"…That's not exactly a comfortable situation, is it."
"If he were the Crown Prince, there'd be no issue. But he's the Third Prince. A royal who shouldn't shine is shining too brightly."
"When you join the Celestial Knights, your nationality changes. Technically, he's no longer part of the imperial family."
"Do you think the citizens of the Empire consider him a foreigner?"
"..."
"He'll always be royalty. As long as the name Kyrie and the House of Harden remains in his surname, as long as the people of the Empire claim him as their own, it doesn't matter what his official nationality says."
Nicole lifted a spoon and dipped it in her tea, drawing on the table with the thin trail of moisture. First she drew a simple lion, the white lion, emblem of the Kyrier Imperial Family.
"His Majesty had two empresses."
She drew a small circle beside the lion.
"The first he married when he was still Crown Prince. She was in poor health and passed away not long after his ascension. The son she bore is the First Prince and current Crown Prince, Kruen de Harden Kyrie."
A line from the lion to the first circle. Below it, the number 1. Then a new circle.
"With the empress's position vacant, he married again. This second empress gave birth to two sons: Second Prince Karem and Third Prince Yurien."
Two lines from the new circle to the lion, labeled 2 and 3. Nicole wiped the circles away with the tea-dampened spoon.
"The second empress died in childbirth with the third prince. You know the empress's position has been empty ever since."
"I know. His Majesty loved her so deeply he hasn't taken another consort. And with three princes, the ministers have no real objection."
"Exactly. The first empress was a political match, but the second was someone His Majesty truly loved. It caused quite a stir at the time. She was a daughter of a low-ranking baron's family. Rumor has it he was in love with her even before his marriage to the first empress. So think about this, Echi."
Nicole tapped the third prince's position gently with the spoon, then pointed to the lion's head.
"What do you imagine His Majesty feels toward the Third Prince? The woman he loved died bringing him into the world."
"…No."
"I don't know the specifics of the imperial family's inner workings. But one thing seems certain, His Majesty doesn't like Commander Yurien. It may be stronger than that. Something close to hatred."
"Even though he's the son of the woman he loved?"
"He's the child who took her."
Echi said nothing. It was a bitter story. She could guess that Yurien's childhood had not been a happy one. Nicole set down the spoon.
"Right now, the succession situation is complicated. His Highness the Crown Prince has a legitimate claim, a strong maternal family behind him, and powerful in-laws in House Diassant through his wife.
But His Majesty openly favors the Second Prince, the son of the woman he loved."
"The two princes are competing for the throne?"
"Fiercely. The Crown Prince has solid backing, but His Majesty is actively supporting the Second Prince."
"That's a dangerous situation in many ways."
"Here's the key question: on one side, the Second Prince with the Emperor's support. On the other, the First Prince with the nobility and a legitimate claim. If their power is roughly equal, who has the advantage?"
"The one with popular support."
"Correct. Which is why both sides are working desperately to prove their worth to the people. But which prince do the people of the Empire actually know? Care about? Praise?"
"…Yurien de Harden Kyrie."
Echi answered blankly. Her own life had been too consuming for imperial succession politics to interest her much.
'Now that I think about it...who did become Emperor, in the erased timeline, after Azenka was destroyed…?'
While she was reaching into her memory, Nicole continued calmly.
"To both factions, Commander Yurien is a thorn. A common enemy. If he were some obscure, unremarkable prince, it wouldn't be a problem. But extraordinary talent has a way of becoming a curse."
Few people would understand those words more than Echinacea. The catastrophes produced by her own talent had been horrifying. She closed her eyes slowly and opened them, steadying herself. Nicole didn't notice and kept going.
"Commander Yurien was excessively gifted from childhood. Ask the elder mages at the Mage Tower, they'll tell you. In every discipline he studied, he produced results the other princes couldn't approach. His Majesty found it deeply displeasing. That's why he was effectively exiled to Azenka."
"I thought Commander Yurien joined the Celestial Knights of his own will."
"That's the official story. In truth, it was closer to being sent away. They couldn't execute or exile an innocent prince, so they used his talent for swordsmanship as a pretext to ship him off to Azenka. But the result.."
"He became a Master. A Giosa owner."
"Exactly. They cast him out because they couldn't bear to see him. He shone brighter than ever. From the Emperor's perspective, and the other princes', it must be unbearable."
Nicole gave a short, humorless laugh. Echi stared at the faint tea marks left on the table.
She hadn't known any of this. The Yurien she knew had always been noble and luminous. She had assumed the only misfortune in his life was being entangled with her. The demon of the cursed sword.
Nicole sighed and settled back.
"That's the background. Now for what matters. Why was the cursed sword delivered to House Roaz? We never found a definitive culprit. Not that it changes much. There's nothing we could do about it regardless."
"Because the imperial family is behind it?"
"Exactly. His Majesty, the Second Prince's faction, the Crown Prince's faction, it's one of those three. Or possibly some agreement between them. In any case, the conclusion is: Roaz was sacrificed as part of a plot aimed at Commander Yurien."
"A plot..."
"No idea how the cursed sword first came into the imperial family's possession. But what they wanted was a spectacle. And Roaz was the perfect offering. The message?
'A Giosa owner isn't that impressive. It's all exaggerated. Look! We handled the cursed sword that the Celestial Knights couldn't. Who needs them?'
Whether the goal was to elevate the Second Prince or the Crown Prince depends on who exactly was behind it."
Her teeth were clenched before she realized it. Echi barely contained the mana boiling up through her, overflowing with fury. She couldn't suppress the killing intent entirely. Her violet eyes glinted with something cold as she spoke in a low, flat voice.
"All of that… just to use Roaz as a prop? Why us?"
"Because you were easy. And convenient."
"..."
"You weren't involved in the capital's political games, so you had no strong ties or influence. Your territory wasn't strategically important, so some collateral damage was acceptable. And there was someone in your household with talent for swordsmanship, so the cursed sword wouldn't grow too powerful to control."
Nicole answered grimly. The handle of Echi's teacup crumbled in her grip. Her stomach twisted with a rage that had nowhere clean to go.
[Whoa, you're really furious. That killing intent is intense! I love it. But Master, if this keeps up, you might not be able to hold it. Want me to just take care of that one? Go on, say yes]
The cursed sword sensed the opening and spoke in its sweetest voice. Echi took a slow breath and forced herself to hold.
"...Are we the only household that fit those conditions?"
"No, there are a few others. I don't know why it had to be Roaz specifically. Maybe it was chance. Or maybe it was because of me."
"Because of you?"
"I'm connected to that family. A Sage's apprentice. If the family connected to me suffers a Giosa-related incident and the Celestial Knights are blamed for failing to manage it, I'd be furious and my master, the Sage herself, might take notice. The scandal would be exactly the right size. Not too large, not too small."
Nicole twisted her lips bitterly. Echi considered for a moment and shook her head.
"It isn't your fault. If the Mage Tower got directly involved, the truth could surface. The culprits wouldn't have wanted that. And you found the trail regardless. There must have been another reason Roaz was chosen."
On top of her physical exhaustion came a wave of heat, pure anger. Echi leaned back and pressed her hands over her face. A deep, burning breath rose from somewhere low in her body, scorching her throat on the way out. Nine years of developing self-control against the cursed sword barely held it in check.
Now she understood why, in the erased timeline, the Empire had insisted on handling the cursed sword without Celestial Knights assistance, forming their own subjugation squad.
If Echinacea Roaz had not been an unparalleled genius, the imperial family's plan would have succeeded.
Instead, the result had been catastrophic. And yet it had succeeded in a different way: the demon had destroyed Azenka, along with Yurien.
What about in this life? The spectacle had failed again. Nothing happened; the cursed sword simply disappeared. Whichever faction had been behind it, how would they respond?
Nicole provided the answer. She held Echi's gaze for a moment, then opened her mouth.
"Echi. I said earlier that Commander Yurien's engagement to Lady Diassant must proceed for the Roaz family to remain safe."
"Yes."
"Lady Diassant is the younger sister of the Crown Princess. Which means this engagement is effectively an offer extended by the Crown Prince himself.
It's an ultimatum delivered from the Crown Prince's faction to Commander Yurien: will you bow and become a loyal instrument under the Crown Prince, or will you turn away and become an enemy?
He has to choose.
If he submits, the Crown Prince will make full use of him against the Second Prince's faction.
The Second Prince's side is already trying to prevent this engagement by assassinating Lady Diassant, if necessary."
"What does any of that have to do with Roaz?"
"Listen. If Yurien refuses the engagement, he becomes the Crown Prince's enemy which means the entire imperial family's enemy."
"But there's still the Second Prince. If he refuses, he could side with..."
"No. The Second Prince's faction would never accept Commander Yurien. The Second Prince's greatest backer is His Majesty the Emperor, who despises Yurien. And while the Crown Prince at least has an administrative focus that could make use of Yurien's talents, the Second Prince is a knight. If he took Yurien in, Yurien would outshine him entirely."
"…So if Yurien refuses the engagement, he becomes an enemy of the entire imperial family."
"Exactly. He's already on the wrong side of the Second Prince. The Crown Prince is his last potential ally. If he rejects this offer, it's as close to declaring war on the Kyrie Empire as makes no difference. And when that happens, the first to be put in danger is the Roaz family."
"Why Roaz?"
Echi looked up, confused. Nicole adjusted her monocle and chose her next words carefully.
"Because the people who sent the cursed sword already suspect there's some kind of connection between Roaz and Commander Yurien"