Pickett,” Montefort said through clenched teeth. “It is remarkable timing. In fact some people might even go so far as to call it unbelievable timing.”

“What’s the impact?” Zyst asked sharply.

“I’ve just been accosted by six of my most loyal allies. They have throughly castigated me for this blunder.”

“You?!” Pickett asked.

“Yes,” Montefort said in a tight voice. “No one believed for an instant that I wasn’t the architect of this contrived and unbelievable piece of evidence. They assumed that I arranged for this evidence to be fabricated to strengthen our case against Subaru Natsuki. They accused me of humiliating all of them, either by deliberate malice or by sheer incompetence. It took everything I had just to hold my faction together. Lady Crusch has sabotaged us!”

Crusch kept her face impassive, no easy feat when she desperately wanted to beg someone, anyone, to kindly explain to her what the hell was going on.

Montefort approached Crusch and got right up in her face. Crusch lifted her chin to stare into Montefort’s eyes imperiously. She would not permit him to see her blink.

“Who told you?” Montefort demanded.

“Hm?” Crusch said noncommittally.

“Who tipped you off that we were planning to accuse Subaru Natsuki of witchcraft today and to suspend the royal selection? You must have had considerable advance knowledge to coordinate with Felix Argyle to fabricate and submit this evidence in multiple cities. Did you have it all along and were just waiting for the opportune time to discredit us?” Montefort paused as an idea occurred to him. “Are you working with Subaru Natsuki?!”

What?! Crusch thought in amazement.

“Montefort,” Pickett said. “I confess that I don’t understand the problem. We aren’t just rigging a trial any longer. We have evidence now!”

“Evidence that no one will believe!” Montefort snapped back. “Testimony of a dead man that arrives just in the nick of time to provide substance to an empty case? Presenting this evidence actually makes our case seem even weaker and more desperate! That’s why the other assembly members are so angry!”

Picket digested that for a moment and shrugged. “Well then, don’t present the evidence! Go ahead without it!”

“We can’t do that either, Willard!” Montefort hissed into Crusch’s face through clenched teeth. “Too many people know about it! If we don’t present it, we just confirm to everyone that this evidence is a fraud that we couldn’t pass off as real!”

Montefort stormed away with a scowl. He seized a glass of wine off the table and quickly drained it. “Crusch has been planning this all along. Grandfather always taught me the best way to undermine someone’s political ambitions was to join their faction but to do so badly,” Montefort shook his head angrily. “I could never understand why Crusch was acting so incompetently toward Subaru Natsuki. The blundering, unsupported accusations, the appeals for investigations, and all the rest. She gave us our opening to spring a trap on Subaru Natsuki and as soon as we took the bait, she sabotaged us and made our attack look so unbelievably incompetent that no one in the kingdom will believe us!”

Montefort raised his wineglass to Crusch in salute but his eyes were wild with fury. “Truly masterful gameplay, Lady Crusch,” Montefort growled. “Your father would be proud,” Montefort drained his glass and then threw it against a nearby wall where the delicate wineglass shattered.

Zyst and Pickett shared a worried look as Montefort stormed around the room swearing.

Montefort finally shook his head and turned back to Crusch. “I will find whoever told you about our plans, Crusch,” He growled. “I do not tolerate traitors in my faction. And rest assured that I will be watching you very closely from here on out. Set one toe out of line and I promise you, Felix will lose a foot!”

Crusch was quite literally speechless.

This is absurd! I didn’t plan any of this! Montefort’s analysis commits a cardinal sin of rational thinking: He has completely dismissed the existence of coincidence, happenstance, and sheer dumb luck. He’s misinterpreting all of my recent actions so that a string of complete blunders is now reconstructed as absolute strategic brilliance!

Still for me, this is great good fortune. Montefort’s plan is in shambles. His suffocating web is unraveling. He now seems poised to hunt through his own faction for a nonexistent betrayer which will only alienate his allies further.

There will be an opening for me! I just need to find it!

“If there is nothing else, gentlemen,” Crusch said calmly. “I have a few matters to attend to.”

Montefort waved dismissively. “Just don’t forget to cast your vote.”

Feir sat up in the balcony shaking his head and trying to process what was going on. “I don’t understand any of this!”

“Try to keep up, Feir!” Georg complained. “As of last week, Subaru Natsuki’s coronation became nothing short of inevitable. That’s caused all of the major power brokers in the kingdom to wake up and realize that they consider his kingship to be utterly unacceptable.”

“But why? His accomplishments are already staggering! Surely he would make a worthy king.”

“The problem is what he wants to do,” Georg grumbled. “He’s become a threat to the established interests in the kingdom: social, economic, and political. Major players in the other three factions have joined forces to eliminate him. They plan to declare him a Witch. Moreover, the word is that the council plans to suspend or end the royal selection.”

Feir stared at Georg. “No one has been formally declared a Witch in centuries! To be killed on sight without trial? To decree that anyone who offers him aid or assistance is also a criminal? And on what charge? And now they mean to cancel the royal selection, ordained by the Holy Dragon Tablet? This is madness! They can not do this!”

Georg gave his friend an impatient look. “Are you drunk, Feir? You may be an aged, enfeebled, and quite possibly alcoholic man-whore, but you still have one of the sharpest political minds in the kingdom! I should not need to explain these things to you!”

“What are you saying?” Feir said with some offense.

“Remember your father’s first rule of politics,” Georg grumbled.

Feir looked somber. “‘The strong do as they wish and the weak suffer as they must.’”

“In this case, the strong were willing to tolerate the election, until it became apparent that the people were going to make the ‘wrong’ choice. Now the gloves are coming off.”

“What did I hear about riots in the streets last night?” Feir asked.

“A very peaceful demonstration, protesting the sages’ council’s intentions,” Georg muttered quietly, “Regrettably, it was a protest in favor of the wrong candidate. They were all to be arrested on charges of sedition but a radical appeared on the scene with an explosive device, either a Witch Cultist or a member of the Demi-Human Alliance depending on which story you believe. The protesters all scattered before they could be arrest and the radical killed several guards.”

“What does that mean? Was the radical here to help the Subaru faction escape or to discredit them?”

“I have absolutely no idea.”

“Your honors,” Felt said struggling for patience as she spoke to the enormous royal assembly as well as the attendant sages’ council who all looked down accusingly at her. Garfiel stood nearby with the twins but they hadn’t been asked any questions yet. “I must protest! My Lord Subaru is not here to offer testimony in his own defense! There has been no time to locate him or even give him the chance to appear!”

“Your lord is a traitor!” Aghart snapped. “There are numerous witnesses who have provided testimony that he is willingly in the company of a Witch and has attacked innocent people!”

“Where are these witnesses?! Why have we not heard from them?” Felt demanded. “This council cites evidence that it will not present in open court! Moreover, there is absolutely no proof that Subaru Natsuki is not enchanted to obey her! There is a long history of witches-”

“Supposition,” Choi dismissed. “Subaru Natsuki’s motivation for associating with this witch does not concern this council. For whatever reason he has become a clear and present danger to the nation and indeed the world by aiding and abetting the Witch of Envy. He must be killed on sight.”

“Excuse me! This is going unreasonably fast!” Dore protested. “This ‘trial,’ and I use that term very loosely, which will set a man completely outside the bounds of the law and condemn him to death is taking less time than some breaking and entering cases that I have overseen!”

“Perhaps you should run your trials more efficiently,” Aghart shrugged.

“Precedent is very clear!” Byrd interjected. “We may not declare any man branded with the title of Witch in absentia until he has refused our summons to speak in his own defense on three separate occasions! We have not summoned Subaru Natsuki to appear before us a single time!”

“Byrd, we are discussing the resolution of a man who is an established associator of Witches and likely a Witch Cultist himself,” Choi said in a bored voice.

“Supposition!” Byrd threw back at him. “What evidence have we that either of those things are true? He has been seen traveling with a silver haired half-elf. That is all! Have we not learned from the Witch Hunts of yesteryear not to immediately assume that anyone meeting that description is a witch? And why would we assume that Subaru Natsuki is a Witch Cultist? He has killed more high ranking Witch Cultists in the past month that the entire nation has in the past hundred years!”

“And that does not strike you as suspicious?” Aghart asked.

“No, it does not strike me as suspicious! Why would it? The only reason I can see that one would find it suspicious is if they had already formed that opinion and were looking to justify it!”

“Are you implying that I’m not being impartial in this matter?” Aghart demanded.

“No, I didn’t mean to imply such, Aghart. I meant to say it flat out!” Byrd shot back.

“Enough,” McMahon said gaveling for order. “I think we have heard everything we need to hear. It’s time to vote.”

“The triumvirate is making their move openly,” Georg explained.

“The triumvirate?! They don’t do that!”

“They’re scared,” Georg said quietly, glancing around to make sure that they weren’t overheard. “Montefort is terrified about the political upheaval of the demi-humans rising again, especially if they were to make common cause with the human peasantry. If that alliance goes into effect, the power of the nobility will be broken and he knows it.”

Feir shook his head. “It was madness when King Zakariel allowed the Monteforts to keep the title of Grand Duke after the King’s own children were grown. Montefort’s great-grandfather was no longer royalty nor in the line for the throne then! Anyone could have seen the power play in the making!”

“We certainly did at least. Nor do I think that King Gionis’s father was nearly as sick as we were told when he died. My nephew-” Georg cut himself off as a young nobleman walked by and only continued talking in a quiet voice once he was safely out of earshot. “My nephew assures me that he was summoned to an emergency meeting of the Mages’ Circle. I have only the slightest idea of what Subaru Natsuki’s machines do but apparently Zyst thinks that it will negate his monopoly on sorcery in the kingdom. He’s worried that instead of hiring powerful, fully trained mages to perform enchantments at great cost, the machines could do similar jobs at the price of a cheap magic crystal.”

“I don’t follow.”

Georg thought for a moment, “Feir, how much gold do you spend on water for your mansion every year? How much to re-enchant those pipes every year to bring fresh water in, heat it, and carry waste water out.”

“A few hundred gold, I suppose.

Georg nodded. “My nephew assures me that these machines could easily do the same job. You might spend a few hundred gold once and then need to replace or charge the magic crystals every year. An unschooled peasant hedge mage could do that task for a few silver pieces a year.”

“Allowing hedge mages to compete with the educated and certified Circle mages,” Feir said. “I understand now. This would cripple the power and influence of the Mages’ Circle as they would no longer have easy ways to make money. They’d probably start struggling to find recruits as fewer mages would see the value in long years of study for no financial return. This would also shift the power of mages from the nobility to the lower classes. No wonder Zyst is worried. What about Willard Picket?”

Georg shrugged. “He’s easy to understand. He’s worried that Subaru’s plan to empty the slums will cut into his profits. Right now the dust rats in the slums fight over the chance to do hard labor for a copper a day. If the slums empty, or even if the population just falls to the point where there’s not enough dust rats for all the jobs, the price of labor will go up and Willard’s profits will go down.”

“Charming fellow,” Feir commented sarcastically.

“I don’t find any of these three charming,” Georg muttered. “Unfortunately, they currently have all the power in the kingdom and they won’t let it go without a fight.”

“But to declare someone a Witch without any evidence at all? This is unheard of! Surely the sages’ council will get involved.”

“Aghart is Montefort’s uncle as well as a virulent xenophobe who hates demi-humans on principle so we know which way he’ll vote,” Georg grumbled. “I’ve heard rumors that Choi will join them as well. The man sees red whenever the Witch Cult is mentioned. Ever since the cultists killed his oldest son, Choi hasn’t required much more than an accusation to start building bonfires under people. Dore is a kindly old man and he’ll never vote to convict without absolute proof so he’s a ‘no.’ Byrd is a fanatical stickler for the letter of the law and he must be livid about all the liberties they are taking with it, so he’ll vote against.”

“Then it all come down to McMahon. But he’ll surely vote no, will he not? The man is a staunch traditionalist! He loves nothing so much as tradition and precedent!”

“Yes, he does. He loves his seat on the sages’ council,” Georg said. “Montefort has the votes in the royal council to have him replaced and McMahon knows it. He either plays ball or he’ll be kicked off of the sages’ council and they’ll install someone more compliant.”

“This is a remarkable type of political intrigue,” Feir admitted. “I surprise myself that I am not more excited.”

“It’s because you’re too experienced, my friend. We’ve both read the history books. When political factions like this form, the rule book gets thrown out the window. The only thing that matters is power. The only question you’re asked at trial is ‘who are you loyal to’ and the wrong answer means that you disappear permanently,” Georg said.

“Georg, perhaps this is an unwise place for us to be right now,” Feir commented.

“I was just thinking the same thing,” Georg agreed.

“Then again,” Feir mused. “Our lives are nearly over in any case. Perhaps it wouldn’t be such a bad thing to go out with a bit of excitement.”

“You drive me crazy, Feir,” Georg moaned. “Although you probably do have a point.”

Crusch’s nails dug into her palm hard enough to draw blood. She heard the vote being called. There hadn’t been a single ‘nay’ vote yet. She briefly wondered if everyone had fallen in with Montefort willingly or if he had extorted and blackmailed more of the assembly. She supposed it didn’t really matter.

Crusch almost wished that this roll call would go by faster. She was sitting here waiting to buy Felix’s life with her integrity, her honor, and her pride. The longer this went on the more disgusted with herself she became.

She could stop this. She could stand up and be that lone dissenting vote. She might even become a rallying point for the disaffected members hostile to Montefort’s agenda to gather around. His power wasn’t as absolute as he implied. He could still be taken down.

She was a Duke. She was a soldier of Lagunica. She had sworn an oath to defend her nation against all threats, foreign and domestic. Today she could redeem that oath.

All that it would cost her was Felix: Her knight, her childhood friend, her closest confident, and her cherished companion.

“Duke Crusch Karnstein!” McMahon called.

Crusch jumped up in her seat. Her eyes darted every which way like a trapped animal and then focused on Montefort’s annoyed but still smug face.

“…Aye,” She whispered in a barely audible voice.

The roll call continued.

Father. Forgive me…

Today I have truly proved unworthy to be your daughter or to bear the Karnstein name…

“The royal assembly motion is passed,” McMahon declared. “By acclimation, Subaru Natsuki is stripped of all rights and will be hunted down like a rabid animal.”

“I move to set aside the verdict!” Dore proclaimed. “This has been nothing but a mockery of procedure and justice!”

“I agree!” Byrd shouted.

“We are not here to second guess the verdict of the royal council,” Aghart said in a bored voice. “The council has made it’s decision. Let it stand.”

“I second that,” Choi said.

McMahon looked uncomfortable, “Then the final decision comes down to me.”

McMahon took a deep breath. The entire packed room focused on him.

“Taking all statements into consideration, I do not find sufficient deviation from protocol to set aside the royal council’s decision. The Mark of the Witch stands.”

He gaveled.

Felt stood numbly in the council chamber.

“By unanimous vote, Subaru Natsuki is branded with the Mark of the Witch,” McMahon proclaimed. “He will be killed on sight and anyone who offers him any form of aid or shelter is a criminal in the eyes of both men and gods. His faction is disbanded and this court will send word to all people throughout the world that his death is mandated as an enemy of humanity.”

Felt’s pride alone held back her tears as the man she admired more than anyone else she had ever met was marked as a wild animal to be put down.

“Sir Reinhard will be instructed to hunt down Subaru Natsuki’s witch and finish her. He is a knight of the kingdom and subject to our authority. This is an order by the royal assembly,” McMahon said firmly.

“How exactly is Reinhard supposed to do that?” Felt asked in a dead voice. “He can’t leave the country, remember? Or do you really think that Subaru Natsuki is dumb enough to come back here when he knows that everyone is looking to kill him?”

“Impudent!” Aghart cried out.

“But she does make a good point,” McMahon said in a composed voice. “Our evidence suggests that Subaru Natsuki is currently in Gusteko.”

“The Hierocracy will not tolerate Reinhard van Astrea in their territory,” Dore pointed out.

“They will when they’re informed that the Witch of Envy is free!” Choi said.

“You’ve already told them that,” Byrd sighed. “They thought that we were either liars or insane!”

“That is neither here nor there,” McMahon said gaveling.

“Miss Rem and Miss Ram,” McMahon began, “You are ordered to return to your master’s manor to await his return. Inform him that this august body has questions for him.”

The twins didn’t move so a few knights began to push them along and they were herded out of the court room.

Felt stared at the floor. They’re isolating me and the fleabag. I know what that means.

“The girl known as ‘Felt’ and the demi-human know as ‘Garfiel,’” McMahon continued. “Are hereby placed under arrest.”

“On what charge?!” Garfiel demanded.

Felt just looked up at the council, her eyes were hard and she refused to let them see her blink.

“Suspicion of acting contrary to the kingdom’s interests. Of aiding and abetting an enemy of the kingdom. Of coordinating with and supplying the dangerous radicals that detonated an explosive device during the riot last night,” Aghart said smugly as knights approached to bind and chain them.

“Garf, don’t!” Felt snapped as Garfiel got ready to fight. “That’s just what they want! Don’t give them an excuse to kill you! It’s you against a hundred knights and not even you can take those kind of odds.”

Garfiel bared his teeth as the knights clapped heavy iron manacles on both him and Felt.

“You and these spirits,” McMahon added, gesturing toward the apathetic spirits who had yet to say a world, “Shall be taken to Torgon Tower until this investigation is complete.”

McMahon gaveled. “We are adjourned.”

“Until the investigation is complete?” Garfiel laughed bitterly as the knights roughly herded the pair out of the court room. “How long do you think that will take, shrimp?”

“I don’t know, fleabag,” Felt replied in a dead voice as they were marched away, “It all depends on when they’ve scheduled our ‘accident.’”

Before she left the courtroom, Felt turned around and looked Crusch square in the eye, the woman famed for her integrity who had voted to strip Felt’s friend of all rights without any real evidence even being presented.

Crusch met her gaze briefly but she could only look down in shame.

Crusch sat in her seat on the assembly floor feeling numb, her head bowed.

“Your excellencies!” A functionary burst into the room accompanied by a man in a knight’s uniform with his hood pulled up.

McMahon looked down at her sternly. “What is it this time?!” He snapped.

“A thousand apologies, your excellencies, but I thought that this was an emergency,” The functionary said in a small voice, looking up at the angry sages. “This man is an eye witness to a battle involving the Gusteko army!”

Crusch spun around. Whatever else is happening right now, this is of dire importance. How many villages and towns were razed? How much damage was done in the north? Is the city of Ganaks even worth retaking?

Priscilla was sulking in a balcony overlooking the council chamber. Anastasia was sitting next to her, watching the proceedings with a numb expression.

The knight drew back his hood.

Anastasia’s eyes widened. “Julius!” She cried out like a song of delight.

Priscilla’s head snapped up in shock.

Crusch’s eyes narrowed and she quickly looked at Montefort who appeared increasingly annoyed.

McMahon cleared his throat. “Sir Julius Juukulius,” he began. “All of Lagunica thanks you for your courage in attempting to get as many people out of Ganaks as possible. How bad were our loses?”

“There’s no point in delving into this right now!” Aghart objected. “This council was convened to-”

“I want to hear this!” Lord Vatu cried out from his chair in the assembly. “This matter concerns my friends and neighbors! I call upon Sir Julius Juukulius to give this assembly a full report!”

“I second the motion!” Another noble shouted.

“Hear, hear!” Called a third.

McMahon thought for a moment and seemed to decide not to call for a full vote. “Sir Julius, please report to this assembly what you observed.”

Julius’s face was set. “I bring joyous tiding to uplift the hearts of all Lagunicans,” Julius pronounced in a great voice. “Ganaks still stands and the enemy army has been destroyed without it ever crossing the border! Victory was ours!”

The room broke out in a excited babbling.

McMahon gaveled for order until the room quieted down.

“Sir Julius,” McMahon continued. “This is truly wondrous news. How was this accomplished?”

“Some days ago, Sir Felix, Aldebaran, and I went to the Gusteko village of Iruk to ascertain whether or not Gusteko’s accusations against Subaru Natsuki had substance,” Julius began. “We discovered them to be complete fabrications. We then traveled to Ganaks to deliver our report and to rest. The following night, I encountered Subaru Natsuki in the city of Ganaks by complete chance. I challenged Subaru Natsuki to a duel and… was promptly bested,” Julius sighed.

The room murmured.

“Bested?” Choi asked in surprise. “Sir Julius, you are one of the finest duelists in the kingdom. This is in addition to your considerable magical power as a spirit arts user!”

Julius continued in a steady voice. “Subaru Natsuki used his power to separate me from my spirits and to deny me their magic. Although he might have turned their power against me, instead he choose to fight me as a man of honor in a duel. I was helpless against Subaru Natsuki and he disarmed me handily without spilling a drop of my blood. When I acknowledged my defeat, he returned my spirits to me. The Ganaks garrison pursed Subaru Natsuki but he managed to escape.

“I returned to the garrison and was informed of the army approaching Ganaks. General Brendig dispatched me to the north with a detachment of his own men telling me to delay the army by any means necessary. During this journey north, I was betrayed and attacked by Brendig’s men.”

“What? Why?” Dore asked in shock.

“I can not say for certain, your excellency,” Julius’s voice implying that he could say but not under oath. “However, these men drew weapons on me from behind and would have slain me except that I was rescued by Princess Kairei of Siros who intervened in this assassination to save my life at great personal risk to herself.”

There was a murmur through the audience chamber.

“The Princess and I fled through the forest. Princess Kairei and I were ultimately surrounded by Sanshi soldiers and the princess surrendered herself to save my life. The Sanshi captain vowed that my life would be spared. He technically kept his word but I was seized and taken prisoner as well,” Julius growled.

Julius shook his head. “I was trapped and rendered helpless by the Gusteko army but Subaru Natsuki and the Lady Emilia came searching for the Princess and rescued me as well.”

“Rescued you?!” Aghart objected.

“Sir Julius,” Lord Vatu called from the floor. “Please explain more. What happened to the enemy army?”

“Subaru Natsuki devised a plan to defeat this army,” Julius said. His voice growing awed in spite of himself. “He managed to obliterate an army ten thousand strong with a force of fifty men!”

The room was dead silent.

Crusch’s jaw dropped.

“Subaru Natsuki and the Lady Emilia performed a daring night raid on the army camp and recovered the princess and myself. The army was in fast pursuit of us but we led them through an enormous field of tall grass that Subaru Natsuki’s men had carefully doused in sesame seed oil. When the army was in the grass, Subaru Natsuki ordered the field set ablaze by flaming arrows. The army burned to death in minutes.”

Dore looked horrified. “What kind of monster is he?!” He whispered.

“Only a witch would do something so cruel!” Choi shouted. “This was unquestionably an act of naked sadism!”

Julius looked straight at him. “I traveled with Subaru Natsuki and Miss Emilia. I came to know them both. I confess, I have small liking for Subaru Natsuki, a man that I found to be reckless in the extreme and lacking in forethought, guided by overweening pride and a courage that is simply too foolish to be heroic. I discovered him to be fearless in battle and stern when needs must. Yet as a knight bound to speak the truth, I can not call him sadistic or purposefully cruel and with my own eyes, I saw him weep for his slaughtered foes.

“Subaru Natsuki, Lady Emilia, and I then faced three of the Acolyte Knights in single combat and, using Subaru Natsuki’s strange powers, we prevailed. The princess was rescued and the army was destroyed! Subaru Natsuki himself engaged Malcolm an Griest in combat and captured him. He and the others are now prisoners in Siros.”

The council chamber began to murmur.

Everyone sounds impressed by that, Crusch thought.

Malcolm an Griest has been stirring up trouble along the border for years. The man was completely outside the Hierocracy’s control. Like it or not, this was a staggering victory for Subaru Natsuki. Although right now, I’m not sure if that even matters.

“How was this accomplished?” Vatu asked in wonder.

“Subaru Natsuki has a strange power. He claims that the world itself has ceded him full agency over its magic. He stole away the spirits that had been bonded to the three Acolyte Knights and thus were we able to defeat them. Subaru Natsuki later planned to return their spirits to them once they were safely contained.”

Aghart’s eyes bulged. “Why would he do that?! Is the man a fool?”

“He restored Malcolm an Griest’s spirits to him because, in my judgment, Subaru Natsuki is a kind man at heart, minister,” Julius replied calmly. His eyes swept over the assembled crowd until he had located Beatrice. She stood under guard near the edge of the room, cradling Puck in her arms. “He told me that he too knew what it meant to feel the special connection that comes from the gentle warmth of a loving spirit. He says that to be separated from his partners was the most grievous wound of his life and that his heart is desolate without them.”

Beatrice’s eyes filled with tears and she held Puck closer.

Julius turned back to the council. “He chooses not to inflict that same wound on any other person, not even an enemy. I… respect him greatly for such kindness.”

The assembly members started to talk quickly to one another.

Crusch could only shake her head. Subaru Natsuki has the luck of the devil. Then again, considering the possibility that he may very well be one, perhaps that’s not surprising.

She looked at Montefort whose normally placid face was twisted in a rare scowl. Several other council members were glaring at Montefort.

Crusch carefully hid a smirk. Montefort has completely bungled this and he knows it. The evidence that I submitted arriving in so timely a fashion to this mockery of a trial was one thing, and that strained his grip on most of the men in his faction, but Subaru acting heroically to rescue Julius and the Princess, not to mention defeating an enemy army singlehandedly, has caused them all to look like the vicious schemers that Felt was accusing them of being. It undercuts their entire argument and throws oil on the fire. The peasantry and demi-humans who support Subaru Natsuki will be nothing short of incensed when word gets out. The odds of violent riots or even a revolt being touched off just skyrocketed. With all of this going on, Montefort will struggle to keep his faction together.

And that gives me a chance. I thought that I was trapped until Montefort could make me his brood sow but now that his web is becoming unraveled, I have an opening. All I need to do is find and rescue Felix and then Montefort’s head will be mine!

McMahon finally quieted the room. “Is there anything else, Sir Julius?”

Julius shook his head. “Princess Kairei sent with me missives expressing her gratitude to the people of Lagunica for her timely rescue,” Julius said, hanging McMahon a sealed envelope. “She also extends her hopes for a new era of peace and cooperation with her southern neighbors now that House Griest has been crippled. The only other thing left to say is that I also had the good fortune to get to know the half-elf, Miss Emilia, that Subaru Natsuki travels with. I found her to be a compassionate and brave woman. I am confident that any accusation directed at her of nefarious behavior is woefully inaccurate.”

The room broke into an excited babble.

Crusch raised an eyebrow. Most of what I know about Julius comes from Felix but clearly the man has nerves of steel. He’s directly telling the sages’ council and the royal assembly that they are flat out wrong. They will strike out at him for this. I doubt that Montefort will try to kill him again. Now that he’s revealed in a public setting that he’s been targeted, another assassination would be too risky. But there are other ways to punish a man.

McMahon sighed. “Where is Subaru Natsuki now?”

“Princess Kairei is hosting Subaru Natsuki and Lady Emilia as honored guests,” Julius replied. “She claims them as close friends and has asked them to remain by her side as her closest advisers. I’m also aware that Subaru Natsuki and Lady Emilia remain on a quest to lift the curse on the Lady Emilia that has removed her from all memories. I have no idea where this will lead them but I expect that Subaru Natsuki and Lady Emilia will be in Siros for the foreseeable future where they are both held in honor.”

The assembly began to murmur amongst themselves.

“It appears clear to me that Gusteko is becoming a threat to Lagunica,” Choi grumbled. “First they threaten us with an army, now they are fostering witches in violation of all international law!”

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“Agreed,” Aghart grumbled. “A punitive mission should be launched immediately to Siros. If nothing else, it would establish how seriously Lagunica takes the Witchcraft performed by Subaru Natsuki. With luck, we can blame the entire fiasco on Siros and Princess Kairei.”

Crusch was on her feet instantly. “Excellencies! You can not attack Gusteko!”

McMahon gaveled. “You are out of order, Lady Crusch!” He said sternly.

Crusch did not return to her seat. “Excellencies, our armies are already stretched to the breaking point!” She said through clenched teeth. “They’re like a pat of butter spread across an entire loaf of bread! There is no way to attack Gusteko without simply begging Vollachia to take advantage!”

“No one is talking about attacking, Gusteko, Lady Crusch,” Choi reassured her. “Just Siros. It’s a small, isolated province held in contempt by most of Gusteko. This isn’t the other Great Houses fight. They won’t interfere.”

“How optimistic of you!” Byrd said incredulously. “Whether the other Houses like Ithil or not is beside the point. If Lagunica marches north, every House in Gusteko will join forces to protect their own interests. Gusteko will not look the other way while we bite off a large chunk of their southern territory! Even Kararagi and Vollachia might become involved if they fear that we’re developing territorial ambitions!”

“Gusteko lacks a strong army, especially if so many fell in battle against Ithil. We should manage without much difficultly,” Aghart said dismissively.

Crusch stared at the ‘wise men’ incredulously, too stunned to even be able to respond.

“Excellencies!” Julius burst out. “I protest! Princess Kairei is attempting to establish friendly ties with our nation! We should do all we can to encourage this!”

“Those who foster and companion with witches do not earn the friendship of the Dragon Kingdom,” Choi said witheringly. “Much like yourself.”

Julius looked stunned, then his expression became furious.

Out of the corner of her eye, Crusch saw Montefort gesture at her and she reluctantly retook her seat.

McMahon quickly gaveled. “Enough. Our response to Ithil will be discussed separately. This council is closed. Take the remaining prisoners away.”

Julius watched as the spirits were forcefully removed from the chamber.

Julius heard running and turned around only for Anastasia to throw her arms around him.

Julius started. “My lady!” He said in surprise.

“I thought that you were dead!” Anastasia wept into his chest.

Julius’s face contorted in sympathy and he awkwardly patted her back. “I will never abandon you, my Lady. Not even if I have to fight my way back to you from the gates of death itself,” He promised.

“Julius!” A voice shouted.

Anastasia and Julius looked up to see Heikel standing there with a scowl on his face. “I have a new assignment for you,” The guard captain grumbled.

“He just got back!” Anastasia protested.

“Duty calls,” Heikel spat. “Since we can’t trust him to do his job properly, not even to avoid falling for a witch’s lies, he’s been assigned to escort the prison caravan to Torgon Tower that departs this afternoon.”

“Listen to me, Heikel,” Anastasia hissed before Julius could respond. “Julius is my knight and I require his services. The caravan won’t leave for several hours. I intend to make certain that Julius gets a good meal into him before he departs. Understand?!”

Heikel scowled at Anastasia but the purple haired merchant didn’t budge. Finally Heikel stepped back. “Fine. Let the knight service his lady,” Heikel said with a blunt innuendo.

Julius clenched his fists but Anastasia held him back.

Heikel curled his lip. “Just make sure that you’re there when the caravan departs. And don’t expect to be back any time soon. You can watch the cat girl for your lady,” He sneered as he walked away.

“Cat girl?” Julius murmured.

Anastasia looked up at Julius with misery written across her face.

“Julius,” She murmured. “We have a lot to talk about and none of it is good.”

Fein and a group of six guards dragged Garfiel and Felt through town.

“Where is Torgon Tower, anyway?” Garfiel growled.

“Don’t worry about it, fleabag. We’re not going there,” Felt muttered.

“Huh?”

“I figured it out when they took us away without the spirits,” Felt said as the men dragged them into a dead-end alley.

“Ah, always the clever one, Felt,” Fein said, drawing his sword. “I will miss the opportunity to play with you a little but orders are orders,” He shrugged.

“Yes, they are,” A clipped voice said. “And I order you to let them go.”

Fein looked behind him and saw Rem and Ram standing at the mouth of the alleyway. Rem had her morning star.

Fein gave them a dirty look. “I’ve got no quarrel with either of you. Get the hell out of here and forget what you saw.”

“Sister, I think that this man has the wrong idea about us,” Rem said impassively.

“Clearly,” Ram agreed. “He is in dire need of correction.”

Fein scowled. “Listen-” His words choked off as Rem leaped toward him almost too fast to see. She swung her mace and the shattered ruins of Fein’s head went flying.

The two guards holding Garfiel gasped and moved to attack Rem. Garfiel’s hands were bound but he managed to tackle those guards, slamming them hard into the stone wall with an impact that crushed skulls.

One of the guards tried to grab Felt but Ram gestured and a blade formed of wind magic sliced his hand off at the wrist.

Rem’s next swing of her mace broke that man’s head and a final swing crushed the last guard’s chest.

Rem quickly stooped down and found a large ring of keys on Fein’s headless body. “You see, Garf? This is what I meant about killing people in private,” Rem said matter-of-fact.

“Good to know,” Garfiel answered with a smirk as Rem began trying the keys on Felt’s manacles, one by one.

“That one,” Felt pointed at a key. She spoke dispassionately.

Rem obeyed and quickly unlocked Felt and Garfiel.

“Put these on,” Ram ordered as she tossed two brown hooded robes at them. “We have a carriage waiting but we must leave now! It won’t take them long to figure out what has happened.”

Ram ran out of the alley followed by Garfiel.

Felt pulled the robe over her head. When she could see again, she noticed Rem standing there, fidgeting and biting her lip. “Miss Felt, I…”

“We’ll sort all this out later, Rem,” Felt sighed. “Come on, let’s go!”

The two raced out of the alley.

The spirits found themselves in a wagon that was like a cage on wheels. It was ludicrously tiny, perhaps a transport made for small animals. Beatrice’s wrist was tied to the wall with a long chain. Puck was unchained. No one was working very hard to keep them in one place, with the Evil Sealing Stone bracelets on their arms, Puck and Beatrice were no more dangerous than any other child and house cat.

Beatrice and Puck voiced no objections and passively went wherever they were led. The two sat in this tiny cage on wheels, cuddling together in abject misery.

Some time later, the guards returned to their cage and brought in a new prisoner. This one they chained up more properly although Beatrice barely paid them any notice.

The guards left without a word.

“Hey. Is that you, Beatrice?”

Beatrice blinked and looked up from Puck who was cradled in her lap.

Beatrice stared at the new prisoner and her face filled with dismay.

“Hey! It is you!” Mimi Pearlbaton said cheerfully. The tiny cat demi-human was chained on the other side of the cage. She had orange hair and wore a white robe. “It’s great to see that Mimi will have someone to play with on this trip.”

“Betty, do you know this person?” Puck asked in confusion.

Beatrice looked pained but finally nodded.

The cat girl looked unrealistically cheerful, despite their situation. “Hey, Beatrice? Mimi guesses that they put these dumb magic controlling bracelets on you too. Any suggestions on how we’re going to bust out of here? You’re the super-powered one, right?” Mimi asked. “We need to get out soon so fill Mimi in on the plan, please. This seat isn’t very comfortable.”

Puck looked thunderstruck and he turned to Beatrice, mutely asking for an explanation.

Beatrice face-palmed. “What did Betty ever do to deserve this, in fact?!”

Felt, Rem, and Garfiel lay on their bellies on a hill overlooking the road.

Ram remained with the carriage that was hidden nearby.

Garfiel slammed his fists together. “Alright,” Garfiel said, pumping himself up. “No way we let these fuckers keep the Little Bit, no fucking way!”

“Shut up, fleabag,” Felt muttered. “First, we need to see what we’re up against.”

The prison caravan slowly came into sight. It was twelve cages on wheels drawn by horses and one much smaller cage pulled by a pony.

“That must be where Master Puck and Miss Beatrice are,” Rem murmured.

Felt was busy counting heads. “Gods. They’ve got twenty prison guards walking along the caravan, and twelve royal guards. Royal guards don’t usually escort prison transports!”

Garfiel snorted. “There’s only about thirty of them. We can handle this.”

Felt stared at him. “Only?!” Felt whispered incredulously.

“Come on, shrimp, you’ve got me and Rem!” Garfiel asserted. “We’ll just take them by surprise and knock them sprawling. We don’t even have to kill them! Shrimp, you can run over and pick the lock on that cage and get the spirits out of there and then we all just bail. It’s barely a fight, we just need to keep them busy for a bit.”

Felt buried her face in her hands.

“There there, Miss Felt,” Rem patted her shoulder.

“Come on, these guys can’t be all that much tougher than the soldiers I sparred with back at Crusch’s camp. I bet I could take a dozen of them easy!”

“Garf!” Felt snapped. “Those are twelve royal guards down there. That’s a tougher proposition than taking on a crew of farm boys in uniform, and you and Rem aren’t invulnerable!”

“It’s worse than that, Miss Felt,” Rem murmured. “That one with the purple hair is Julius Juukulius. Anastasia Hoshen’s personal knight and one of the best swordsmen in the country.”

“We can do this!” Garfiel asserted. “Let’s hurry up and grab Ram! I don’t know why she’s still sitting with the carriage anyway.”

Felt sighed. “Ram is waiting for us in the carriage because… she was kind enough to let us figure out the reality for ourselves…”

Garfiel turned to Felt. “Then what’s the plan?! We aren’t really going to just leave them here, are we?”

Felt didn’t answer.

Garfiel looked horrified. “Are we?!” He whispered plaintively.

Felt sighed. “Garf, if we try to take on this crew, we’re going to die. All we’ve got is you and Rem and maybe Ram if she feels like it. Even all together, there’s no chance.”

“Then what are we going to do?!”

Felt took a deep breath. “We need to find Reinhard. The royal assembly is trying to keep us all separated. We need to start undoing that.”

“Hey, shrimp, I’m totally fine with tracking down your boyfriend-” Garfiel said.

“My what?!” Felt snapped with bared teeth.

“-But how does that help us get the spirits out? Reinhard won’t help us perform a jailbreak, or even let us do one.”

“I don’t know, Garf!” Felt said in a moan that felt as raw as a scream. She planted her face in the dirt. “Do you want me to spell it out for you?! I-don’t-know! I have no idea what the fuck to do next! I am hopelessly out of my depth here! The entire world has crumbled around me and I have no idea how to put it back together again! We’re going to go and find Reinhard because that will ensure that the rest of us stay safe. If we stay split up, they’ll just keep picking us off one by one!”

Felt got to her feet and stomped back to the carriage with her head hung in shame.

Rem gave Garfiel a sympathetic glance and then followed Felt.

Garfiel sat there for a few moments longer, watching the tiny cage roll by him. He had tears in his eyes when he got up.

For the past few days, Beatrice had been thinking that life couldn’t possibly get any worse but as usual, her calculations did not factor in Mimi Pearlbaton.

“Do you guys want to play a game?” Mimi asked.

“What game can we play when we’re all chained up, I suppose?” Beatrice asked dully.

“Mimi isn’t sure… ‘I spy?’”

“Betty doesn’t feel much like playing right now, in fact,” Beatrice muttered.

“Come on! We have to keep our spirits up until we come up with a way to bust out of here,” Mimi replied.

“I really respect how confident you are that we can escape, Mimi,” Puck muttered.

Mimi’s eyes widened. “Wow! Are you a talking cat?”

“Didn’t you hear him talk before, in fact?” Beatrice asked.

“That’s so cool! Can you use your ‘talking cat’ powers to break us out of here?” She asked excitedly.

Puck stared at her. “If I could do that, don’t you think that I would have already done it?” He sighed.

Mimi shrugged. “Mimi doesn’t know. Mimi thought maybe you were waiting for someone to ask. Maybe magic talking cats can only use their powers when people ask them to.”

Both spirits groaned in unison.

A guard walking beside the cage gave a low chuckle. “Damn! Look at these cute little dollies!”

“I’m looking!” Another snickered.

“Oh darling, we are going to have so much fun when we get to Torgon Tower. We can play dress up and everything,” The first leered at Beatrice.

Beatrice resolutely turned her back to him.

“This one isn’t half bad either,” The other said pointing at Mimi.

“Gross, Earl!” The first said in disgust. “You’re into demi-humans now?”

“Hey! I’ll try anything once. Yours isn’t human either, you know!”

“Mimi is sorry to disappoint you but we will not be playing,” Mimi said pleasantly. “Mimi knows that she’s adorable but she actually does have standards.”

The guards looked at one another in annoyance. “Maybe we need to declaw this kitten.”

“Yeah might save us a lot of trouble in the long term.”

“When we get to Torgon Tower, I’ll get my pliers and we-” His words were choked off.

Beatrice turned around and saw Julius Juukulius standing behind the guards. His sword blade had been laid lightly against the guard’s shoulder. “Aren’t you on watch?” He asked the guard mildly.

“Y- Yes, sir!”

“Then perhaps you should return to that duty,” Julius said.

The two soldiers saluted and rushed off.

Julius sheathed his sword and walked beside the cage for a moment. “Are you alright?” He asked Mimi.

“Yeah, Mimi’s fine. It’s just something that you learn to deal with when you look as cute as Mimi does,” Mimi shrugged. “Mimi’s glad that you’re here with us, Julius.”

Julius nodded. “I expect this to be extremely unpleasant for all of us. I loathe the fact that I’m far away from Lady Anastasia and unable to protect her but I am relieved that you three are not completely vulnerable.” He glanced at Beatrice. “Miss Beatrice,” He said.

She looked up at him.

“I am well aware that you and Master Puck have committed no crime. And… as little as I like to admit it, I owe Subaru Natsuki my life. If I find any way to ensure your safety by my life or death, I shall do so. To the best of my ability I will attempt to ensure that your tenure as prisoners is as non-detestable as possible.”

Puck frowned for a moment. “Well… thanks,” He muttered, sounding slightly impressed.

Julius nodded and walked away.

“Julius!” Beatrice called.

Julius looked back at her.

“You know what’s going on in the capitol right now, I suppose. You know that you’re out here with us just to separate you from your mistress, in fact. And you realize,” Beatrice said calmly, “That once we reach Torgon Tower we’ll all be prisoners. Even if you happen to occupy the other side of the bars.”

Julius paused and then nodded glumly before walking away.

“What was that all about?” Puck asked.

Beatrice make a face. “Betty doesn’t know. Maybe nothing. Maybe… making a connection, I suppose.”

“Julius is a really good guy,” Mimi assured them. “He’ll do whatever he can for us. That being said, Mimi thinks that we should start planning our escape. Mimi doubts that this ‘trial’ they promised her is going to happen any time soon. And even if it did, Mimi thinks that she already knows the verdict.”

Betty took a deep breath. “Enough! Betty has wasted days feeling sorry for herself! Betty’s Subaru is in trouble! Julius said that Betty’s Subaru is sad because he misses Betty and Bubby! If Betty’s Subaru can’t come to Betty then Betty and Bubby will go to Subaru!”

“What are you saying, Betty?” Puck asked in a somber voice.

“Betty and Bubby… and Mimi,” She added reluctantly. “Will break out of here and find Betty’s Subaru! And Betty and Bubby’s Mother!”

“Yay!” Mimi cheered. “Mimi is in! When do we leave?” Her voice suggesting that she felt ready to break out right now.

“One question, Betty,” Puck sighed. “You keep assuming that Subaru and your mother are in the same place. What if they’re not? Which one are you going to go searching for?”

Beatrice hesitated.

“Can I offer you any tea or refreshments?” Crusch asked in a perfunctory tone as the three princesses sat in Crusch’s private antechamber of her nearby estate.

“I think we should just get down to business,” Anastasia said in an uneven voice.

“Are we sure that this room is secure?” Priscilla asked.

Under other circumstances, Crusch might have been offended. But considering what they were up against, she let it pass. Crusch nodded, “All of my servants are vetted very carefully and no one except… Felix is allowed in here in any case.”

“Priscilla, you said that you had an idea?” Anastasia asked.

Priscilla frowned. “We are in a desperate situation, ladies,” Priscilla said with no trace of her usual arrogance. “Two of us are going to be killed shortly and the third will only live long enough to be a brood sow for Montefort, Pickett, and Zyst’s next puppet king.”

“I think that we understand the basics,” Anastasia said impatiently. “We need to do something about those three. What about hiring a professional assassin? I have some connections with the Black Silver Coins.”

“Not a bad idea,” Crusch mused. “However, we’ll need to hit all three at the same time and that would be challenging. Any ‘accident’ will be assumed to be a sign of treachery on our part.”

“It wouldn’t work anyway,” Priscilla dismissed. “Any assassin that we hired would need to get by Cecilus. I doubt that we could find such a person.”

“Priscilla, who is this ‘Cecilus,’ anyway? You seemed to know him,” Anastasia asked.

Priscilla made a face. “Cecilus Segmunt is the highest ranking Divine General in the Vollachian Empire. The sword of the Emperor,” Priscilla curled her lip. “His power is said to rival Reinhard van Astrea’s.”

“Well, we can drop the assassin idea then,” Crusch grumbled. “We’re not going to be able to find an assassin who plays in that weight class.”

“I’ve heard rumors of one in Kararagi,” Anastasia said dubiously. “A shinobi. But he mostly does jobs for the government. I’m not sure if he would accept an independent contract.”

“And it’s pretty unlikely that the Kararagi city states would want to help us anyway. It’s probable that they’d feel more sympathetic to Montefort than us,” Priscilla grumbled.

Anastasia shook her head. “What is going on here, anyway? Why is Vollachia involved in this mess in the first place?” Anastasia asked. “I don’t understand why they’d care if Subaru Natsuki becomes King or not. Is working with Montefort really that much preferable? And you’d think that Vollachia would be thrilled to see its main rival dedicate itself to another few decades of violent internal strife, no matter what caused it.”

“They don’t care about Subaru Natsuki,” Crusch explained. “But they do care about a civil war. A war between rival noble factions would delight Vollachia to no end but a race war between humans and demi-humans or a revolution between the nobility and the peasantry is an entirely different situation. The rise of the demi-humans fifty years ago was a disaster for the entire continent, both economically and socially. Every nation has its own racial tensions as well as frictions between the upper and lower classes. Lagunica was the only nation that actually had a civil war but the chaos spread everywhere. If Lagunica goes up in flames, the other countries will feel the burn as well.”

“If we can’t get past Cecilus than I suppose that puts physical force out of the equation to deal with Montefort,” Priscilla said, returning to the original subject. “We’ll have to rely on guile. Crusch, you’re our best politician. Is there any way we could gather enough political capital to counter Montefort, Pickett, and Zyst?”

Crusch shook her head. “Unlikely. That’s why we were all so thrilled when we each recruited one of them to our factions,” She said bitterly. “They were hugely powerful and influential. We probably should have spent more time thinking about what that meant. When Montefort swore his support to me, I never realized that it amounted to no more than a bet with the other two members of their triumvirate about which one of us would win the throne.” She paused. “Anastasia, you know where Julius and Mimi are at least. I’m sure that you have the resources to sneak a guard and a few prisoners out of Torgon prison. The three of you could return to Kararagi where you’d be safe. I doubt that Montefort would pursue you there. It wouldn’t be worth the trouble. Especially since he knows that I can’t run as long as Felix is a hostage and I don’t know where he is.”

“I had considered that,” Anastasia admitted. “That was my very first thought. It certainly sounds easy and that worries me. Pickett hasn’t even said anything to me since this all started.”

“Are you complaining?” Priscilla asked.

“No, but I am suspicious. Pickett has leverage over me and the entire Hoshin Trading Company with Julius and Mimi taken hostage. I can’t imagine that he wouldn’t use that leverage to try to fill his pockets but so far, nothing.”

“It’s useful that Julius wasn’t kidnapped though,” Crusch mused. “He could certainly find an opportunity to disappear from Torgon. He could even remove the leverage from Anastasia if he found a way to sneak Mimi Pearlbaton out.”

“I suspect that is part of the plan,” Anastasia commented. “Either Montefort is trying to lure me into a trap by tempting me to act to free Julius and Mimi or he’s simply trying to discard a pawn that he doesn’t think he has any use for by letting us flee across the border.”

“Most likely Montefort wants Crusch for the ‘honor’ of this golden slave collar,” Priscilla interjected. “He was originally a member of her faction. I’d guess that Montefort only wants Anastasia around to remind Crusch that she can be replaced if threats against Felix’s life don’t make her behave.”

“Crusch, you’re called the ‘Goddess of War.’ The Lagunican army is loyal to you personally,” Anastasia pointed out. “If we could free Felix, you could rally the troops to deal with Montefort and his supporters.”

“Of course, finding the hostages is the hard part,” Priscilla sighed.

Crusch shook her head. “Even if Felix were not a factor, I can’t say that I’m certain that it would work,” Crusch sighed. “I can easily lead my soldiers against any foreign foe but if I try to attack Montefort then I’m the one perceived as staging a coup. They might not believe me when I told them about Montefort’s perfidy. I’m not sure how many of my officers would actually support me in that situation…”

“I refuse to believe that we’re all this helpless!” Anastasia protested. “We’re three of the most powerful people in the kingdom! There is no way that Montefort has disarmed us all this easily!”

“Don’t kid yourself,” Priscilla said sharply. “The whole time that they were in our factions, they were each learning how to manipulate us. They were learning where our pressure points were so they could control the newly crowned King. This is only slightly more overt than their original plan.”

“Priscilla, why haven’t you just left?” Crusch asked curiously. “I can’t imagine that you’re going to search for Aldebaran. What’s keeping you here?”

“What?” She snorted. “Shall I go off to Gusteko or Kararagi with nothing but the clothes on my back and whatever gold I could carry? I’ve earned my rank and title and I’m not giving it up without a fight!”

Crusch gave a slow smile. “I never thought that I’d say this, Lady Priscilla but I approve of your attitude.”

“Come to think of it… Priscilla might just be our ace in the hole,” Anastasia mused.

“Of course I am!” Priscilla asserted. “…How?”

Anastasia smirked at her. “Montefort and the others are going to be watching Crusch and me closely but they already told you that they want you to disappear. You could go places that we can’t and find allies to get us all out of this mess.”

“Such as? What kind of allies could we find?” Priscilla asked. She frowned. “I’m certain that Vincent has his own agenda in this mess. Maybe he could be persuaded to assist us.”

“Emperor Vincent?” Crusch asked incredulously. “Doesn’t he want you dead?”

Priscilla hesitated. “It’s… complicated. It’s just the way that things are in Vollachia. Besides, can we think of anyone else who might be able to counter Montefort and the others?”

“My first thought was Subaru Natsuki,” Anastasia said.

Crusch started. “What?!”

“He had the cunning to outmaneuver all of us,” Anastasia pointed out. “And if what you told me about the Sin Archbishops was true then he was able to hold his own against a foe that even Reinhard van Astrea couldn’t defeat. Julius said that he even managed to defeat an entire Gusteko army that outnumbered him two hundred to one. What better ally could we have?”

“We can’t trust Subaru Natsuki!” Crusch protested. “He’s fallen under the influence of the Witch of Envy!”

Priscilla and Anastasia both stared at her. “Crusch,” Anastasia asked in a incredulous tone. “You don’t really believe that ridiculous story about Subaru Natsuki roaming around the woods with the Witch of Envy in tow, do you?”

“He burned the entire valley alive!” Crusch pointed out. “My spies claim that according to the survivors, he started this conflagration by simply raising his hand! Not even Roswaal could accomplish that!”

“Were you not listening to Julius?” Priscilla said in a scathing tone. “He explained exactly how this trap was set! It was trickery and nothing more! Even Al could have created that trap, given enough time!”

Crusch held her tongue. Nobody is going to believe me. Ironically, Felix’s evidence makes the accusation seem even more unbelievable. They’d need to see her with their own eyes before I’d have any chance of convincing them and perhaps even then I might fail. Julius spent just a little time with the witch and already seems to have fallen under her spell! Strangely, I think that Julius has a higher opinion of the witch than he does of Subaru Natsuki, although perhaps that simply reflects good judgment on his part…

Moreover, Felix’s life hangs in the balance. I hate to admit it but Anastasia has a point. Subaru Natsuki is a genius among geniuses and his power might very well rival Reinhard van Astrea. We have a common foe and he is the only trump card that I can even imagine winning us this game. As much as I hate to admit it, perhaps a deal with the devil is called for. I might be able to use one devil to strike down another. With any luck, they’ll both be exhausted after the struggle and I can find a way to deal with Montefort’s faction and Subaru Natsuki’s witch.

“Assuming that we did wish to seek an alliance with Subaru Natsuki, how would we begin?” Crusch asked quietly.

“I’ll find him,” Priscilla said confidently. “My luck will lead me to him.”

Crusch shook her head. “Our hopes of freedom depend solely on luck,” Crusch sighed.

“If we do find him, what do we offer him?” Anastasia asked. “He’s out of the royal selection now, thanks to Montefort’s coup. What could we promise him in exchange for helping us?”

Priscilla shrugged, “Subaru Natsuki is no fool. He’ll realize that if he wants the crown, he’ll need to take it by main force. We can help him destroy Montefort’s faction and then claim the throne. We’ll make the same offer of alliance that we discussed the other day: The Queen and the Chancellor. We’ll offer him all of our assistance in claiming the throne and carrying out his agenda.”

Crusch shook her head ruefully. If you poor fools only knew what his agenda truly was…

“That makes sense,” Anastasia agreed. She glanced at Crusch. “Is there any message you want Priscilla to deliver to Subaru for you?”

Crusch frowned, looking down at the floor. Would you really sell your soul to the devil? Subaru Natsuki is working with the Witch, whether willingly or due to enchantment. Working with Subaru Natsuki is working with the Witch. And witchcraft is the only viable explanation for the terrifying power he possesses. Montefort’s lies may have a grain of truth within them.

All the same, would you choose Montefort over Subaru Natsuki? Montefort is just as much a monster even without witchcraft. In truth, he is more of a monster. Whatever your grievances against Subaru Natsuki and his Witch, they have yet to stoop to hostage taking or threats of torture and murder inflicted on innocent people. Devil or not, perhaps the enemy of your enemy is your ally, if not your friend.

Montefort will never return Felix to you. Priscilla was right. Felix will be a lifelong prisoner who will be tortured and then destroyed at whatever moment Montefort decides.

Your father would be deeply ashamed of you. Crusch of House Karnstein should be able to protect the nation. Instead she has failed to protect even her closest friend, ally, and confidant. If that doesn’t merit selling your soul to the devil, perhaps it would be worth renting it for a time…

Crusch looked up at Priscilla. “Please tell Subaru Natsuki that if he can aid me in rescuing Felix… I’ll be grateful.”

Capella sat in her cell fuming. She was the only prisoner in this part of the dungeon and she hadn’t seen a guard in some time. She’d been questioned for hours, poked, prodded, and beaten but all that had been gotten out of her were screams and curses.

Now she was starting to feel hungry. Her. The beautiful, illustrious Capella Emerada Lugnica’s perfect body was betraying her by demanding food.

This single intrusive violation that her jailers had inflicted on her enraged Capella more than all the others combined. Her body was divine. It was just wrong for it to be emitting feelings of distress for something as mundane as lack of food.

Capella suddenly realized that someone was standing in front of her cell and she threw herself at the door with a snarl.

She froze, suddenly recognizing the figure. “Oh my,” Capella whispered, her harsh voice growing silky. “This is a surprise. How many years has it been? And you came all the way down here just to see little old me? Have you missed me?”

“I haven’t given you a second thought since striking our bargain,” He said coldly.

“Oh, that’s so mean,” Capella pouted in what was clearly intended to be a flirtatious tone. “I never realized that you were connected to Siros. It looks like I could have found a much easier way to get what I wanted.”

“I couldn’t give you access to the Vault even if I wanted to.”

Capella’s eyes flickered. She struck a jaunty pose. “It’s funny that we meet again like this. You should really let me out of here now. Those wicked old torturers are being so mean to me,” She said in a exaggerated pout, her tone petulant. “I might just… break under all that questioning! I wonder what would happen if I told them about our old arrangement…”

“No one would believe you in ten lifetimes,” He said bluntly.

“Are you so sure?” She cooed.

He didn’t respond.

Capella laughed and strutted around her cell. “If you’re not worried about me spilling the beans then why did you come down here? Have you been fantasizing about me?” Capella said in a flirtatious tone. “Do I dance through your dreams late at night wearing nothing but a smile? Truthfully, I’ve missed you too.”

“Does this ‘good girl’ act that you’re attempting, ever work?” He asked in a bored tone.

“Why? Do you prefer bad girls?” Capella asked coyly, reaching through the bars to trace a finger along his chest. “Just let me out of this cell and I’ll be a real bad girl for you.”

“You’re nothing but skin and bones and you look like you’re fourteen,” Her visitor said in contempt. “If you’re going to try to play the seductress, why not choose a body that a sane person might be attracted to?”

Capella’s jaw dropped and her eyes blazed with hatred. She threw herself at the cell door, grabbing it with with both hands and shaking it furiously. “You listen to me, you disgusting old perv,” She said through clenched teeth. “My body is perfect! It is striking, immaculate, and completely without flaw! I am the embodiment of beauty! Everyone who isn’t a queer is dreaming about my body, you pathetic little shit-fucker! You should be down on your hands and knees fucking begging me to lay my hands on your gross, dirty dick just so that I can fucking tear it off!”

“Much better,” He said calmly. “I think that I actually prefer you like this.”

Capella hissed at him. She took a deep breath and stepped back from the cell door. “What the fuck do you want?”

“I need more of what you gave me last time.”

“Why the fuck should I?” Capella asked bluntly.

“If you ever want your freedom again, much less for your stay here to be pleasant, you would do well to humor me,” He held up a small heavy cup that looked like it was made of stone.

Capella gave him a thin smile. She raised a finger to her lips and made some show of sensuously licking and sucking on it while holding his gaze.

A moment later, she bit down hard on her digit with a crunch. Her lips widened into a lunatic grin as the blood flowed down her chin.

Capella started to stick her finger into the offered cup then pulled it away at the last second. Capella’s dark red, almost black, blood continued to drip from her rapidly healing digit onto the floor where it ate into the stone tiles with an angry hiss.

“On second thought, maybe not,” Capella said with a smirk. “Maybe we should talk about how you’re going to get me out of here first…”

He fumed, turned on his heel and stormed away.

Capella grinned at him. “Don’t be a stranger now,” She called after him mockingly. “Maybe later, you could come back down here so that I can help you celebrate…”

Capella licked at the blood still dripping down her chin with an unnaturally long tongue.

Emilia and Subaru had joined Anri for an early dinner and then ridden Patrasche back to the Grand Archives. Gustov had returned to the Archives from a meeting around then and he proceeded to go through the books with a fine-tooth comb, looking for any references whatsoever to this kind of memory curse.

Subaru and Emilia couldn’t make heads or tails out of most of the languages these ancient books were written in so they decided to go outside and enjoy some fresh air as the sun started to set. Gustov and his assistants remained inside working hard on their research.

Gusteko was much chillier than Lagunica. Instead of early summer, the area was in the midst of a begrudging spring. Subaru was surprised to discover how comfortable he felt here. After enduring a few days of the Elior Forest’s unnatural chill, he supposed that he had toughened up.

Subaru and Emilia sat on the big stone steps outside the Archives.

“Mili,” Subaru muttered. “What do you think we should do now?”

“Hm?”

“I mean… if there’s really no cure in the Grand Archives then… I don’t know what to try next,” Subaru whispered despairingly. “But I don’t just want to give up!”

Emilia took his hands. “We’ll never give up, Subaru. But maybe… maybe it’s time to accept what we can’t change.”

“What do you mean?”

“It’s like you said. Even if we can’t restore Daddy’s memories of me, we will still find him and bring him home. Our family will be whole again, one way or the other. And if I need to convince Beatrice and Puck to love me all over again then that’s just what I have to do. There’s a difference between giving up and changing tactics, Subaru.”

Subaru took a deep breath. “‘We can’t direct the wind but we can adjust our sails.’”

“I’m not sure that I understood that metaphor, Subaru, but I think that you’re probably right.”

Subaru chuckled.

That evening for the first time in years, Priscilla walked back to her townhouse in the city.

Priscilla was livid. The traffic in town this afternoon had been ridiculous. After her carriage had been stuck in one place for over an hour, Priscilla had simply given up and resolved to walk the last mile to her home.

The walk took her an inordinate amount of time as one of her heels had broken off during the hike and so she found herself limping back to her townhouse.

She was about to turn the final corner to her home when she heard a harsh voice demand: “-Where is Priscilla Barielle?”

Priscilla froze in place and drew back. She pressed flat against the wall, listening carefully. Priscilla was a woman who appreciated her creature comforts but she was also a product of the cutthroat world of Vollachian politics. Before anything else, Priscilla was a survivor.

Priscilla heard the tired, old voice of Fron, her butler. “She’s not here-”

Fronn’s words cut off with a strangling sound.

Priscilla peered around the corner. Fron was being held in the air by his neck. Six enormous thugs were gathered around him. Most of them wore hooded cloaks to disguise themselves. “Where is she?” The lead thug demanded. “Her coachmen told us she was here!”

Priscilla’s eyes narrowed and she made a mental note to discharge the driver who’d given her up to these thugs.

“She’s… not… here!” Fron gasped.

“The where is she?!”

Priscilla quietly walked away. Priscilla had a high opinion of her abilities in combat, an opinion that was not unjustified, but instinct told her that picking this particular fight was unwise.

Those men were certainly hired by Montefort and the others. They know that common rough necks are no match for me. There’s fair odds that they’re just the bait. If I attacked them then I’d probably discover that Cecilius Segmunt is waiting for me in the wings.

Would Cecilius actually kill me? Vincent certainly doesn’t want me dead… but he probably didn’t feel safe telling Cecilius that. Exposing that Vincent cares about me would make Vincent vulnerable. That’s just how Vollachian politics are.

The situation has deteriorated. I need to get out of town. Unseen. Tonight.

I only have about twenty gold coins in my pocket. This should be interesting.

And annoying.

My luck will see me through this mess but I shouldn’t expect it to be pleasant. I must find Subaru Natsuki.

Anri sat on the floor in her brother’s playroom, just watching him fuss with his ‘Anri’ doll.

She sighed. “I really wish you were… feeling better, Gael. I don’t know how to handle all this new responsibility. People are acting like I suddenly have all the answers. But the truth is, I’m the same stupid girl I was last week when I blundered like an idiot into a trap set by Malcolm an Griest. I don’t know how to run a country. It’s really kind of sad since I’ve been training for it most of my life and I’m still absolutely clueless about what to do and how to do it.”

There was a knock at the door. “Come in,” She muttered.

Uncle Radu walked into the room. He looked at Gael sadly and then sat down beside her. “How are you feeling?”

Anri smiled. “A little overwhelmed, honestly.”

“You should be proud!” Radu said. “You haven’t even sat down on the throne yet and your deeds are already worth a song or two. I say that from experience. I sneaked off to the local tavern tonight and heard a couple. The music was OK but her voice was horribly off key.”

“Uncle,” Anri scoffed with a rueful smile.

“I’m serious! Even if you never do anything else in your entire life, you already rank among the most accomplished members of your line.”

Anri sighed. “Do you think that means they’ll let me get away with not going anything for the first few years?”

Before Radu could answer a soldier there was a knock at the door.

“Enter,” Radu called.

A soldier in a muddy, travel stained cloak came in. “Sir!” He saluted.

Radu sighed. “I thought that I asked for us to be left alone tonight. The Princess has had a hell of a time!” Radu said, sounding more resigned than angry.

“I’m sorry, Regent, but this is an emergency. House Craite, House Griest, House Brokvar, House Hilde, and House Voivode are demanding to see the Princess at a council. Tomorrow night. They claim that they’re prepared to declare war if she does not appear.”

“For what?!” Radu demanded.

The soldier looked awkward. “They demand that the Princess be brought up on charges for the loss of their men-”

“The same men who were holding her prisoner and pursued her when she escaped?” Radu asked sarcastically.

“…And also for the fostering of witches,” The soldier finished lamely. “Apparently, Lagunica announced that it was prepared to declare war to eradicate the witches.”

“What?!” Anri cried in outrage.

The soldier shrugged helplessly. “I’m just the messenger, your Highness!”

“Of course you are,” Radu said apologetically. He pinched the bridge of his nose.

“Uncle, this is madness! They’re prepared to declare war on us while they’re still worried about a war with Lagunica?” Anri asked incredulously.

Radu shrugged. “If they really believe their own publicity, then they think attacking us is depriving Lagunica of its principle staging ground in the north…” He looked at the soldier. “Where is this summit?”

“Kocytos,” The soldier answered. “The mayor has agreed to host.”

Radu looked thoughtful. “This might work out well. I expect that most of the influential figures in Gusteko will be there. It’ll be fertile ground for you to make new alliances. If enough of the lesser Houses join you, it might persuade the other Princes to back off.”

“We need to leave immediately, Uncle,” Anri said quietly.

Radu nodded. “Yes, we do. I’ll round up the palace guard for an escort. You should go grab your friends. They’ll want to be present for this. And something tells me you’ll appreciate having some extra muscle along on this trip.”

“So that’s what happened,” Felt finished with a sigh.

That evening Felt, Garfiel, and Reinhard were in Reinhard’s small room at the inn in the desert town of Mirula. Felt sat on the bed while Reinhard and Garfiel stood nearby.

“This is… unthinkable,” Reinhard murmured, his legs buckling underneath him and forcing to sit down on the bed beside Felt. “Our friend, the best man that I have ever had the good fortune to know, branded a Witch? Impossible.”

“It happened, Red,” Garfiel growled. “Can I just assume that none of us give a damn about the Captain being declared a Witch?”

Reinhard stared at Garfiel in shock, “Master Garfiel, what are you saying?”

“I’m saying that the Captain is in serious danger and we better be the ones who find him first! Anyone else is going to try and kill him on sight! We need to find him and hide him until we can figure out what we’re going to do about this,” Garfiel snorted.

“‘What we’re going to do about it?’” Felt echoed incredulously. “What? Like the royal assembly is just going to change their minds about this? This is an assassination, fleabag. The nobility wants Subaru dead and this is how they’re going to do it.”

“Then we find him and we get him over the border!” Garfiel declared.

“That will do no good, Master Garfiel,” Reinhard murmured. “A convicted Witch is damned in the eyes of all civilized men.”

Garfield snorted. “Come on! Gusteko and Vollachia wouldn’t believe the sages’ council if they said that the sky was blue! If Lagunica wants the Captain dead then either nation would probably give him a medal!”

Reinhard shook his head. “A charge of witchcraft is different, I’m afraid. No matter what nation Subaru was to go to, the authorities would respect the judgment of the sages’ council in this regard and kill Subaru without thought.”

The room was quiet for a moment.

Garfiel scoffed. “Then… we just have to come up with a better plan to hide him, right? Maybe we sneak him back to the Sanctuary or… Arlem. Come on, guys! He’s our friend! We’re not going to just abandon the Captain now, right?”

No one answered. Felt stared down at the floor and Reinhard looked miserable.

“Right?” Garfiel asked in a plaintive voice.

Reinhard sighed and buried his face in his hands. “How did it come to this? Since the day I met Subaru, I’ve been beset by visions of a golden age. Visions of the rule of a King ordained by Heaven. The moment that I handed that royal insignia to Subaru Natsuki was the proudest moment in my entire life,” Reinhard said, seemingly on the verge of tears.

Felt frowned. “You gave him the insignia? I didn’t know that.”

Reinhard nodded slowly. “I expect that I never mentioned it but I waited beside his bed for two days, waiting for him to wake up so that I could give it to him…”

Felt’s eyes widened.

Reinhard rose to his feet. “Perhaps we should retire. I’m uncertain of what we can do now but-”

“Reinhard,” Felt whispered.

The two men turned to look at Felt and saw that her eyes were huge and she stared off into the distance at nothing. “What did you just say?”

Reinhard frowned. “I said that we should retire-”

“Not that! Before that!”

Reinhard looked at Garfiel for a clue to what was going on but the demi-human looked just as confused as he felt. “I said that I waited beside Subaru’s bed so I could-”

“When, Red?! When did you give the insignia to him?!”

Reinhard shook his head. “Miss Felt, I don’t understand-”

“God damn it, Red! Just answer the fucking question!” Felt exploded.

Reinhard flinched. “I… I gave it to him as soon as he woke up from the injuries that the Bowel Hunter inflicted.”

Felt gathered her hands to her mouth. Her eyes darted all over the room.

Garfiel coughed. “Uh, care to let us in on what you’re thinking, shrimp?”

Felt stood up. “Reinhard, think very carefully,” She said in a barely controlled voice. “Why did you give him that insignia? Why did it even cross your mind to try and see if it would react to him? Dragon priestesses are always female.”

Reinhard thought for a moment. “I saw the insignia glowing in his hand in your grandfather’s tavern.”

“Yes! The insignia I stole!” Felt shouted. “Whose insignia was that?!”

“It was… Subaru’s…” Reinhard trailed off.

“Hey, can anyone catch the new guy up to speed?” Garfiel asked plaintively.

Felt sat back down on the bed. “Who did I steal that insignia from? I thought it was Subaru’s but…” She whispered to herself.

Reinhard winced. “Miss Felt, please. Subaru gave you that-”

“Oh, go bury it, Red!” Felt screamed. “Where did I get that insignia?” She demanded.

Reinhard took a deep breath. “You stole it from… Subaru,” He said but a hint of doubt entered into his voice.

“Yeah! But how did I steal the insignia before you gave it to him, Red?” Felt continued, her voice gaining conviction. “Why would you give him an insignia if he already had one?!”

“I… I don’t know,” Reinhard admitted. “I must be misremembering, likely confusing the time that I first gave him his insignia and the time when I returned the insignia that you had… borrowed.”

“No, you’re not, Reinhard. We’re not misremembering. It’s just like Beatrice said,” Felt whispered. “It’s a paradox,” Felt’s eyes widened and she clapped both hands over her mouth.

“Miss Felt, forgive me, but what is a ‘paradox?’”

Felt didn’t answer. She sat there frozen, her eyes staring in horror.

“A paradox is a statement that is inherently impossible or logically inconsistent,” Garfiel explained.

Felt and Reinhard both looked at him in astonishment.

Garfiel scowled. “What?! I know stuff! Fuck off, the both of you!”

“Miss Felt,” Reinhard said, kneeling by her side in concern, “I confess that I share your confusion on this matter. What does it mean?”

Felt stared off into the distance for a long moment and then she took a deep breath. “Beatrice told me… that Witchcraft can be used to change memories like we think happened to Subaru… but it doesn’t have infinite power. When it tries to add or remove people from someone’s memory, it… sometimes runs into problems that it can’t resolve. She said that the way to convince a person that their memories have been altered is to find a paradox in those memories,” Felt stared at Reinhard with a horrified look on her face.

Reinhard frowned, puzzling his way through this.

“Shrimp,” Garfiel said slowly. “You were talking about finding a paradox in Subaru’s memory. But if the paradox is in your and Reinhard’s memories then…”

“Subaru was right,” Felt whispered. “It wasn’t him. We were the ones bewitched.”

“Miss Felt,” Reinhard protested. “The evil witch is the one responsible for this accursed mess. We may be feeling a bit confused right now but I am certain that there is a perfectly logical explanation for all of this.”

Felt shook her head. “No. No, there isn’t, Reinhard,” Felt whispered. “Our memories don’t make sense. That means that our memories were the ones that were changed.”

“But, shrimp,” Garfiel said in a puzzled voice, “Why? I mean… why just stop there? If the witchcraft fixed everything else in our memories so perfectly, why did it blunder in this one case?”

Felt stared down at the floor, deep in thought. “I don’t know, Garf. Maybe… Maybe it just couldn’t find a solution.” She thought hard about it. “Subaru told us that he had gotten engaged to the witch after he held her insignia. Let’s just… pretend for a minute that’s what really happened. I stole her insignia and then she and Subaru tracked me down at Gramps’s. Then Reinhard fended off Elsa and saw the insignia glowing in Subaru’s hand. That’s why he realized that Subaru was a possible candidate.”

“Miss Felt, none of that happened,” Reinhard corrected gently.

Felt ignored him. “Maybe there was just… no other way to fix the inconsistency. Maybe the changes needed to do anything else about it were just so overwhelming that the witchcraft gave up. If Subaru and the witch were engaged and both were fighting for the throne, then they basically had one royal camp. All the witchcraft needed to do was delete… ‘Emilia’ from our memories and attribute to Subaru everything that she did. Easy enough. But how do you make Subaru come into contact with a royal insignia in the first place? They don’t just hand them out for anyone to try. They never would have offered it to a man to ascertain if he could be a priestess, there would have been no point! That means that I would have had to steal an insignia from another candidate to make this work and then, once Subaru held the insignia, he would have had to get engaged to them to keep them in the selection or they would have been disqualified. And if either of those events had happened, how many more things would need to be changed?”

Reinhard frowned. “If our memories are being befuddled, then the most likely explanation is that the witch’s dark power is steadily growing. She is gaining the ability to manipulate the memories of more people,” Reinhard muttered in worry.

Reinhard shook his head and took Felt’s hand. “Miss Felt,” He urged. “I confess that I do not fully understand what is going on right now, but you are extremely tired. Perhaps it would be best for you to retire for the evening and look at the matter with fresh eyes in the morning. Perhaps your remarkable intelligence will enable you to resolve this inconsistency.”

Felt stared at Reinhard with a horrified expression. “I’ve already resolved it, Reinhard,” She whispered in shock, “Subaru was right all along. And that means… That means that I have made a titanic, unforgivable mistake.”

Felt buried her face in her hands and wept.