Valerius March lay in the southeast of the kingdom, its eastern border touching the empire.

  Last year’s war had been fought on the barren eastern lands of the march—the Achelos Plains.

  At the time, House Valerius had refused to send a single soldier, declaring they would focus solely on defending their own territory. The other lords had been furious, but Miredias III had said nothing.

  All that resentment had vanished with the king’s death at the end of last year.

  Now it was mid-April. In Valerius territory the rice planting was finished and the seedlings were beginning to sprout. Livestock farming flourished here; cattle and sheep consumed ten times more grain than people. The meat was magically frozen and aged, then sold as fresh cuts or turned into ham, smoked meats, and salted preserves.

  Anastasia had come to Valerius territory accompanied by Quintus and Devon Victorias.

  She was here to meet Clarissa.

  The carriage carrying the three of them passed through the mansion gates and stopped at the portico. The butler welcomed them and showed them to the drawing room.

  Clarissa was already there.

  Anastasia sat directly across from her.

  “The reason for your visit… is obvious, I take it.”

  “Yes. Did you kill Miredias III?”

  “I did.”

  She answered clearly, looking straight into Anastasia’s eyes.

  “May I ask why?”

  Clarissa rang a small bell and instructed the butler to bring certain documents.

  A short while later he returned with three sheets of paper, handed them to Clarissa, and left the room.

  Clarissa laid the three documents on the table and slid one toward Anastasia.

  It was titled Notice of the Exercise of Retaliatory Rights.

  This kingdom legally recognized the right of retaliation, and the method was not questioned.

  “Retaliation…? Is this in response to the murder of the Trisha royal family and their vassals?”

  Victorias asked, visibly shaken.

  “What do you mean?”

  “Two generations ago, Miredias II broke the treaty with Trisha and slaughtered the entire Trisha royal family and all their nobles. This is the formal notice of retaliation.”

  Victorias turned pale. “I had no idea…”

  He immediately understood that the other two documents concerned that very treaty.

  “You are correct.”

  “How did you learn of this?”

  “The seventh prince Critias’s wet nurse and tutor—a woman—slipped through the Kairos encirclement carrying these documents and told my mother, Deborah, the third princess of Trisha, everything. She also entrusted the five-year-old Critias to an acquaintance to preserve the royal bloodline.”

  “Why did your mother not retaliate at the time?”

  Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

  “She wanted to. But publicly it was announced as banishment, so she could not inherit anything. Assets were seized one after another, and people, money, and business all fled Trisha. Mother swallowed her hatred and devoted herself to protecting what remained of Trisha. Using these documents, she arranged for me to become the crown prince’s lawful wife and forced Miredias II to accept that my child would inherit the throne.”

  Victorias was stunned.

  “Then why retaliate now?”

  Clarissa gave a cold smile.

  “Because of you.”

  “Me?”

  “Yes. That man doted on your mother Ariette and on you. Even though it was an unwanted marriage, I obeyed because I knew my mother’s suffering. There was no love. Even when my husband became infatuated with another woman, I felt nothing. We were connected only by our parents’ agreement. But that man betrayed even that. He announced he would name you crown prince. That I could not forgive. Not for my mother’s pain, not for my own existence. So I retaliated.”

  “And that retaliation was poison.”

  “Correct. I sent Critias to the empire and convinced the emperor. The price for reclaiming Trisha and restoring the royal line was Trisha’s vassalage to the empire and the cession of Valerius territory. That was my revenge. The man accepted it. He simply died from my poison in the middle of the war.”

  The notice bore Miredias III’s signature.

  “How exactly did you kill him?”

  “That man suffered from chronic headaches. The pain was unbearable; he could not live without his medicine. Before the war I hid his medicine box and replaced the contents with poison.”

  “What poison?”

  “Belladonna root. I found the poisonous plant growing wild in the inner palace, dug up the roots, dried them, ground them into powder, and mixed it into his medicine. During the battle I had the servant Bat Serra deliver it to the king’s tent. Whether he drank it or not, I do not know. But the man died. That is the whole story.”

  “Lord Victorias, can you judge Her Highness Clarissa under the law?”

  Victorias thought for a long moment.

  It had been an extraordinary method.

  If you value your territory, if you want the throne for someone else—then fight for it with your life. That was the retaliation. Since the previous king had accepted the terms, it would be extremely difficult to charge her with any crime.

  “Inducing foreign invasion could be argued… but it would be difficult.”

  “What about the murder of Prince Herakleitos and the attack on me?”

  “You already know it wasn’t me, don’t you?”

  “Yes.”

  Victorias looked flustered.

  “Do you know the culprit?”

  “Yes. An important witness is currently in the dungeon beneath my mansion. The culprit is Alexios. However, I can only prove the attack on me. Because Bat Serra was killed.”

  “I can prove the murder of my son. A servant witnessed it and is now under my protection.”

  Clarissa rang the bell again and ordered the person to be brought in.

  A short while later a woman appeared.

  “Tell them what you saw.”

  “Yes… In the entrance hall of the palace, on the staircase, I saw Chancellor Alexios push Prince Miredias down. The prince was shoved from the corridor, tumbled headfirst, and stopped moving. I was terrified and ran.”

  “What is the man doing now?”

  Clarissa asked.

  “Lord Alexios is under house arrest at his own mansion.”

  When Victorias answered, Clarissa’s eyes widened.

  “He was caught trying to steal from the national treasury. It was on Count Aelius’s advice.”

  “So you were the one who told your grandfather?”

  “Yes. But the one who cornered him was you, wasn’t it, Your Highness?”

  “Indeed. It was a plan between Critias and myself. You simply rode the wave.”

  “Yes. Trisha now belongs to me.”

  “So… what do you intend to do?”

  “What do you intend to do?”

  Clarissa looked away, gazing out the window.

  “I don’t know. That is why I am here. I avenged my family, brought down the Kairos, and lost my own child. What was my life even for…?”

  “I understand how you feel.”

  “You couldn’t possibly.”

  “No… but in Trisha I met a woman named Corvios Matilda.”

  At that name Clarissa’s gaze snapped back to Anastasia in surprise.

  “She is the daughter of the man who took in a five-year-old boy named Livius after the war. I heard the rest of the story from her. I also heard how much the people loved your mother. They loved her because, even while suffering, she protected them. They were grateful to you as well.”

  A single tear slipped down Clarissa’s cheek.

  “I have a proposal for you.”

  Clarissa wiped the tear away and nodded.

  “Speak.”

  “Will you abandon the name and lands of Valerius and return to Trisha under the Trisha royal house name? There, you could mourn your lost family and your son. Restoring the royal line may be difficult now, and granting you a title may also be impossible. But I can preserve your assets. If you would live as a commoner and support the people once more, then as the lord of Trisha I would be glad. What do you say?”

  “Is that even possible?”

  “It is not impossible… but it would be an extra-legal measure…”

  Victorias answered.

  “I must take the throne, mustn’t I?”

  “Yes…”

  “Clarissa, do you have any objection to me ascending the throne?”

  “If you can make your proposal a reality, I have none.”

  “Then, Lord Victorias, what are the necessary steps?”

  Victorias answered calmly and precisely.

  In the corner of the room, a white cat watched over them in silence.

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