It was an afternoon like any other.

Akorella had her feet propped up on her desk, idly flipping through reports. It was boring, tedious work, but she had no choice; her research permits depended on it.

Just as Akorella scribbled a signature and slapped the report shut—

Knock, knock.

“Captain. The mana stones that were sent abroad have been recovered.”

“Come in. The replies came back quickly.”

“Yes. Well, it seems they all had their own internal matters to consider.”

A mage entered with a collection of mana stones and letters. They were items that had been sent to and from foreign countries ahead of the war, and it was Akorella’s job to inspect them for any malicious enchantments. She casually snatched a mana stone from the pile and tapped it against her fang.

“What about the carrier pigeon replies?”

“Right here. Should I take them straight to Sir Ian?”

“Yeah. Since you’re here, have a glass of mana recovery potion before you go.”

“Ah, yes. I must decline.”

“Hey, it has no side effects! I’m serious.”

Akorella dropped her feet from the desk with a look of disbelief, but the mage’s resolve was firm.

“You said the same thing a few days ago, Captain. The kids all face-planted into their meals and passed out. The inauguration is just around the corner and we’re buried in work as it is. If we fall asleep here, we’re dead. Everyone’s sworn not to even smell the stuff until Sir Ian personally guarantees it’s safe.”

“Crazy bastards. You’ve all gotten spoiled, haven’t you? After the inauguration, you won’t be able to drink this even if you wanted to, you little shits! Just wait until you get a taste of a real war!”

“I think rolling around on a battlefield would be safer than falling asleep in the middle of it.”

“Get lost, you brat.”

“Carry on, Captain.”

The mage gave a short salute and scurried out of the lab. Akorella clicked her tongue at his retreating back before looking up at the wall of potion vials with a pitying gaze.

My lovely little babies… To be persecuted by those ignorant fools who don’t even know your worth. It’s all because you’re too brilliant! Tsk, tsk!

“Oh, right. I need to work on this, too.”

Clink. In Akorella’s hand was the Oblivion Potion she had created long ago, when she had teetered between life and death with the dragon scales. The problem was that the potion’s very nature of ‘oblivion’ meant that not only could she not test it on herself, but all the other mages vehemently refused as well, leaving the research in limbo.

Akorella tapped the bottle regretfully and then unfolded the letters. They were replies from various nations to the invitation for Jin’s inauguration ceremony.

“Well, well, look at these.”

With each page she turned, the furrows in Akorella’s brow deepened. After reading the last one, she stuffed all the letters into her pocket, kicked the lab door open, and stormed out.

Kwang!

“Captain, where are you going?”

“The Minister’s office. To report.”

“Yes. Have a safe trip.”

‘For someone who limps, she sure knows how to kick a door open.’

‘I saw her land a flying kick on Beric the other day.’

The mages whispered quietly among themselves before realizing they also had matters requiring Ian’s approval and scrambled to their feet. Seeing Captain Akorella on the move herself suggested an important report was being made, which meant Ian might be heading out of the office soon.

Meanwhile, in Ian’s office.

T-t-tap, knock, knock!

“Is that you, Akorella? Enter.”

“How did you know?”

“You’re the only one who makes an entrance like that.”

Ian was filling out paperwork, sitting across from Romandro. Scratch, scratch. Beside him, a pile of half-worn pen nibs and empty coffee cups was growing steadily. With the inauguration approaching, most departments likely looked the same. Akorella dragged a chair over to sit next to Romandro and immediately pulled the letters from her pocket.

“Replies from Hawan, Ruswena, and the other nations.”

“They came quickly.”

“They’re all sending proxies, apparently.”

Sending a proxy to an imperial inauguration was, in the current political climate, tantamount to declaring support for Burgos.

“Every single one?”

No, that can’t be right.

As Romandro’s eyes widened, Akorella gave a bittersweet wave of two letters, as if unsure whether it was a good thing or not.

“Clifford and Astana are sending their kings in person. In Clifford’s case, it looks like the entire royal family will be attending.”

“That’s it! Yes, that’s how it should be! Hasha, you magnificent bastard!”

“But isn’t this a huge loss of face for us? I don’t know what these brain-dead idiots think they’re doing, failing to grasp the situation. Do they all want to be diced into cubes?”

Romandro’s eyes went wide. My, oh my. Her language is no different from Beric’s, just with longer hair.

Akorella read through the replies one by one. “The Kingdom of Hawan says: Greetings, blah, blah, blah… Uh… so, they wish for and anticipate the eternal glory of Bariel, but… their king is a bit sickly and can’t attend in person… so they’ll send their prime minister, who’s a veteran of the royal court? What the hell? It’s more like: Our prime minister has been around through two different kings and is still kicking, so it’s about time we kept him in check. We’re sending him to Bariel. Kill him or keep him, do as you please.”

“I-Is that really what it says, Akorella?”

“Are you crazy? Of course not. But that’s what it sounds like. Next up, Ruswena.”

Rustle.

Akorella read the next letter aloud, enunciating each word. “Time certainly has passed. To think that small, young thing is now the Emperor. As you know, I have some unpleasant memories there, so I don’t wish to make the trip myself. I trust you understand. Especially now that Ian Hielo, the Minister of the Ministry of Magic, is said to have returned from the dead after ten years—how could I possibly go to Bariel out of fear? I am sending a subordinate in my place, so please receive him well for the sake of your country. Goddamn it!”

Just in case, Romandro picked up the letter Akorella had just read to check it for himself. It was an official document, so it had to be formal and polite. How could she read it like that?

But Ian, as if he had expected it, simply kept his ears open and continued to move his pen.

“And the piddling little nations to the north are even worse. They say they can’t come because it’s too far! The morons. We even told them that if they came to the Bariel border, our mages would open portals to escort them, and this is their excuse. Isn’t this a blatant challenge? Don’t they know who we are?!”

“The, the Bariel Empire. Akorella, please, calm down for a second.”

“I’m too angry to stay still. I need to meet this Rutherford bastard in person and hear what kind of sweet lies he used to tempt the neighboring countries. I was only planning on breaking one of his legs, but now I think I’ll cut both of them off.”

Thwack!

Akorella slammed her hand on the desk, splattering ink. Only then did Ian put down his pen.

“Akorella. I understand how you feel, but the more violently we react, the more Bariel’s prestige falls. Compose yourself.”

Especially in front of His Highness Jin.

“This was our mistake. We allowed them to weigh Rutherford and Bariel on a scale and foolishly conclude that Rutherford carried more weight. Our mistake.”

As Ian smiled thinly, Romandro flinched and took a step back. It was better when Akorella vented her feelings with harsh words; Ian, right now, looked like he could tear a person apart with a smile on his face. At least, that’s how it felt to Romandro.

“A mistake is something to be corrected. Through the inauguration, and through the coming war, we will inform them of just how wrong their choice was and make them think correctly. So, put aside your personal feelings and focus on the preparations.”

Akorella just sighed and shrugged. “Yes, sir. I’ll prepare to open the portals soon. Still, besides the northern countries, no one is completely absent, so we’ll need to open at least four. Will you be alright with that?”

“Of course. It’s not a problem.”

“Then you should drink some of the recovery potion in front of the others, to set an example.”

“No. I’m fine. Really.”

Ian laughed as he neatly stacked the documents. It was impossible to tell if he was joking or not. Akorella pestered him, insisting that the side effects were almost completely resolved, but Ian’s answer remained the same.

“Because you refuse to drink it, the others are just shutting up and eating bread! If they’re all exhausted during the inauguration, who are you going to put to work? Huh?”

“I will handle the portals myself, so tell everyone to take care of themselves. There can be no mistakes at the inauguration.”

“What? You’ll handle them? By yourself?”

“Yes. By myself.”

“Just writing and erasing the magic circles is a huge task.”

“It’s a simple matter of opening them all at once.”

Akorella’s jaw dropped. What on earth was Ian talking about? Opening a portal was something the mages of the department could barely manage even while chugging amplifier potions. And he was going to open multiple portals simultaneously, over the vast distance from the capital to the border? Alone?

“Akorella, you’re drooling.”

Only Romandro, who didn’t grasp how outlandish Ian’s statement was, closed her jaw for her and offered a word of comfort.

“Wait, Sir Ian! Sir Ian!”

He didn’t know why. Whether it was because he had awakened to the fact that this body, the body of the illegitimate son Ian, was the body of a god, or if it was an effect of the Abyss, or perhaps a blessing from a god. Whatever the reason, ever since he had drunk that recovery potion, he could feel his entire body overflowing with mana, to a degree his former self could never have imagined.

***

Chloe stared at the faint scar remaining by her mouth and scowled. Nearly ten days had passed, but seeing the mark still made anger well up inside her.

‘Lady Chloe. Is your wound any better?’

‘How dare you ask if I’m better? Do I look better to you?’

‘Yes. Seeing you speak, you seem to be just fine. A wound on the skin heals with time, but a wound to the heart does not. Both you and I have suffered a deep pain by showing an unsightly display in front of others, so how about we come to an agreement at this point? You couldn’t even take a piece of my flesh when I offered, so wouldn’t this be mutually beneficial? As a businesswoman, I can do the math quickly. Surely you don’t need me to explain it to you?’

‘Is that your idea of an apology? I will make sure—!’

‘Ah, my lady. I didn’t just come here to apologize.’

Then, Kyla had tilted her head just so, showing off the hair ornament, the imperial jewel that was the cause of this whole mess, embedded within it. To flaunt it so openly when she should have been hiding it made Chloe frown, sensing that something had gone terribly wrong.

‘Thanks to you, I was invited to the Imperial Palace and met His Highness, Crown Prince Jin. He was so beautiful up close that I was at a loss for words. His Highness graciously forgave our mistake and bestowed this upon me as a token of his favor.’

‘What… what did you say?’

‘It is all thanks to you, Lady Chloe. If you and your friends hadn’t committed that despicable act, when else would I have been granted such an honor? I will have another opportunity to meet with His Highness soon. If possible, I will pass on your regards. Though I doubt he will be curious.’

Crash!

Chloe had unconsciously hurled a jewelry box, shattering the mirror. The servants waiting behind her flinched for a moment before quickly cleaning up the area. Only then did Chloe look out the window instead of at the broken mirror. Puzzled by the unfamiliar sight in the sky, she approached the window.

“…What are those?”

“Ah, my lady. Please don’t worry. A notice came from the Ministry of Magic a few days ago. They are pathways for the foreign guests. They said not to be alarmed, that unlike before, they can now open several at once. It is a bit strange, isn’t it?”

Small, black moons hanging in the sky. Previously, the entire Ministry of Magic had to struggle to open just one, and now this.

Chloe instantly knew that Ian was the reason for the gap between then and now. It was surely the Ministry of Magic that helped Kyla walk around with the jewel without any consequences. The empire was on the verge of war, and House Hollin was in the weapons business.

Chloe gnawed on her fingernails and muttered.

“Ian Hielo…”

There was only one path to take. If Kyla had reached him, then she could too.

“I’m going too.”

“What? My lady, where…”

“To the war. What’s the difference between being one pawn here and one pawn there?”