“Duke Thalos certainly works fast,” I mused, reading the letter Anias brought me.

  The note simply said he’d notified the Capital and delayed the Inquisition, which would be dismissed pending a more detailed report from Duke Wardell. It had been hardly a day since I’d spoken to Greenward. Perhaps invoking the Inquisition had been more dangerous than I realized. Or perhaps it was the threat of Alestia that had made the Crown accept so readily. It was hard to say.

  “I am told the Farstep Circles glowed all night,” Anias informed me, opening the windows in my room to let fresh air in. I had only just woken up, and there were already things to think about.

  Father, this really should have been your job.

  “With the Aelheim Qualifiers in just over two months and the King’s Tournament in the Capital after that, they want to adjourn Council Meetings for the season.” It was a decent enough excuse, if an obvious one. I set the letter down and reached for cookies. “They’re likely nervous about our guest becoming Duchess. Even I’m just acting Head of House.”

  “My Lady, please don’t chew and speak at the same time.”

  “Err…right.” I pointedly set the food down. Swallowed. “They don’t need to worry. The last thing Violet Indri would want is to be a Duchess.”

  Anias paused, looked at me. “You…are not going to make her? It would give you a majority on the Council.”

  “Huh?” It was my turn to stare at her. Wait, was that what she’d thought I’d been doing?

  Actually, how many people had thought I was doing that?!

  I mentally tallied my actions over the last month or so. To the outside world, I had suddenly ascended into my father’s position, gone to another Duke’s home, and then that Duke had died. Now, his daughter was going to be someone (hopefully) favorable towards me.

  If I were looking at my own actions from the outside, I’d have thought this Esra Veyne was trying to slowly take over the city. No wonder Duke Greenward had been so suspicious.

  “No, no,” I said firmly. “If she wants to step down, as I have no doubt she would, and hand over her House to some distant cousin, I will support her. Even if that cousin doesn’t align with me.”

  “That does not seem prudent, My Lady,” Anias said cautiously, almost as close to an objection as she’d given me in some time.

  “She is my friend, Anias.” I sighed, my shoulders relaxing as I met her eyes. “I have no interest in making my friends do what they do not want to do themselves. If she steps down, we will manage the fallout and the power-hungry cousins. I don’t deny that having her as a Duchess would be useful. That doesn’t change my decision at all. I might ask her to act as the Head of her House for a little while. No more.”

  And, there was the promise I’d made to her, though I couldn’t imagine when I would ever have the time to be an adventurer.

  “It seems you’ve come to care a great deal for her, My Lady.”

  “I…can’t deny that.”

  Anias bowed. “Then I will treat her with great care, My Lady. You haven’t touched any of the other letters.” Anias pointed at the very large stack next to me. Most of these from the Counts under House Veyne, some even from a few Viscounts or Barons.

  “They will have to wait for my debut.” I said. “I can only juggle so many balls at the same time.”

  Anias nodded reluctantly. “There is another matter. The S-rank adventurer Miranda is here. Would you like to see her now?”

  “Yes, please send her in.”

  Anias bowed and left.

  I felt better already after a decent night’s sleep. I could reach for my Gift again without risking exhaustion. I could even reach for the swor-

  

  I winced, doubling over from the sharp pain that threatened to split my skull. Gritting my teeth, I clutched my head with trembling hands. It lasted only for a few seconds, but even that was long enough to have me heaving.

  “What…what the hell is wrong with you?” I muttered through clenched teeth.

  The Godblade didn’t answer, but its pressure lingered in my mind. Even if I couldn’t activate it, it had never refused to come out before. I hadn’t known it even could.

  “Damn it, why are you being like this?” I tried reaching for it again. Nothing.

  

  It whispered again, more faintly this time.

  “You’re not the Godblade of truth, you know,” I growled. “Where the hell do you get off judging me?”

  You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

  This was bad. The Godblade was the single best asset I had. It was the only reason I was still alive, and now the damn blade was refusing to come out? Why did my Divine Weapon have to be moody on top of everything else?

  I was just about to try reaching out to it again when there was a knock at the door.

  “Come in.”

  The door opened, revealing a short brunette who glanced at the floor before looking at me. She wore oversized grey robes that seemed to swallow her and a very pointy grey hat, giving the impression of a stereotypical wizard from fantasy books back on Earth.

  I was sure that stereotype didn’t exist here, so this woman dressed this way purely because she wanted to. I had been quite surprised last time; now, I was just slightly bemused.

  “My Lady, your maid said now is a good time?” Her voice sounded meek as she waited.

  “Yes, please. I would love these last few scrapes done away with. Thank you for coming. I am told it’s quite hard to make use of your services once, let alone twice.”

  As an S-rank adventurer and specialized healer, Miranda Cirel was sought after not just in this city, but across the country. Most nobility did not use her services, not because of price, but because Miranda only healed those she wished, and that was usually people who actually needed it.

  Miranda nodded, stepped forward. “Sierra was um…quite insistent.”

  Even I hadn’t been able to get Miranda to personally heal me the last time I’d needed it, but one word from Sierra Steelbow and she came? I’d have to thank her.

  “Now then, please proceed.”

  Miranda nodded slowly and put her hands on the side of my bed. Pale green light sprang forth from her hands, creeping towards me. The pale green light swallowed me. The world outside the cocoon blurred into murky shadows, and all sound was abruptly cut off, replaced by a high, vibrating hum.

  Healing takes days or weeks. Compressing that into sixty seconds was .

  Stifling, humid heat flooded the small space; I gasped for air. My skin crawled with a thousand prickling pains covering every inch of my skin. Phantom aches vanished one by one. My right wrist, once tender, now felt normal. My legs felt steady. Strong. The faint start of the headache I'd had from the Godblade vanished in an instant.

  The green shell dissolved into mist soon after. I sagged back, drenched in sweat.

  Despite that, I felt good.

  Much, much better than I had just a minute ago. Miranda’s eyes were closed, her brows furrowed. She slowly opened them. There was sweat on her brow, too, which she quickly wiped away.

  “That should do it.” Miranda stepped back.

  “That…certainly would.” I stepped outside the bed, stretched my arms. I took a few tentative hops in place, rolled my shoulders.

  Miranda was staring at me. I paused mid-hop, wondering if I’d done something odd. A brief flush crept up my cheeks. Wasn’t this how anyone would act after suddenly feeling better?

  I gave Miranda an awkward smile.

  “I feel much better,” I told her. “I thought last time helped, but now I really do feel as good as new.”

  Miranda blushed even as she tipped her head. “I-I’m sorry about that, My Lady. Usually, once is enough, but…for some reason, it didn’t take to you as well.”

  I could make a few guesses about why that might be, and none of them were this woman’s fault. “It’s quite all right. Thank you. I will remember this.” I paused briefly. “And…can you see to my friend again?”

  Miranda fidgeted in place. “I can, My Lady, but it would be a waste of my Gift.” She apparently just realized what she’d said, because she quickly raised her hands. “I mean- My Gift only deals with the physical, and I have healed her injuries as best as I can. Her wounds are more…psychological in nature, and I can’t help her there.”

  “I see,” I said, deflating a little.

  It wasn't too surprising. All Gifts had limits. Miranda's Gift couldn't heal my father. Couldn't heal Sere. That didn't make it feel any better.

  “But I am sure she will wake soon,” Miranda said quickly. “Violet Indri’s reputation doesn’t suggest she would take any kind of psychological stress-”

  Just then, at precisely that moment, there was a scream.

  Maybe it was because I felt so much better so suddenly, but I found myself sprinting outside the room. I hadn't even had time to grab my slippers. There was another scream as soon as I stepped outside, one that came…from the room right next to mine.

  I tentatively stepped inside and was somehow both surprised and unsurprised by what I saw.

  “I asked you where the fuck am I?” Violet growled, yanking a short maid around by her collar with one hand. “Tell me while I’m still asking nicely.”

  “Can you not strangle one of my maids?” I cut in.

  Violet paused, stared at me, stared at the maid, and slowly let go. The maid gasped as she stepped back.

  “Your maid?”

  “Yes,” I said. This…this was probably my fault. There was always supposed to be a maid outside Violet’s quarters, though I should have had Anias warn everyone about just what type of person Violet was, and how she might be a little disoriented when she woke up.

  “Damn.”

  “You may go.” I gestured to the maid.

  “Sorry,” Violet grumbled to the woman. “You did kind of bloody scare me.”

  The woman brushed herself off, bowed, and hurried away. I should ask Anias to give her a day off.

  The door closed, leaving us alone.

  “So this is your home?” Violet finally asked. “Not as fancy.” She said, looking around the room.

  “Indeed, it is not.” I smiled, walked over, pulled myself a seat, and sat down next to her bed. “So. Are you feeling…normal?”

  “I feel like nothing’s changed,” Violet grumbled. “It’s creepy. I think I might feel better now than when that all happened.”

  “I’ll make sure to pass your compliment along,” I said.

  Silence came then. I didn’t know what to say. So much had happened so quickly that I didn’t quite know what I was supposed to do now that it was all over. I had felt a little guilty even dragging Violet over to my Manor, rather than letting her stay in her own home.

  That...probably added to people’s suspicions.

  “Thanks.”

  “Hmm?” I looked up and stared at her.

  “For helping me…” Violet paused. Looked around the room, looked back at me. “For helping me…kill my father and all that. Don’t think I said it. Or if I did, I don’t think I fucking remember. But thanks.”

  I smiled. “Don’t mention it. If you need to kill any other family members any time soon, just let me know. It turns out I’m rather good at that.”

  Violet snorted, and then she laughed. It was a rather nice sound, from someone whose voice was usually so harsh. The laughter settled down.

  “So that all really did happen, huh? It wasn’t just some kind of fucked up nightmare, was it?” Her voice might have sounded the same, but she sounded vulnerable to me at that moment. Something about the way she tensed up, ever so slightly.

  “Yes. I’m afraid that it did.” I said finally. “I’m sorry.”

  Violet paused, seemed to tremble. She took a very deep breath and closed her eyes. I watched her as she very slowly exhaled. “Alright then.” Then she pointed at me.

  “So…what now? You’re the smart one. What the hell am I supposed to do now? I mean, the bastard had it coming, but I’m pretty sure you can’t just kill a Duke and walk around. Spill it. How screwed am I?”

  I winced. It wasn’t like I hadn’t been bracing myself for this conversation already. I was just surprised it was happening so quickly. I suppose that was just like her.

  “I…think I should bring you a newspaper first.”