“Mrmm. Mhmmm. Mamph. Mrmmm. Mhmm. Mamph.”
Ahhh, filling my belly. Heavenly. Holy hell, I am starving!!!
“Mramph! Mramph! Mhmm! Mhmmmmm!”
“… Lady Hestia, you really were famished,” Tasianna commented as she filled another bowl full with curry rice and grilled meat.
Nodding, I swallowed and drank some water to help clear my mouth before replying, “I haven’t eaten anything since the concert started and when I ran over here, I forgot to get something to bite. I was too worried to even remember to do so. Then using [Solar Beam] was just too much for my body to handle, literally draining all my energy to nothing and causing this annoying debuff. Urgh! Mramph!”
“… Did you really have to use [Solar Beam]?” Saori asked after having finished her fourth bottle of dragorade and third bowl of curry. “Looking at your arsenal of attacks, wouldn’t ‘Symphony’ and [Omnictus] be enough.”
“Who knows,” I shrugged, feeling a bit fidgety as I stopped eating again. “You know what I was thinking when I saw that thing? That eldritch creature we found in that troll cave. Same tentacles. Same eyes. Same creepy body. No half measures, if you ask me. Throw the thing into the sun and watch it atomize.”
The moment I finished what I wanted to say, my hands immediately returned to shuffling food into my mouth. You could say I was pigging out, but, really, what could I do but eat right now? I wasn’t exaggerating when I told everybody I was hungry, ‘cause I was starving. Literally.
Sunfang dragons were voracious, something I realized the moment I evolved into one. I’ve been eating large quantities of food to satisfy myself and prevent my cravings. While it did help that I was burning calories like crazy nearly every day with how active I was, it did get annoying since it affected us financially.
While I was slurping up my tenth bowl of curry rice, the guild master and vice-guild master of the hunter’s guild came into view, both looking befuddled while scratching the back of their heads. “Gone. Nothing could be salvaged,” the red-haired middle-aged man, Farron, complained with a deep sigh.
“See? Told you we could spare us the trouble after what her Highness did,” Gael, the “cool uncle” looking guy, replied, rolling his eyes while shaking his head. “I got everybody who was breathing out of the building before the big event began. There was no need for a rescue. I was there when Saori and Tasianna picked her Highness up, so I saw with my own two eyes that anything that could be used as evidence would be gone. Listen to the birds chirping, mate.”
“Shut it, drunk,” Farron spat out but didn’t respond in any way to Gael’s reasoning, probably knowing he was in the wrong.
As I was watching the two middle-aged men argue, I noticed Saori’s eyes widening, mumbling, “Oh right, we forgot about the receptionist.” Tasianna then explained to me they broke all four limbs of a complicit alchemist they met at the reception and kinda forgot about him during the battle. They thought he was vaporized with the entire building after what I did, but it seemed like Gael rescued him beforehand.
Welp, a bit irresponsible from those two. Thank goodness for Gael.
Farron gave out another sigh before he turned his attention to us, finally done squabbling with his vice. “Well, outside of a ruined plot of good land, I guess the operation is a success. I’m pretty sure the nobles would have wished to interrogate Davison before executing him, but considering what you three had to face, I can understand preferring to subjugate that thing.”
“Would the lack of evidence be a problem for apprehending Lord Chezaic for his crimes?” Saori asked after finishing eating.
“Nah, don’t worry about it,” Gael answered in Farron’s stead. “Any evidence we could get from the guild would be a bonus, but it doesn’t matter at this point. Getting the Lord of Firwood and the High Bishop involved is one thing, but getting one of the seven Dukes and the royal family to support this plan? Anything they find will stick 100%.”
“Correct,” Farron nodded before adding. “What I wanted to find out was the cause for the dramatic description you all gave me. Davison drinking two black potions and his appearance changing drastically to the point his regeneration and Stats reached monster level? Yeah, I want to know what the hell that was to warrant the light show.”
Noticing Farron giving me the “did you have to do that” look, I quickly swallowed what I had in my mouth, wiped it clean, and said, “Hey, it’s not my fault. Who said, ‘any damage to the guild building doesn’t matter’ huh? Guild master, when you told me to stop my show prematurely to come help, you even mentioned I needed to go a bit wild according to your gut feeling. I agreed when I saw Davison. He’s ashes now, and no longer a threat. I made sure to control my fire so I wouldn’t set the town on fire accidentally.”
Saori nodded, coming to my defense. “She is right, you cannot blame her for what happened. She went overboard with her attack, but her decision to turn Davison to ashes is something I have to agree with. Besides, Hestia used to burn entire sections of the Belzac forest down, so having enough control to prevent any wildfires from happening within the town’s perimeter is worth complimenting.”
Farron frowned, but eventually shrugged, not wanting to continue chastising me. “Well, everything is done, so we’ll be saying goodbye for tonight. If you want to see the aftermath of everything, the nobles should still be at House Chezaic’s mansion, searching through piles of paper. Oh, and that was a great show while it lasted, kiddo. Priscilla loved it.”
With a thumbs up and a smile, Farron then said his goodbyes, waving at us as he walked back to the concert/festival plaza.
“Well, I’ll be seeing you ladies another time, too. Hmm?” Gael was about to leave but stopped when I presented my hand for a handshake. He tilted his head, looking confused about what he was supposed to do.
“Gael, well, I should be calling you Mister Gael, to be honest, but I guess you would prefer it if we weren’t too formal, right? Anyway, I just wanted to thank you for helping Saori and Tasianna out; plus, we haven’t met yet so the handshake is a greeting.” Gael still stared at me as if I was crazy, reluctant to shake my hand for a reason. It was reason enough to feel offended by but I kinda had an idea what the cause was. “Oh, come on, since you’re so familiar with us, you should know about our pasts by now. I’m keeping the princess and noble act up since people expect me to do so in public. Where I grew up, a handshake is how you greet others, you know. I could bow if that makes you more comfortable.”
Gael placed his hands on his hips, looked at Saori wearily before shrugging and grabbing my open palm. “Well, never would have thought I would shake hands with an actual princess. Never met one, too. Life truly is a box full of mysteries.”
“Gael, one question before you leave,” Saori said in a gentle voice, almost a whisper. “That band of black mercs or however you called them. Will they be a problem for us?”
“Yanderu Elusuess? Mhmm, maybe, but not ‘cause of today. Merc business of any kind is dangerous and you’ll have to face other mercs while on the job, sometimes even former allies, so most members prefer not to build close bonds; at least, that was true when I was still a part of them. Upper management has no policy for retaliation jobs if it isn’t personal,” Gael spoke about the people who attacked Saori and Tasianna, surprising me as I didn’t expect him to have ties with them“However, if a bounty is placed on your heads or you poke the hornet’s nest, then expect them to come. The Quests the merc guild considers illegal, like assassination and trafficking, are what black merc corps specialize in. Like the fae hunting here. An individual member might attack you for killing a ‘friend,’ but I wouldn’t bet on it. No money, no support. No support, not worth the risk.”
He also told us the knights managed to stop a few of them, but that they were killed because they resisted too much. Simialar to Davison, any additional information was good, but it didn’t matter in the grand scheme of things. Still, four managed to escape.
“A problem?” Saori questioned.
“Maybe,” Gael confirmed. “The Yanderu members you met are affiliated with the western branch; that was the group I was part of, not the main branch in the Empire. The Folschreck Empire, if you haven’t heard its name yet. I never met the leader of the company, but I worked with one of their under bosses, and he should be trickier than Kaian but weaker than Farron. Definitely weaker if Farron was in his prime and not affected by that crystal curse basilisk’s poison.”
“Poison?” I raised my brow.
“Yeah, he got it when we traveled together. But do me a favor and don’t bring it up. I can’t tell you the exact reason why, but it’s something Farron can’t forgive himself for, so I’d rather you not open up a wound. Besides, the curse can’t be healed normally with healing spells or health potions,” Gael looked serious as he released my hand. “Anyway, don’t mess with the hornet’s nest and you should be alright. Regardless, getting involved in anything shady will probably bring you face to face with the criminal underworld anyways. For example, what happened today.”
And with that last warning, he headed home.
After we digested what Gael just said, Saori opened her mouth to break the silence, “Should you not hurry back to your concert?”
“Nah, don’t worry. The concert was a success and I ended it well, so there isn’t a need to go back. I could’ve given an encore, but priorities, right? I saw a lot of people smile and have fun, plus, I got a few new fans but sadly not enough to reach the next milestone.”
“That is good, that is good. It is a shame that Tasianna and I missed it,” Saori responded with a defeated sigh, proceeding to complain how difficult the task was.
I nodded. After taking my last bite,[Starvation (Minor)] was finally gone from my status board, so I clapped my hands together and thanked Saori and Tasianna for the food, before drawing my attention to Kiiro.
Tasianna took my empty bowl and placed it orderly into a pile with the others, before picking up her catalyst, the orb where Kiiro the former onnikai was residing. It had multiple large cracks flowing across its surface.
“Kiiro is … fading,” she answered.
[“Dying, fairy,”] Kiiro’s voice resounded, correcting Tasianna for her word choice. [“Release, if you wish to call it. Release from this cruel world. We faefolk are so fragile that any loss in mana weakens us drastically.”]
“Then take my mana …” Tasianna’s voice was small, pleading even.
“My will to live is gone. Davison is gone for good. The humans who ‘helped’ me become an onnikai are long gone, too. My final wrath, something that not even Goddess Zephira could get rid off, has been fulfilled and I can feel … tranquility. Clearness of mind. I wish to die.”
“Suicide is the coward’s way out,” I spoke out, ignoring Tasianna’s uneasy look. “Considering what you did—pulling those villagers into a one-sided war—you really don’t deserve to rest now. Even now, I don’t think the whole fae hunting stuff has fully ended yet. I mean, we don’t even know if Davison was the reason for Tasianna’s and Princess Schuri’s capture. That means there might be another criminal lurking somewhere. Will you leave those fae to their fate?”
[“Are you asking me to live without conviction? Champion of Aurena, I have lived for too long. In all that time, all I had in me was anger, rage, and a wish to cause pain on others. And then vengeance consumed me. Will you deny me this mercy? Are you that cruel, Champion?”] Kiiro replied by guilt tripping me, successfully stinging my heart. [“Always seeking to help others will create nothing but a burden for yourself. I do not wish for my brethren’s suffering but when will this all end? The greed of humans will always pave the way for more fae hunting. I do not wish to survive for an eternity. That is torture.”]
And who are we to deny it that? was what I thought, but it also felt wrong to just let Kiiro die like this. Kiiro’s army of onnikai killed some adventurers and a few villagers and soldiers in the Teullon barony. Those who had nothing to do with what happened during the War for the Faefolk. It simply let its anger for humans consume it, which led to a problem we had to solve.
We weren’t some court or justice department responsible for punishing people. Besides, if there was a court for monsters, I would be in big trouble myself, so who was I to speak? Even if we brought Kiiro to the nobles of Artorias, since Rashan Village was part of the kingdom, I didn’t believe anybody would convict Kiiro.
Was Kiiro getting off too easily? It was not my place to judge.
[“Your reward for helping.”] Kiiro’s voice was weakening as a yellow light flew out of the orb. [“My last remaining mana. I will infuse it in the orb. Make it complete. I hope the orb will inherit my power, so consider this my support. Good … luck … Tasianna.”]
And the light dimmed until there was nothing more but a cracked blue orb.
I turned to Tasianna, who was holding the orb in her open palms. Her expression told me the tears would stream out soon, but during these seconds of silence, they didn’t. Her eyes never looked wet.
She closed her eyes, nodded for a moment, before grasping the orb. She then stood up and handed me the orb. “Lady Hestia, could you keep my catalyst until we can fix it? I can still levitate it, but it seems like its primary function to create that mana slime is disabled.”
“Are you …” I wanted to ask if she was alright but, seeing her wry smile, I could guess that she was digesting the situation her own way, so I kept my mouth shut. “Let’s go back to the noble district. I want to see how this all concludes.”
And in silence we walked. There was no need to rush for us, as we had all the time in the world right now. Aurora’s work and goal has been fulfilled tonight, now it was time to see how the nobles would end their problem.
We went through a different street to reach the gates in the merchant district since I wanted to avoid the plaza, thinking a few merchants would want to speak with me about the concert. Once we were at the gate, I noticed there were more knights guarding it, unlike the usual two our group usually encountered.
They noticed us and saluted. We’d come to know the gatekeepers during our time in Firwood. We showed them our IDs, due to security, and they let us in, where a carriage was waiting. Once inside, it began to move.
I wanted to say something, but both Saori and Tasianna were looking outside the window as if they were pondering something. What happened during the raid, I wonder? I wish they would speak up, say something to me, but everybody deserved time by themselves to work on their own issues. It was kinda funny. Saori used to say I should speak up about my feelings and opinion more, but look at what she was doing.
However, I was not angry at her. Some quiet after our hectic night was a welcome respite.
Still feels weird that I was having fun while those two were fighting for their lives. Really awkward. Hmmm.
After a while, the carriage stopped and the coachman opened the door for us. Barathan was already there, ready to escort us. We went through the front door of the Chezaic mansion, the same one I went through with the High Bishop, and entered the dining room.
There, kneeling on the floor were four people in fine outfits. Two of them were the twins, Francesca and Iracela, crying profusely as they shivered like scared kittens. The other two were a middle-aged man with a healthy physique and a woman in very conspicuous clothing; the former looked as if he had given up on life while the latter looked desperate, swinging her eyes to each corner as she was looking for glimmers of hope. To the side, sitting on a chair, was a pale young man, so frail looking that he could be called a dainty. He was the only one who showed no emotions.
All five had white, bulky shackles holding their arms together. They were the members of House Chezaic.
“Evidence number 13: Documents stating monetary payment towards a handler named ‘Sleeper’ for the hunt of faefolk. This package would then be smuggled to the alchemist guild of Firwood. A mana contract has been found, confirming the authenticity of the before mentioned documents. What do you plea, Lord Robert Chezaic?”
The dining table was placed to one end of the room, where two liliac-haired men were sitting, flanked by multiple knights who were equipped with armor far more distinguishable than any I’ve seen yet. They had the emblem of a bow and arrow on their surcoat. Were they high-ranking knights?
“I plead …” the middle-aged man on the floor was about to answer, only to be interrupted by the woman next to him.
“Robert! By the Goddess, if there is even a hint of your fatherhood, I beg you, stop this insanity! You are condemning your children! You—Arck!” The woman wanted to speak more, but a knight guarding the Chezaics walked up to her and smacked her on the cheek, causing her to fall on the ground.
“M-Mother—hick!” Francesca, the yellow-eyed if the twins, quivered as she saw her mother get hit. On the other hand, the young twin, the red-eyed Iracela, looked as if she wanted to curl herself into a ball to escape the reality before her.
“Silence before Lord Marquess Sirius. You may only speak if you are given permission to do so,” the one who spoke before, who I now identified as Theodore, the High Bishop, warned sternly. “Lord Chezaic, your answer?”
Lord Chezaic, the person we believed at the beginning to be the mastermind of this whole affair, looked at his wife and daughters with eyes tired of stress, before returning them to Theodore. “… I plead … guilty.”
“Damn you, Robert!”
The moment that was said, Theodore and the man next to him turned his gaze to me. I was befuddled at the situation, nevertheless, I curtsied while Saori and Tasianna bowed. I instinctively had to gulp to calm myself down.
Theodore then spoke, “Lady Hestia, this impromptu court is currently in progress. You may sit next to Lord Marquess Sirius if you wish, or next to the other nobles. The choice is yours.”
I turned my head around, finally noticing multiple men equipped in armor sitting next to each other. The only one who stood out was a young woman with blue hair—Ellaine.
Everybody’s eyes were turned to me. What irony that I was feeling anxious, considering I just came back from having over hundreds of people watch me perform.
“… I will join the others,” I meekly said.
Coincidentally, there was a free seat next to Ellaine, among all these old looking knights. As I approached them, I noticed the emblems on their surcoats. Some shared the bow and arrows of the knights guarding the Sirius brothers, while others had emblems of griffins and hippogryphs. I still haven’t asked Ellaine about any knight orders in Artorias, so I wouldn’t know to which they belonged.
As I sat down, with Saori and Tasianna flanking me, Ellaine, flanked in turn by Manuela and Barathan, spoke, “I am gladdened to see you three safe and sound.”
“… Shouldn’t your father be here?” I asked her in a whisper.
“He and mother are currently with the royal family, probably elated about everything. I am here as his representative to act as witness to this court hearing … unfortunately.” Her eyes wandered towards the twins, looking conflicted at the sight of them crying. The bullied and her bullies.
A few more accusations were then read out before the Chezaics, to which Lord Chezaic pleaded guilty to all of them while Lady Chezaic denied them all. Their answers couldn’t be more different. Eventually, they came to the topic of Davison and the alchemist guild, where Lord Sirius himself spoke to me.
“Lady Hestia, it is a pleasure to finally meet you. Please forgive me for this unacceptable setting,” he greeted me, supporting his leaning head with his arms. “If you are here, then may I presume you have dealt with our ‘pest?’”
The eyes of House Chezaic were looking at me. The twins looked frightening and in disbelief while Lady Chezaic had a quizzical look. Lord Chezaic looked defeated while Amadeus, the pale first son of House Chezaic, looked at me with a smile. It was as if he was encouraging me.
I then answered, standing up. I took in a deep breath, calming my nerves to give a proper answer. “Yes, guild master of the alchemist guild, Davison, has been subjugated. However, we couldn’t capture him, if you were meaning to ask that.”
“I see. It is a shame, but I understand you must have your reason,” he nodded with closed eyes, before opening them again and staring at me with his lilac eyes, piercing through me like a hawk. “May I ask if you have found any further evidence?”
When he said that, I couldn’t help but stutter, “W-well, uhm, uhhh, any documents or devices you could call evidence was, well, vaporized with the building. Uhm, however, one of my retainers managed to enter the basement. If you were to accept eye witnesses, then she may say more.”
Hearing the word “vaporized,” not only Ellaine, but also Lord Sirius and Theodore frowned at what I said. Seeing as these three were the only nobles in the room who knew about my secret, I think they could guess what I did. On the other hand, the nobles unacquainted with me had their eyebrows raised, whether it was due to curiosity or doubt.
Lord Sirius nodded, and waved his arm that he accepted my proposal. Tasianna then stepped forward, pushed her hair back to better show her long elven ears, and spoke about what she saw in the basement.
She recalled meeting mercenaries belonging to the Yanderu Eluseuss group and a couple of alchemists inside the basement, which she mentioned were hostile and attacked her immediately. She eventually managed to overwhelm them and move forward, where she found a room full of fae trapped in cages and mana batteries; some dead and some alive. As I had destroyed everything, Tasianna ended her statement there.
“I see, thank you very much for your answer, Miss Silverpond. Since you are Lady Hestia’s retainer, I shall take your word as true. Theodore, have you—” Lord Sirius was about to speak with his brother, but Lady Chezaic suddenly sprung up.
“Objection! She is clearly a foreigner! How could you possibly involve a foreigner in an Artorian affair! I demand—Arck!” Similar to before, she was quickly silenced.
A guard pushed her to the ground and then placed a metal choker around her throat before activating the green rune on it. Despite being able to open her mouth, no sound escaped from it.
“Lady Chezaic, you have violated this court’s laws once again. That is the third strike. You have lost your right to defend yourself before Lord Marquess Sirius and any further plea will be instead judged and answered by the jury in your stead,” Theodore declared, not even looking at her while he was sorting through the stack of documents before him.
As Lady Chezaic kept struggling without any signs of stopping, Lord Chezaic turned to her, looking down at his pitiful wife. “Annabella, just give it up already. Justice has finally caught up to us. We shall go meet the Goddess of Death soon. Just be happy that you were able to avoid taking responsibility for poisoning my wife until now.”
Lady Chezaic’s eyes went wide like a goldfish, staring at her husband with disbelief. Theodore looked at them for a moment before closing his eyes, showing no further emotions as he pulled out a piece of parchment. “Lord Marquess Sirius, this document mentions the aforementioned mercenary party named Yanderu Eluseuss. However, there was no evidence for their involvement with House Chezaic.”
“Hmm, I understand. Attribute it to the commoner, then,” Lord Sirius gave a swift answer.
The discussion then continued for a while until they ran out of evidence and judgement was handed down. “By my name as Lord Marquess Lambhart Richard Sirius, I shall hereby announce my judgement with the authority given to me by Lord Duke Greenveil. I declare the Arcanuess, Robert Gregory Chezaic, guilty of the crimes of fae hunting, fae trafficking, treason against the entire Kingdom of Artorias, and collusion with the rank B criminal named ‘Davison.’ Your sentence is death through execution. I declare the Arcaliess, Annabella Adeleide Chezaic, guilty of the crimes of fae hunting, fae trafficking, treason against the entire Kingdom of Artorias, the murder of an Arcaliess, and the collusion with the rank B criminal named ‘Davison.’ Under the laws of the Greenveil Duchy, you are sentenced to death through execution.”
The reactions couldn’t be more different. Lord Chezaic quietly accepted his fate while Lady Chezaic was flailing around, eventually being pinned down by the guards in her wild rage. I expected her to use magic, but nothing happened. Was this the doing of those shackles?
Mana Eyes.
Anti-mage gear!
I guess that would be obvious since Peolynca was filled with mages. It would be stupid if they didn’t have a way to stop mages from rampaging whenever they were captured.
Lord Sirius continued handing judgment, this time to the twins, “I declare aristocrats, Francesca Eulalia Chezaic and Iracela Wilma Chezaic, not guilty of any crimes. However, under the orders of Lord Duke Greenveil, House Chezaic will be abolished resulting in the loss of inheritable titles and land. They will be returned to Lord Duke Greenveil due to the crimes of House Chezaic’s head. Francesca Eulalia Chezaic and Iracela Wilma Chezaic will become wards under their maternal family, House Aberdeen.”
The twins stopped crying for a moment as they heard this, baffled as they seemed to have believed they would receive a harsher punishment for some reason, but continued crying once they remembered their parent’s sentences.
“Lastly.” And then there was only one left. “I declare the aristocrat, Amadeus Viego Chezaic, guilty of the crimes of collusion with Arcanuess Chezaic. You will be stripped of all your privileges as an aristocrat and will be sentenced to taking the grey vow at the cathedral in the Holy Capital, Aureolis. You will be banished for life from the Kingdom of Artorias.”
HUH?! Grey Vow? Grey Priest?! With his body! Exile?!
“Hold it!” I slammed the table, standing up as I raised my objection. “Amadeus was sick, and up until now, nobody outside of House Chezaic knew about his existence! Lord Sirius, I ask you to reconsider your decision!”
The nobles sitting with me, outside of Ellaine, were showing their disapproval, voicing out that I should sit down and show more respect for Lord Sirius and Theodore, however, I ignored them completely. My glare was directed, not at Lord Sirius himself, but at Theodore. He came with me to visit Amadeus, he knew the situation, so why was Amadeus receiving a sentence at all?
“Lady Hestia,” Theodore spoke calmly, showing no signs of distress or surprise. “As you witnessed yourself, Lord Amadeus, admitted himself that he kept valuable information from us. Very conclusive evidence, which could have settled this affair long before we reached this point. He also admitted he would have kept this information to himself if the holy water had healed him. This admittance alone is enough to warrant treason if it weren’t it for the quality of information he gave us.”
“He was desperate! His life was literally hanging on the line. You know exactly what his issues are, but you are still condemning him to something like taking the vow? To become a grey-robed priest?! He would not survive as one!”
From what I remembered, grey-robed priests were essentially servants for white-robes. They were expected to do physically intensive jobs for their masters, meaning somebody like Amadeus who had a feeble body, wouldn’t be able to do anything before dropping from exhaustion. It was crazy to give him something like that as a punishment, especially when he didn’t even deserve one in the first place!
“My Lady, I would suggest—” One of the nobles wanted to scold me for my behavior, but Lord Sirius raised his hand, signaling to let me speak.
I was currently wearing my idol outfit without my white mage robes, so I guess they weren’t seeing me as a priestess. Or anything, as a matter of fact. They were probably assuming I was a foreign noble but that was about it, which explained why they didn’t know my relationship with Theodore.
Ignoring them, Theodore responded to me, “I am aware of that, Lady Hestia. That is why I gave Lord Amadeus the chance to not reveal this information and instead send the files through another source. However, as you should know yourself, he declined this offer and revealed everything to us in a suicidal pursuit. He has made himself guilty. The Goddess of Justice and subordinate Goddess, Lamreeta, watches over this trial, meaning judgement shall be delivered fairly.”
I knew that Amadeus admitted to our faces he hid the information, I also knew I had a bad feeling when all of that happened. I knew after we left the mansion that there was a chance that Amadeus just convicted himself. I had that terrible feeling but I still wanted to say no to that. It just made no sense to me, despite understanding that if Amadeus had said anything earlier, less fae would have been captured.
I wanted to defend Amadeus, just cause he didn’t deserve this after having to suffer his shitty situation. Honestly, if necessary, then this was just the right moment to actually abuse my status. “Still, isn’t this—”
“You may stop, Lady Hestia,” unexpectedly, Amadeus spoke up. “I, Amadeus Viego Chezaic, accept my sentence. Thank you for your mercy, Lord Marquess Sirius.”
“Amadeus? Why wouldn’t you—?” Lord Chezaic suddenly spoke incredulously. The only moment where it looked like he was about to say something emotional was when Amadeus was sentenced.
“It is alright, father. I will be alright. Thank you — for trying all these years. I know I’ve been a plague for you,” Amadeus said with a smile before looking at Lady Chezaic. He scoffed at her and belittled her with, “May Goddess Ilsaphone burn your soul, you witch,” causing her to lash out, however, due to the rune, nobody could hear her words.
His sisters looked as if they were about to fly in rage, too, but seeing a couple guards come into their view seemed to have been enough to pacify them. Their tears dried up.
And from there, everything was over. Lord and Lady Chezaic were transported to the dungeon under Castle Sirius, while the twins and Amadeus were placed under house arrest by House Sirius. They will be sent to their respective destinations once it became convenient.
Visitors were forbidden. The reason? Treason against the Kingdom.
“From the bottom of my soul, I thanked you very much for what you have done for Firwood and the Kingdom of Artorias, Lady Kargryxmor.” Once we were in private, Lord Sirius bowed to me inside his office at his castle. “House Sirius owes you a mighty debt, so please, whenever you need it, you may call on us. My sister, too, would be fully willing to aid you in your time of need, which, fortunately, also includes Lord Duke Greenveil. Resolving tonight’s affair was instrumental for the future of our Kingdom.”
Grant me the chance to meet Amadeus, I wanted to say but didn’t. As I said before, he wasn’t a friend. We only met once and he was technically still a stranger to me. On the other hand, having a pretty high ranking Artoriasian noble in my debt was amazing, which would prove beneficial in the future for sure. I couldn’t just squander it … for a stranger, even it hurts having to say that.
I hated myself for doing that … but Kiiro’s last words kinda had an effect on me. I couldn’t be so naive to believe that I could save everybody. My magic couldn’t heal Amadeus, nor was it possible to help Farron. I wasn’t able to rescue everybody who had to fight against the onnikai army since I was preoccupied with something else.
Today, I fulfilled my job as an idol by making my audience happy and keeping them safe from the raid, so maybe believing I was a hero too was too much. After all, even heroes couldn’t save everybody.
They weren’t gods.
After leaving the Sirius castle, I declined participating in a future feast they planned for today. As I was about to climb up on Ellaine’s gargoyle to go back home a wolfkin suddenly approached us. She bowed before us and showed me a letter.
“Lord Amadeus wishes you to have this, Lady Hestia!”
“You are … Lily, correct? Lord Amadeus’ maid?”
Maid-slash-spy, if I understood the undertones from back then. She was the one who managed to bring Amadeus all the files from his father’s office, despite him explaining that he did it himself. He couldn’t with his body, so he had to have had help. He told Theodore that Lily wasn’t involved in anything, probably sparing her from an execution. Considering how Lord Sirius said commoner so casually when he mentioned Davison, a simple servant would probably receive a harsher punishment than a noble.
Saori took the letter from Lily and gave it to me while making sure there wasn’t any poison or traps attached to it, not like it mattered with my resistances. The person who wrote the letter was none other than Amadeus.
“Dear Fair Lady Hestia,
If you have received this letter, then it must mean that everything worked. Annabella, the witch, was judged and her execution will come.
After our meeting, I told my father everything. That I had revealed and given the documents to Lord Theodore, admitting the crimes House Chezaic has done. My father, a patriot after he was a father, accepted his fate, knowing this entire problem must stop soon. I pray for my father’s soul that, in his next life, he will have a better, less useless son, as he deserved one after having to suffer the pest that was me. It truly saddened me that I couldn’t spend more time with him, become the heir he wanted, especially after being born with my talent in magic.
By now, I also should have been judged, although I don’t know what I received. I judge taking the vow since that is the most likely after all the documents I gave the High Bishop. Regardless, what it will be, it would be an early death for me due to the strain and stress …
… If it were a week ago. I do not know how to say this, but I thank you, Lady Hestia. That holy water, no, that dragonewt blood potion seemed to have provided me the miracle I needed all these years ago. I cannot thank you enough.
Recently, I have been feeling more energetic and, despite the elation I felt, I did not feel ill. Focusing my mana is still impossible and the sun still glares on me, burning me, but I could move. I could play with my instruments freely without feeling fatigue after a few minutes. When I realized this, I regret I couldn’t have told my father about this in time, so I hoped I would have the chance once our judgement was handed to us.
It is bitter sweet, if I may be honest. My father wanted a healthy son, and I wanted a proper life. My father will not be able to experience this, while I will have to live with the consequence of my gambit. If I could, I wish I had prayed to the Goddess to have you come earlier, before all of this.
However, please know that you have blessed me, Lady Hestia.
I do not know what will happen, but with this new strength, I hope I will have the chance to experience more of life, regardless of the trial before me. I truly feel bad for condemning my father and I wished I hadn’t handed the documents over at this point … but this wouldn’t be correct. He would scold me to no end after everything happened. He has sacrificed far too much for me to disobey him.
If we ever meet again, I sure hope we could play some melodies together. Until then, please, stay safe.
Amadeus”
… A sad end.
It wasn’t the happy ending I wanted to see, but I guess it was better than nothing. Amadeus had time to find closure with his father and we managed to bring the people behind today’s event to justice, either behind bars or into a grave. I did wonder if Aurena knew my blood could’ve cured him or not, but then I remembered it must have partially also had something to do with Theodore’s potion mix.
My blood couldn’t cure wounds naturally, after all. I was splattered by it a couple times now due to all my battles.
Speaking of which, that eldritch-turning potion still befuddled me. Truthfully, I still wanted to know how Davison was able to get that same potion the troll shaman used …
… Wait? Haven’t we all forgotten something?
Something suddenly came to my mind that I believed I had forgotten about until this point, but I could take care of it later. I took out a sheet of parchment and placed it with the letter back into the envelope, and then gave it back to Lily. “Please, tell Amadeus to stay safe, alright?”
“Of course, I will make sure to protect him.” Lily took the letter and vanished into the night. While I understood what she said, that wasn’t exactly what I meant. I just wished him good fortune.
Once we were back at Ellaine’s mansion, Saori pulled me aside to speak with me about something.
“Hestia, I heard news about those heroes,” Saori began, releasing a bombshell only a few seconds later. “They are my students, transported here to Peolynca.”
… We can’t have some peace and quiet, huh?
AbyssRaven Not every tale ends well, but at least bittersweet is still sweet enough to be happy about.
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“Mrmm. Mhmmm. Mamph. Mrmmm. Mhmm. Mamph.”
Ahhh, filling my belly. Heavenly. Holy hell, I am starving!!!
“Mramph! Mramph! Mhmm! Mhmmmmm!”
“… Lady Hestia, you really were famished,” Tasianna commented as she filled another bowl full with curry rice and grilled meat.
Nodding, I swallowed and drank some water to help clear my mouth before replying, “I haven’t eaten anything since the concert started and when I ran over here, I forgot to get something to bite. I was too worried to even remember to do so. Then using [Solar Beam] was just too much for my body to handle, literally draining all my energy to nothing and causing this annoying debuff. Urgh! Mramph!”
“… Did you really have to use [Solar Beam]?” Saori asked after having finished her fourth bottle of dragorade and third bowl of curry. “Looking at your arsenal of attacks, wouldn’t ‘Symphony’ and [Omnictus] be enough.”
“Who knows,” I shrugged, feeling a bit fidgety as I stopped eating again. “You know what I was thinking when I saw that thing? That eldritch creature we found in that troll cave. Same tentacles. Same eyes. Same creepy body. No half measures, if you ask me. Throw the thing into the sun and watch it atomize.”
The moment I finished what I wanted to say, my hands immediately returned to shuffling food into my mouth. You could say I was pigging out, but, really, what could I do but eat right now? I wasn’t exaggerating when I told everybody I was hungry, ‘cause I was starving. Literally.
Sunfang dragons were voracious, something I realized the moment I evolved into one. I’ve been eating large quantities of food to satisfy myself and prevent my cravings. While it did help that I was burning calories like crazy nearly every day with how active I was, it did get annoying since it affected us financially.
While I was slurping up my tenth bowl of curry rice, the guild master and vice-guild master of the hunter’s guild came into view, both looking befuddled while scratching the back of their heads. “Gone. Nothing could be salvaged,” the red-haired middle-aged man, Farron, complained with a deep sigh.
“See? Told you we could spare us the trouble after what her Highness did,” Gael, the “cool uncle” looking guy, replied, rolling his eyes while shaking his head. “I got everybody who was breathing out of the building before the big event began. There was no need for a rescue. I was there when Saori and Tasianna picked her Highness up, so I saw with my own two eyes that anything that could be used as evidence would be gone. Listen to the birds chirping, mate.”
“Shut it, drunk,” Farron spat out but didn’t respond in any way to Gael’s reasoning, probably knowing he was in the wrong.
As I was watching the two middle-aged men argue, I noticed Saori’s eyes widening, mumbling, “Oh right, we forgot about the receptionist.” Tasianna then explained to me they broke all four limbs of a complicit alchemist they met at the reception and kinda forgot about him during the battle. They thought he was vaporized with the entire building after what I did, but it seemed like Gael rescued him beforehand.
Welp, a bit irresponsible from those two. Thank goodness for Gael.
Farron gave out another sigh before he turned his attention to us, finally done squabbling with his vice. “Well, outside of a ruined plot of good land, I guess the operation is a success. I’m pretty sure the nobles would have wished to interrogate Davison before executing him, but considering what you three had to face, I can understand preferring to subjugate that thing.”
“Would the lack of evidence be a problem for apprehending Lord Chezaic for his crimes?” Saori asked after finishing eating.
“Nah, don’t worry about it,” Gael answered in Farron’s stead. “Any evidence we could get from the guild would be a bonus, but it doesn’t matter at this point. Getting the Lord of Firwood and the High Bishop involved is one thing, but getting one of the seven Dukes and the royal family to support this plan? Anything they find will stick 100%.”
“Correct,” Farron nodded before adding. “What I wanted to find out was the cause for the dramatic description you all gave me. Davison drinking two black potions and his appearance changing drastically to the point his regeneration and Stats reached monster level? Yeah, I want to know what the hell that was to warrant the light show.”
Noticing Farron giving me the “did you have to do that” look, I quickly swallowed what I had in my mouth, wiped it clean, and said, “Hey, it’s not my fault. Who said, ‘any damage to the guild building doesn’t matter’ huh? Guild master, when you told me to stop my show prematurely to come help, you even mentioned I needed to go a bit wild according to your gut feeling. I agreed when I saw Davison. He’s ashes now, and no longer a threat. I made sure to control my fire so I wouldn’t set the town on fire accidentally.”
Saori nodded, coming to my defense. “She is right, you cannot blame her for what happened. She went overboard with her attack, but her decision to turn Davison to ashes is something I have to agree with. Besides, Hestia used to burn entire sections of the Belzac forest down, so having enough control to prevent any wildfires from happening within the town’s perimeter is worth complimenting.”
Farron frowned, but eventually shrugged, not wanting to continue chastising me. “Well, everything is done, so we’ll be saying goodbye for tonight. If you want to see the aftermath of everything, the nobles should still be at House Chezaic’s mansion, searching through piles of paper. Oh, and that was a great show while it lasted, kiddo. Priscilla loved it.”
With a thumbs up and a smile, Farron then said his goodbyes, waving at us as he walked back to the concert/festival plaza.
“Well, I’ll be seeing you ladies another time, too. Hmm?” Gael was about to leave but stopped when I presented my hand for a handshake. He tilted his head, looking confused about what he was supposed to do.
“Gael, well, I should be calling you Mister Gael, to be honest, but I guess you would prefer it if we weren’t too formal, right? Anyway, I just wanted to thank you for helping Saori and Tasianna out; plus, we haven’t met yet so the handshake is a greeting.” Gael still stared at me as if I was crazy, reluctant to shake my hand for a reason. It was reason enough to feel offended by but I kinda had an idea what the cause was. “Oh, come on, since you’re so familiar with us, you should know about our pasts by now. I’m keeping the princess and noble act up since people expect me to do so in public. Where I grew up, a handshake is how you greet others, you know. I could bow if that makes you more comfortable.”
Gael placed his hands on his hips, looked at Saori wearily before shrugging and grabbing my open palm. “Well, never would have thought I would shake hands with an actual princess. Never met one, too. Life truly is a box full of mysteries.”
“Gael, one question before you leave,” Saori said in a gentle voice, almost a whisper. “That band of black mercs or however you called them. Will they be a problem for us?”
“Yanderu Elusuess? Mhmm, maybe, but not ‘cause of today. Merc business of any kind is dangerous and you’ll have to face other mercs while on the job, sometimes even former allies, so most members prefer not to build close bonds; at least, that was true when I was still a part of them. Upper management has no policy for retaliation jobs if it isn’t personal,” Gael spoke about the people who attacked Saori and Tasianna, surprising me as I didn’t expect him to have ties with them“However, if a bounty is placed on your heads or you poke the hornet’s nest, then expect them to come. The Quests the merc guild considers illegal, like assassination and trafficking, are what black merc corps specialize in. Like the fae hunting here. An individual member might attack you for killing a ‘friend,’ but I wouldn’t bet on it. No money, no support. No support, not worth the risk.”
He also told us the knights managed to stop a few of them, but that they were killed because they resisted too much. Simialar to Davison, any additional information was good, but it didn’t matter in the grand scheme of things. Still, four managed to escape.
“A problem?” Saori questioned.
“Maybe,” Gael confirmed. “The Yanderu members you met are affiliated with the western branch; that was the group I was part of, not the main branch in the Empire. The Folschreck Empire, if you haven’t heard its name yet. I never met the leader of the company, but I worked with one of their under bosses, and he should be trickier than Kaian but weaker than Farron. Definitely weaker if Farron was in his prime and not affected by that crystal curse basilisk’s poison.”
“Poison?” I raised my brow.
“Yeah, he got it when we traveled together. But do me a favor and don’t bring it up. I can’t tell you the exact reason why, but it’s something Farron can’t forgive himself for, so I’d rather you not open up a wound. Besides, the curse can’t be healed normally with healing spells or health potions,” Gael looked serious as he released my hand. “Anyway, don’t mess with the hornet’s nest and you should be alright. Regardless, getting involved in anything shady will probably bring you face to face with the criminal underworld anyways. For example, what happened today.”
And with that last warning, he headed home.
After we digested what Gael just said, Saori opened her mouth to break the silence, “Should you not hurry back to your concert?”
“Nah, don’t worry. The concert was a success and I ended it well, so there isn’t a need to go back. I could’ve given an encore, but priorities, right? I saw a lot of people smile and have fun, plus, I got a few new fans but sadly not enough to reach the next milestone.”
“That is good, that is good. It is a shame that Tasianna and I missed it,” Saori responded with a defeated sigh, proceeding to complain how difficult the task was.
I nodded. After taking my last bite,[Starvation (Minor)] was finally gone from my status board, so I clapped my hands together and thanked Saori and Tasianna for the food, before drawing my attention to Kiiro.
Tasianna took my empty bowl and placed it orderly into a pile with the others, before picking up her catalyst, the orb where Kiiro the former onnikai was residing. It had multiple large cracks flowing across its surface.
“Kiiro is … fading,” she answered.
[“Dying, fairy,”] Kiiro’s voice resounded, correcting Tasianna for her word choice. [“Release, if you wish to call it. Release from this cruel world. We faefolk are so fragile that any loss in mana weakens us drastically.”]
“Then take my mana …” Tasianna’s voice was small, pleading even.
“My will to live is gone. Davison is gone for good. The humans who ‘helped’ me become an onnikai are long gone, too. My final wrath, something that not even Goddess Zephira could get rid off, has been fulfilled and I can feel … tranquility. Clearness of mind. I wish to die.”
“Suicide is the coward’s way out,” I spoke out, ignoring Tasianna’s uneasy look. “Considering what you did—pulling those villagers into a one-sided war—you really don’t deserve to rest now. Even now, I don’t think the whole fae hunting stuff has fully ended yet. I mean, we don’t even know if Davison was the reason for Tasianna’s and Princess Schuri’s capture. That means there might be another criminal lurking somewhere. Will you leave those fae to their fate?”
[“Are you asking me to live without conviction? Champion of Aurena, I have lived for too long. In all that time, all I had in me was anger, rage, and a wish to cause pain on others. And then vengeance consumed me. Will you deny me this mercy? Are you that cruel, Champion?”] Kiiro replied by guilt tripping me, successfully stinging my heart. [“Always seeking to help others will create nothing but a burden for yourself. I do not wish for my brethren’s suffering but when will this all end? The greed of humans will always pave the way for more fae hunting. I do not wish to survive for an eternity. That is torture.”]
And who are we to deny it that? was what I thought, but it also felt wrong to just let Kiiro die like this. Kiiro’s army of onnikai killed some adventurers and a few villagers and soldiers in the Teullon barony. Those who had nothing to do with what happened during the War for the Faefolk. It simply let its anger for humans consume it, which led to a problem we had to solve.
We weren’t some court or justice department responsible for punishing people. Besides, if there was a court for monsters, I would be in big trouble myself, so who was I to speak? Even if we brought Kiiro to the nobles of Artorias, since Rashan Village was part of the kingdom, I didn’t believe anybody would convict Kiiro.
Was Kiiro getting off too easily? It was not my place to judge.
[“Your reward for helping.”] Kiiro’s voice was weakening as a yellow light flew out of the orb. [“My last remaining mana. I will infuse it in the orb. Make it complete. I hope the orb will inherit my power, so consider this my support. Good … luck … Tasianna.”]
And the light dimmed until there was nothing more but a cracked blue orb.
I turned to Tasianna, who was holding the orb in her open palms. Her expression told me the tears would stream out soon, but during these seconds of silence, they didn’t. Her eyes never looked wet.
She closed her eyes, nodded for a moment, before grasping the orb. She then stood up and handed me the orb. “Lady Hestia, could you keep my catalyst until we can fix it? I can still levitate it, but it seems like its primary function to create that mana slime is disabled.”
“Are you …” I wanted to ask if she was alright but, seeing her wry smile, I could guess that she was digesting the situation her own way, so I kept my mouth shut. “Let’s go back to the noble district. I want to see how this all concludes.”
And in silence we walked. There was no need to rush for us, as we had all the time in the world right now. Aurora’s work and goal has been fulfilled tonight, now it was time to see how the nobles would end their problem.
We went through a different street to reach the gates in the merchant district since I wanted to avoid the plaza, thinking a few merchants would want to speak with me about the concert. Once we were at the gate, I noticed there were more knights guarding it, unlike the usual two our group usually encountered.
They noticed us and saluted. We’d come to know the gatekeepers during our time in Firwood. We showed them our IDs, due to security, and they let us in, where a carriage was waiting. Once inside, it began to move.
I wanted to say something, but both Saori and Tasianna were looking outside the window as if they were pondering something. What happened during the raid, I wonder? I wish they would speak up, say something to me, but everybody deserved time by themselves to work on their own issues. It was kinda funny. Saori used to say I should speak up about my feelings and opinion more, but look at what she was doing.
However, I was not angry at her. Some quiet after our hectic night was a welcome respite.
Still feels weird that I was having fun while those two were fighting for their lives. Really awkward. Hmmm.
After a while, the carriage stopped and the coachman opened the door for us. Barathan was already there, ready to escort us. We went through the front door of the Chezaic mansion, the same one I went through with the High Bishop, and entered the dining room.
There, kneeling on the floor were four people in fine outfits. Two of them were the twins, Francesca and Iracela, crying profusely as they shivered like scared kittens. The other two were a middle-aged man with a healthy physique and a woman in very conspicuous clothing; the former looked as if he had given up on life while the latter looked desperate, swinging her eyes to each corner as she was looking for glimmers of hope. To the side, sitting on a chair, was a pale young man, so frail looking that he could be called a dainty. He was the only one who showed no emotions.
All five had white, bulky shackles holding their arms together. They were the members of House Chezaic.
“Evidence number 13: Documents stating monetary payment towards a handler named ‘Sleeper’ for the hunt of faefolk. This package would then be smuggled to the alchemist guild of Firwood. A mana contract has been found, confirming the authenticity of the before mentioned documents. What do you plea, Lord Robert Chezaic?”
The dining table was placed to one end of the room, where two liliac-haired men were sitting, flanked by multiple knights who were equipped with armor far more distinguishable than any I’ve seen yet. They had the emblem of a bow and arrow on their surcoat. Were they high-ranking knights?
“I plead …” the middle-aged man on the floor was about to answer, only to be interrupted by the woman next to him.
“Robert! By the Goddess, if there is even a hint of your fatherhood, I beg you, stop this insanity! You are condemning your children! You—Arck!” The woman wanted to speak more, but a knight guarding the Chezaics walked up to her and smacked her on the cheek, causing her to fall on the ground.
“M-Mother—hick!” Francesca, the yellow-eyed if the twins, quivered as she saw her mother get hit. On the other hand, the young twin, the red-eyed Iracela, looked as if she wanted to curl herself into a ball to escape the reality before her.
“Silence before Lord Marquess Sirius. You may only speak if you are given permission to do so,” the one who spoke before, who I now identified as Theodore, the High Bishop, warned sternly. “Lord Chezaic, your answer?”
Lord Chezaic, the person we believed at the beginning to be the mastermind of this whole affair, looked at his wife and daughters with eyes tired of stress, before returning them to Theodore. “… I plead … guilty.”
“Damn you, Robert!”
The moment that was said, Theodore and the man next to him turned his gaze to me. I was befuddled at the situation, nevertheless, I curtsied while Saori and Tasianna bowed. I instinctively had to gulp to calm myself down.
Theodore then spoke, “Lady Hestia, this impromptu court is currently in progress. You may sit next to Lord Marquess Sirius if you wish, or next to the other nobles. The choice is yours.”
I turned my head around, finally noticing multiple men equipped in armor sitting next to each other. The only one who stood out was a young woman with blue hair—Ellaine.
Everybody’s eyes were turned to me. What irony that I was feeling anxious, considering I just came back from having over hundreds of people watch me perform.
“… I will join the others,” I meekly said.
Coincidentally, there was a free seat next to Ellaine, among all these old looking knights. As I approached them, I noticed the emblems on their surcoats. Some shared the bow and arrows of the knights guarding the Sirius brothers, while others had emblems of griffins and hippogryphs. I still haven’t asked Ellaine about any knight orders in Artorias, so I wouldn’t know to which they belonged.
As I sat down, with Saori and Tasianna flanking me, Ellaine, flanked in turn by Manuela and Barathan, spoke, “I am gladdened to see you three safe and sound.”
“… Shouldn’t your father be here?” I asked her in a whisper.
“He and mother are currently with the royal family, probably elated about everything. I am here as his representative to act as witness to this court hearing … unfortunately.” Her eyes wandered towards the twins, looking conflicted at the sight of them crying. The bullied and her bullies.
A few more accusations were then read out before the Chezaics, to which Lord Chezaic pleaded guilty to all of them while Lady Chezaic denied them all. Their answers couldn’t be more different. Eventually, they came to the topic of Davison and the alchemist guild, where Lord Sirius himself spoke to me.
“Lady Hestia, it is a pleasure to finally meet you. Please forgive me for this unacceptable setting,” he greeted me, supporting his leaning head with his arms. “If you are here, then may I presume you have dealt with our ‘pest?’”
The eyes of House Chezaic were looking at me. The twins looked frightening and in disbelief while Lady Chezaic had a quizzical look. Lord Chezaic looked defeated while Amadeus, the pale first son of House Chezaic, looked at me with a smile. It was as if he was encouraging me.
I then answered, standing up. I took in a deep breath, calming my nerves to give a proper answer. “Yes, guild master of the alchemist guild, Davison, has been subjugated. However, we couldn’t capture him, if you were meaning to ask that.”
“I see. It is a shame, but I understand you must have your reason,” he nodded with closed eyes, before opening them again and staring at me with his lilac eyes, piercing through me like a hawk. “May I ask if you have found any further evidence?”
When he said that, I couldn’t help but stutter, “W-well, uhm, uhhh, any documents or devices you could call evidence was, well, vaporized with the building. Uhm, however, one of my retainers managed to enter the basement. If you were to accept eye witnesses, then she may say more.”
Hearing the word “vaporized,” not only Ellaine, but also Lord Sirius and Theodore frowned at what I said. Seeing as these three were the only nobles in the room who knew about my secret, I think they could guess what I did. On the other hand, the nobles unacquainted with me had their eyebrows raised, whether it was due to curiosity or doubt.
Lord Sirius nodded, and waved his arm that he accepted my proposal. Tasianna then stepped forward, pushed her hair back to better show her long elven ears, and spoke about what she saw in the basement.
She recalled meeting mercenaries belonging to the Yanderu Eluseuss group and a couple of alchemists inside the basement, which she mentioned were hostile and attacked her immediately. She eventually managed to overwhelm them and move forward, where she found a room full of fae trapped in cages and mana batteries; some dead and some alive. As I had destroyed everything, Tasianna ended her statement there.
“I see, thank you very much for your answer, Miss Silverpond. Since you are Lady Hestia’s retainer, I shall take your word as true. Theodore, have you—” Lord Sirius was about to speak with his brother, but Lady Chezaic suddenly sprung up.
“Objection! She is clearly a foreigner! How could you possibly involve a foreigner in an Artorian affair! I demand—Arck!” Similar to before, she was quickly silenced.
A guard pushed her to the ground and then placed a metal choker around her throat before activating the green rune on it. Despite being able to open her mouth, no sound escaped from it.
“Lady Chezaic, you have violated this court’s laws once again. That is the third strike. You have lost your right to defend yourself before Lord Marquess Sirius and any further plea will be instead judged and answered by the jury in your stead,” Theodore declared, not even looking at her while he was sorting through the stack of documents before him.
As Lady Chezaic kept struggling without any signs of stopping, Lord Chezaic turned to her, looking down at his pitiful wife. “Annabella, just give it up already. Justice has finally caught up to us. We shall go meet the Goddess of Death soon. Just be happy that you were able to avoid taking responsibility for poisoning my wife until now.”
Lady Chezaic’s eyes went wide like a goldfish, staring at her husband with disbelief. Theodore looked at them for a moment before closing his eyes, showing no further emotions as he pulled out a piece of parchment. “Lord Marquess Sirius, this document mentions the aforementioned mercenary party named Yanderu Eluseuss. However, there was no evidence for their involvement with House Chezaic.”
“Hmm, I understand. Attribute it to the commoner, then,” Lord Sirius gave a swift answer.
The discussion then continued for a while until they ran out of evidence and judgement was handed down. “By my name as Lord Marquess Lambhart Richard Sirius, I shall hereby announce my judgement with the authority given to me by Lord Duke Greenveil. I declare the Arcanuess, Robert Gregory Chezaic, guilty of the crimes of fae hunting, fae trafficking, treason against the entire Kingdom of Artorias, and collusion with the rank B criminal named ‘Davison.’ Your sentence is death through execution. I declare the Arcaliess, Annabella Adeleide Chezaic, guilty of the crimes of fae hunting, fae trafficking, treason against the entire Kingdom of Artorias, the murder of an Arcaliess, and the collusion with the rank B criminal named ‘Davison.’ Under the laws of the Greenveil Duchy, you are sentenced to death through execution.”
The reactions couldn’t be more different. Lord Chezaic quietly accepted his fate while Lady Chezaic was flailing around, eventually being pinned down by the guards in her wild rage. I expected her to use magic, but nothing happened. Was this the doing of those shackles?
Mana Eyes.
Anti-mage gear!
I guess that would be obvious since Peolynca was filled with mages. It would be stupid if they didn’t have a way to stop mages from rampaging whenever they were captured.
Lord Sirius continued handing judgment, this time to the twins, “I declare aristocrats, Francesca Eulalia Chezaic and Iracela Wilma Chezaic, not guilty of any crimes. However, under the orders of Lord Duke Greenveil, House Chezaic will be abolished resulting in the loss of inheritable titles and land. They will be returned to Lord Duke Greenveil due to the crimes of House Chezaic’s head. Francesca Eulalia Chezaic and Iracela Wilma Chezaic will become wards under their maternal family, House Aberdeen.”
The twins stopped crying for a moment as they heard this, baffled as they seemed to have believed they would receive a harsher punishment for some reason, but continued crying once they remembered their parent’s sentences.
“Lastly.” And then there was only one left. “I declare the aristocrat, Amadeus Viego Chezaic, guilty of the crimes of collusion with Arcanuess Chezaic. You will be stripped of all your privileges as an aristocrat and will be sentenced to taking the grey vow at the cathedral in the Holy Capital, Aureolis. You will be banished for life from the Kingdom of Artorias.”
HUH?! Grey Vow? Grey Priest?! With his body! Exile?!
“Hold it!” I slammed the table, standing up as I raised my objection. “Amadeus was sick, and up until now, nobody outside of House Chezaic knew about his existence! Lord Sirius, I ask you to reconsider your decision!”
The nobles sitting with me, outside of Ellaine, were showing their disapproval, voicing out that I should sit down and show more respect for Lord Sirius and Theodore, however, I ignored them completely. My glare was directed, not at Lord Sirius himself, but at Theodore. He came with me to visit Amadeus, he knew the situation, so why was Amadeus receiving a sentence at all?
“Lady Hestia,” Theodore spoke calmly, showing no signs of distress or surprise. “As you witnessed yourself, Lord Amadeus, admitted himself that he kept valuable information from us. Very conclusive evidence, which could have settled this affair long before we reached this point. He also admitted he would have kept this information to himself if the holy water had healed him. This admittance alone is enough to warrant treason if it weren’t it for the quality of information he gave us.”
“He was desperate! His life was literally hanging on the line. You know exactly what his issues are, but you are still condemning him to something like taking the vow? To become a grey-robed priest?! He would not survive as one!”
From what I remembered, grey-robed priests were essentially servants for white-robes. They were expected to do physically intensive jobs for their masters, meaning somebody like Amadeus who had a feeble body, wouldn’t be able to do anything before dropping from exhaustion. It was crazy to give him something like that as a punishment, especially when he didn’t even deserve one in the first place!
“My Lady, I would suggest—” One of the nobles wanted to scold me for my behavior, but Lord Sirius raised his hand, signaling to let me speak.
I was currently wearing my idol outfit without my white mage robes, so I guess they weren’t seeing me as a priestess. Or anything, as a matter of fact. They were probably assuming I was a foreign noble but that was about it, which explained why they didn’t know my relationship with Theodore.
Ignoring them, Theodore responded to me, “I am aware of that, Lady Hestia. That is why I gave Lord Amadeus the chance to not reveal this information and instead send the files through another source. However, as you should know yourself, he declined this offer and revealed everything to us in a suicidal pursuit. He has made himself guilty. The Goddess of Justice and subordinate Goddess, Lamreeta, watches over this trial, meaning judgement shall be delivered fairly.”
I knew that Amadeus admitted to our faces he hid the information, I also knew I had a bad feeling when all of that happened. I knew after we left the mansion that there was a chance that Amadeus just convicted himself. I had that terrible feeling but I still wanted to say no to that. It just made no sense to me, despite understanding that if Amadeus had said anything earlier, less fae would have been captured.
I wanted to defend Amadeus, just cause he didn’t deserve this after having to suffer his shitty situation. Honestly, if necessary, then this was just the right moment to actually abuse my status. “Still, isn’t this—”
“You may stop, Lady Hestia,” unexpectedly, Amadeus spoke up. “I, Amadeus Viego Chezaic, accept my sentence. Thank you for your mercy, Lord Marquess Sirius.”
“Amadeus? Why wouldn’t you—?” Lord Chezaic suddenly spoke incredulously. The only moment where it looked like he was about to say something emotional was when Amadeus was sentenced.
“It is alright, father. I will be alright. Thank you — for trying all these years. I know I’ve been a plague for you,” Amadeus said with a smile before looking at Lady Chezaic. He scoffed at her and belittled her with, “May Goddess Ilsaphone burn your soul, you witch,” causing her to lash out, however, due to the rune, nobody could hear her words.
His sisters looked as if they were about to fly in rage, too, but seeing a couple guards come into their view seemed to have been enough to pacify them. Their tears dried up.
And from there, everything was over. Lord and Lady Chezaic were transported to the dungeon under Castle Sirius, while the twins and Amadeus were placed under house arrest by House Sirius. They will be sent to their respective destinations once it became convenient.
Visitors were forbidden. The reason? Treason against the Kingdom.
“From the bottom of my soul, I thanked you very much for what you have done for Firwood and the Kingdom of Artorias, Lady Kargryxmor.” Once we were in private, Lord Sirius bowed to me inside his office at his castle. “House Sirius owes you a mighty debt, so please, whenever you need it, you may call on us. My sister, too, would be fully willing to aid you in your time of need, which, fortunately, also includes Lord Duke Greenveil. Resolving tonight’s affair was instrumental for the future of our Kingdom.”
Grant me the chance to meet Amadeus, I wanted to say but didn’t. As I said before, he wasn’t a friend. We only met once and he was technically still a stranger to me. On the other hand, having a pretty high ranking Artoriasian noble in my debt was amazing, which would prove beneficial in the future for sure. I couldn’t just squander it … for a stranger, even it hurts having to say that.
I hated myself for doing that … but Kiiro’s last words kinda had an effect on me. I couldn’t be so naive to believe that I could save everybody. My magic couldn’t heal Amadeus, nor was it possible to help Farron. I wasn’t able to rescue everybody who had to fight against the onnikai army since I was preoccupied with something else.
Today, I fulfilled my job as an idol by making my audience happy and keeping them safe from the raid, so maybe believing I was a hero too was too much. After all, even heroes couldn’t save everybody.
They weren’t gods.
After leaving the Sirius castle, I declined participating in a future feast they planned for today. As I was about to climb up on Ellaine’s gargoyle to go back home a wolfkin suddenly approached us. She bowed before us and showed me a letter.
“Lord Amadeus wishes you to have this, Lady Hestia!”
“You are … Lily, correct? Lord Amadeus’ maid?”
Maid-slash-spy, if I understood the undertones from back then. She was the one who managed to bring Amadeus all the files from his father’s office, despite him explaining that he did it himself. He couldn’t with his body, so he had to have had help. He told Theodore that Lily wasn’t involved in anything, probably sparing her from an execution. Considering how Lord Sirius said commoner so casually when he mentioned Davison, a simple servant would probably receive a harsher punishment than a noble.
Saori took the letter from Lily and gave it to me while making sure there wasn’t any poison or traps attached to it, not like it mattered with my resistances. The person who wrote the letter was none other than Amadeus.
“Dear Fair Lady Hestia,
If you have received this letter, then it must mean that everything worked. Annabella, the witch, was judged and her execution will come.
After our meeting, I told my father everything. That I had revealed and given the documents to Lord Theodore, admitting the crimes House Chezaic has done. My father, a patriot after he was a father, accepted his fate, knowing this entire problem must stop soon. I pray for my father’s soul that, in his next life, he will have a better, less useless son, as he deserved one after having to suffer the pest that was me. It truly saddened me that I couldn’t spend more time with him, become the heir he wanted, especially after being born with my talent in magic.
By now, I also should have been judged, although I don’t know what I received. I judge taking the vow since that is the most likely after all the documents I gave the High Bishop. Regardless, what it will be, it would be an early death for me due to the strain and stress …
… If it were a week ago. I do not know how to say this, but I thank you, Lady Hestia. That holy water, no, that dragonewt blood potion seemed to have provided me the miracle I needed all these years ago. I cannot thank you enough.
Recently, I have been feeling more energetic and, despite the elation I felt, I did not feel ill. Focusing my mana is still impossible and the sun still glares on me, burning me, but I could move. I could play with my instruments freely without feeling fatigue after a few minutes. When I realized this, I regret I couldn’t have told my father about this in time, so I hoped I would have the chance once our judgement was handed to us.
It is bitter sweet, if I may be honest. My father wanted a healthy son, and I wanted a proper life. My father will not be able to experience this, while I will have to live with the consequence of my gambit. If I could, I wish I had prayed to the Goddess to have you come earlier, before all of this.
However, please know that you have blessed me, Lady Hestia.
I do not know what will happen, but with this new strength, I hope I will have the chance to experience more of life, regardless of the trial before me. I truly feel bad for condemning my father and I wished I hadn’t handed the documents over at this point … but this wouldn’t be correct. He would scold me to no end after everything happened. He has sacrificed far too much for me to disobey him.
If we ever meet again, I sure hope we could play some melodies together. Until then, please, stay safe.
Amadeus”
… A sad end.
It wasn’t the happy ending I wanted to see, but I guess it was better than nothing. Amadeus had time to find closure with his father and we managed to bring the people behind today’s event to justice, either behind bars or into a grave. I did wonder if Aurena knew my blood could’ve cured him or not, but then I remembered it must have partially also had something to do with Theodore’s potion mix.
My blood couldn’t cure wounds naturally, after all. I was splattered by it a couple times now due to all my battles.
Speaking of which, that eldritch-turning potion still befuddled me. Truthfully, I still wanted to know how Davison was able to get that same potion the troll shaman used …
… Wait? Haven’t we all forgotten something?
Something suddenly came to my mind that I believed I had forgotten about until this point, but I could take care of it later. I took out a sheet of parchment and placed it with the letter back into the envelope, and then gave it back to Lily. “Please, tell Amadeus to stay safe, alright?”
“Of course, I will make sure to protect him.” Lily took the letter and vanished into the night. While I understood what she said, that wasn’t exactly what I meant. I just wished him good fortune.
Once we were back at Ellaine’s mansion, Saori pulled me aside to speak with me about something.
“Hestia, I heard news about those heroes,” Saori began, releasing a bombshell only a few seconds later. “They are my students, transported here to Peolynca.”
… We can’t have some peace and quiet, huh?
AbyssRaven Not every tale ends well, but at least bittersweet is still sweet enough to be happy about.
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