It had been a long session of information-gathering and testing, but Lucian made it through. Now, they’d come back to the entrance—that long marble hall.

  “I assume we’re free to leave?” Rowan asked the Dragonwarden. He received a solemn nod in return, and a sad little wave unbefitting such a giant, scary figure.

  Maybe I could lock Aurelia up in here, Lucian thought. Hell of a lot safer. On the other hand… she could corrupt this guy’s pure, innocent heart. And it’d be annoying to get her out.

  “Is there any chance that we could rely upon you or the dragons as an ally in the future?” Rowan asked.

  The Dragonwarden shook his head. He was committed to protecting this place, after all. The circumstances hadn’t changed. Plus, if the dragons died, they did as well. Better to keep them here.

  “I’ll find a way to break that bondmail,” Lucian promised, perhaps foolishly. He did want to, though. Maybe with the Formless Essence, there was a chance he could replicate the magic used to make it? He’d no clue, not yet, but he had ideas bubbling in his head.

  The Dragonwarden reached out and ruffled Lucian’s hair, to his shock. He stood there with wide eyes, mind blanking for a bit. The Dragonwarden gestured at the village, then held his arms wide and welcoming as he walked back.

  “…I guess we’re welcome to visit anytime we want,” Miriam concluded.

  Suddenly, Olivia appeared and pinched Lucian in the ear. He winced, going ‘ow.’

  “You could’ve died trying to debuff that construct,” she said. “I know your blessing lets you sense danger, but danger also applies to you.”

  “I had a plan,” Lucian said, wrestling free. “Have a little faith.”

  “I do have faith in you,” Olivia said earnestly. Lucian narrowed his eyes. “That’s why I think you shouldn’t try stuff like that.”

  Looking around, Lucian saw that what he’d done definitely had some small effect. Technically, he’d probably saved all of their lives. Maybe it was a full affection point reset for all? He doubted it.

  “Weren’t you going all psycho in the battle?” Lucian deflected. “I thought I heard you laughing in joy.”

  Olivia looked taken off guard. “W-well, I—"

  “Haven’t you heard, Olivia? Lucian’s one true love is the Dragonwarden. He’s going to break his bondage to behold the body beneath. Give it up, you’re outmatched,” Rowan said, walking toward the stairs. “Let’s get out of here.”

  Olivia handled the teasing better than Helen, merely shaking her head and moving on.

  “What a journey,” Maximilian declared. “Truly… we must return and explore this place in greater depth.”

  “Are you insane?” Bethany chided him. “That was a nightmare!”

  “A nightmare is what’s on our hand if we can’t find more sources of power… like this one,” Ruth disagreed. “And besides… it turned out well in the end. Max is right. We should come back and explore.”

  Lucian had to agree. He needed to get these guys some better equipment. Late-game equipment, even.

  “Fun’s over, seems like,” Isran said, walking up to Lucian. He said in quieter tones, “Are you still ready to do what we said?”

  The journey was so engrossing that Lucian almost forgot he was on trial for murder. Going to the Confederation…

  “Have to consult my lawyer, first,” Lucian said. “Fine with that?”

  Isran nodded. “Sure, so long as he agrees. I think he will, if he’s any good.”

  ***

  The journey back to Verne was as uneventful as the journey to that monument. They sealed the stairs once more, reverting the monument back to its original appearance. By the time they arrived to the canal city it was dark, and Lucian went to the rural cottage immediately under cover of night. The first thing he did was go see Theobald and tell him the news. It was dark out, and they spoke by the light of a magic lamp.

  “Well, that’s…” Theobald laughed. “…heavens, we could actually win.”

  Lucian tilted his head. “’Actually?’ What do you mean?”

  Theobald cleared his throat. “I mean, ‘win punitive damages.’ Like a countersuit. No, my boy, no… I’ve always had total confidence. I assure you.”

  Lucian stared.

  “I’ll come with you,” Theobald said. “I’ll pack my things and be ready to leave in the morning. Although… hmm. You should talk with your not-prisoner.”

  “Lydia?”

  “No, the black-haired one,” Theboald said. “That may… delay things. Maybe not, though.”

  “What are you talking about?” Lucian narrowed his eyes.

  “There was an incident. Everyone’s fine, but—"

  Lucian immediately left the mother-in-law suite, jogging over to the cottage.

  “Lucian?” Brother Crane called out as he passed by.

  He hadn’t seen this because it was dark out, but Lucian paused at the door when he saw it had been broken. It looked one of the divine beasts had bashed against it and forced it open. When he looked inside, there was a lot of blood on the floor. He ran around the cottage, looking around. He spotted Aurelia lying in her bed, drooling, and moved to her and shook her immediately. She looked at him in surprise, still half-asleep.

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  “Wadda?” she said sleepily.

  “Wake up,” Lucian said, shaking her again.

  “Ow,” Aurelia complained, trying to grab his arms. “What is this?”

  “I should be asking that question!” Lucian said.

  “Oh,” Aurelia said tiredly. “I told them to tell you…” she sighed, blinking herself awake further. “Well, the emperor’s dead. That’s what happened.”

  He didn’t know what to say to that. He gaped for a bit before saying, “And what, you killed him over there?” Lucian looked back at the blood, and then at her. “There’d better be a very good explanation for this.”

  Aurelia rubbed her eyes. “Guessing you won’t let me sleep, we can do this in the morning…?” She asked, then looked at his face to see how very unamused he was. “Well, fine.”

  ***

  “We caught this man spying on the outskirts,” Brother Crane explained to Lucian.

  Lucian stared at the dead body of the supposed imperial agent in a ditch. “And what happened then?”

  “We had to be a bit forceful with him to get some information from him. He told us he was from Golvenne, and he was looking for a woman with gray hair and green eyes that had attendants,” Crane explained. “Didn’t seem to know more than that.”

  Lucian paced around, troubled.

  “We were prepared to let him go. Aurelia said that’d be foolish, that she wanted to wait for your judgment. He attacked her. I accidentally killed him,” Brother Crane said. “That’s about the gist of it.”

  “Then what’s this nonsense about the emperor? Did you hear him say that he works for the imperial family?” Lucian asked.

  “No, she ‘figured it out,’” Crane said, shaking his head.

  “Did you help her figure it out?” Lucian asked. “Did you go out of your way to do things I didn’t permit?”

  Crane looked over. “I did nothing more than what you suggested I do. I brought her newspapers, those books—that’s it. I didn’t do any special favors for her. Don’t you trust me by now, after all the things I’ve done?”

  “Sorry,” Lucian said. “Just… paranoid, that’s all.”

  “I get it,” Crane said, looking back. “She’s a witch. I’m not sure she didn’t try and get that man killed.”

  Lucian looked at him. “Yeah?”

  “…I don’t know, honestly. I killed him, after all, but…” Crane trailed off. “But the more I think on it… the more I think you’re right to keep her like this. Because if she was lying about the monastery… she’s the worst monster imaginable.”

  Lucian didn’t respond. “I’ll go talk to her.”

  He walked back to the cottage, glancing at the damage to the door. Within, Aurelia was bunched up in her black furs as she sipped at some tea. She had a series of newspapers before her.

  “I heard you got somebody killed.”

  Aurelia looked over. “Is that what Crane said? Ugh.” She put her tea down. “Why did you have to pick that man to watch over me? He’s so… unfriendly.”

  “Seems like I picked the right man, then.” Lucian leaned on the doorframe, his arms crossed.

  “I’m the one that got attacked. I’m not going to defend myself for getting attacked. That spy cut my neck. It really hurt,” she complained, pouting and rubbing the spot. Lucian raised a brow, and she continued, “Ask Crane if you don’t believe me. It was really scary. You really think I’d risk having someone cut my neck to… what, kill some guy I wanted you to interrogate yourself? It’s a nightmare for me that he died. Now you’re going to be scowling at every word I say. And… I don’t know. He didn’t deserve to die, not really.”

  “Certainly not keeping you up at night.” Lucian walked inside and sat across from her. “Crane said you ‘figured it out,’ something to do with the imperial family. Let’s hear this theory of yours, then.”

  “No, Lucian, I’m fine, thank you for worrying.” Aurelia sighed. “Well, fine. My theory is… hold on. Let me lay out the evidence.” She gathered her thoughts, then looked at him resolutely. “First, I know that Denzel bought this place. The man came here looking for a woman with gray hair and green eyes that might have attendants. Crane thought it was Lydia—I thought it was the mother of the man that bought this place. I’ve read that he loves her dearly, and you’ve been careful, no? Judging by the way you keep a watch on me, there’s little chance you’ve been found out. I thought they might be trying to snoop on Denzel, not you. And I found a description of his mother’s appearance… and what do you know? Green eyes, gray hair. And considering she’s the consort of an emperor, I imagine she has attendants.”

  Lucian considered that, and then gave a nod. “Okay. Seems logical.”

  “I looked through the newspapers—I mean, what else was I going to do? Uhh… besides that task you gave me,” she added quickly. “I noticed a trend. For your information, imperial newspapers are controlled by the state. Everything that they publish has to be reviewed by the central government. After the labor unions had their little kerfuffle, the imperial family was being very open about the going-ons of the palace to reassure the public. Then… boop.” She planted a finger on one newspaper before her. “Nothing. Total silence.”

  Lucian looked at it.

  “Ever since this day, there’s been no credible report about what’s happening inside the Imperial Palace,” Aurelia said. “There’s a lot of speculation. There’s a lot of opinion pieces. But no one—truly, I checked—has obtained any new information about the inside of the court. Check for yourself,” she said, gesturing to a stack of newspapers. “Having lived in the monastery for so long and receiving all of my news via newspapers, I assure you, that’s a trend I’ve noticed before. Whenever the palace is sealed and something major happens, the press goes silent.

  “So… okay. Spy coming for Denzel’s mom, silence in the palace. Big deal, right?” Aurelia leaned in. “But then I recalled the demon’s retreat you told me about. They started to fall back…” she planted her finger on the newspaper Lucian looked at, where news from the palace stopped. “Right. That. Day. On the same day the palace goes quiet, the demons retreated to the Hells.”

  Lucian met her gaze seriously. There was a glimmer in her shrewd yellow eyes.

  “Considering it from Belcourt’s perspective… killing the emperor as a final goodbye present?” Aurelia stood, walking around the room with her arms crossed. “It’d be the perfect way to turn the coals of the fire you put out into a true bonfire once more. What if the new emperor was snooping here to try and snag a hostage ahead of time? Makes sense, in my eyes. Makes sense why the palace would be sealed, too. Algard, preparing every measure for his accession. Algard, who doesn’t have to worry about his father anymore, finally seeking out Denzel’s mother. And all of it precipitated by Belcourt, intent on starting a civil war.”

  Lucian ran back through the puzzle in his head. He had to admit it made some sense. Still, the fact that she’d managed to come to the conclusion with a bunch of newspapers and a lone agent… she was pretty bright.

  “So… who’s smart?” Aurelia asked, grinning. “Is it me? I think it is. I saved you so much guesswork.”

  Lucian shook his head. “We don’t even know if you’re right. But if you are… sure, you get a gold star.”

  “Eh… I’ll take it,” she said with an ever-widening smile. She looked around, inhaling. When she realized she was standing on blood, she grimaced and stepped away.

  Speculation is one thing. The palace could be silent for any reason. Denzel can find out for sure with the resources he has, Lucian reasoned.

  If she was right… damn. Lucian kind of liked Prince Algard. He was hoping to settle the brotherly beef. But then, he’d also liked the real Lucian a little, so maybe he didn’t have much ground to stand on there. He thought about the matter more.

  What do I say to Denzel? he realized. Hey, buddy. We think your dad’s dead, and now your brother is trying to take your mom hostage. Wanna check for us?

  Regardless, it’d probably take time to verify that information. Time enough to go to the Confederation and back, maybe.