Tinasha was not a child for very long. Her position and the tumultuousness
of the era did not permit it.
She couldn't rely on anyone or trust them. All around the young queen
enthroned under extraordinary circumstances were people who either feared
her or wanted her removed.
Her only supporters were the twelve mystical spirits she had inherited.
They were the only ones she could trust, and they became like friends and
family to her.
"I'm exhausted." The girl sighed, lying facedown on her huge bed.
Only a few months had passed since her coronation, and fourteen-yearold Tinasha buried her face in her pillow and sucked in a deep breath. The
spirit Senn, there as her bodyguard, said to her, "You should sleep. You
can't keep going like this."
"I'm fine. I won't stay up much longer. Kill any assassins that come
while I'm sleeping, okay?"
"No matter who it is?"
"No matter who," she replied flatly. When Senn didn't answer, tears
welled in her dark eyes. She mumbled into her pillow, "I mean…if I'm ever
indulgent with anyone… Well, that's exactly the type of person that they'll
try to use to kill me. I have to treat them all the same. That way, only those
willing to fight me will come."
She was undoubtedly thinking of how, just the other day, a lady-inwaiting around the queen's age had attempted regicide. If she showed any
weakness, her political opponents would take advantage of it. Blood did not
determine who inherited the throne of Tuldarr. Eliminating Tinasha meant
someone else could take her place.
Senn opened his mouth, but mostly repeated what he'd said earlier. "You
should sleep. You'll sit on the throne until you're an old woman. That's
probably going to feel like a long time to you."
"Not that long, I bet," she muttered. She would probably die before that.
No matter how idealistic or powerful anyone was, they would not last long
in times like these. People were always tricking and stabbing one another in
the back. All wished for it to end, but none could find a way out. That was
true for the entire mainland.
Thus, even if Tinasha triumphed and survived, she wanted to relinquish
her status before turning gray. Decades of using her extraordinary power to
intimidate everyone into submission might very well drive her insane. Even
if she retained her wits, her subjects would suffer if her ways of thinking
grew old-fashioned and she began to pursue peace and quiet for herself. So,
at most, she had another twenty years of this left.
Ruminating on how that was a very long time indeed, Tinasha glanced
up. "If you want me to fall asleep, talk to me."
"Talk to you? Shall I report on something?"
"No, just talk. Tell me about you. What was it like when you manifested
before? When you made the contract with the first king?"
Her request came out of nowhere, and Senn looked bewildered.
However, when he saw the hopeful curiosity in Tinasha's eyes, he gave a
rueful smile. The spirit leaned against the wall to indulge his master's very
age-appropriate curiosity. "When I manifested back then, I had quite a bit of
freedom."
"You have freedom now, too, Senn."
"Maybe," the man with bluish-white hair said with a dry laugh. His
voice was tinged with the slightest hint of yearning. "Just as you can never
forget the man who saved you…I met a very strange woman once, too, a
long time ago."
The girl rested her elbows on the bed, staring at Senn. It was rare for
him to talk about himself. Out of all the twelve spirits, he was the most
unemotional.
"She was free-spirited, capricious, and affectionate. She would wander
off only to come back, repeating the process each time I appeared in this
realm."
"Was she…a demon?"
It would be impossible for someone with the life span of an ordinary
human to come and see him each time he, a royal spirit, manifested upon
the coronation of a new ruler.
Senn only smiled and did not answer. Pushing himself off the wall, he
came over to the bed and placed a blanket over his master's lithe frame.
Tinasha noticed for the first time that he wore a ring.
Senn's ruby eyes went half-lidded in a very human gesture of sympathy.
"If you ever grow tired of it all, you should visit her. She's a troublemaker,
but…I know she'd make a good friend for you."
He stroked Tinasha's hair and, for the third time, said, "Sleep."
The girl nodded and closed her eyes. She took a deep breath, her heart
feeling somewhat lighter.
They were the only family she would trust. But they also belonged to…
the ruler.
A ruler was a symbol of strength and the greatest cog in the machine that
kept the citizens alive and the country running.
Regents did not need emotions or individuality.
Relying on another was a weakness. Trust meant a gap in her defenses.
That was why she didn't mind being alone, as long as she had enough
strength to do so.
For the next five years of Tinasha's rule she maintained that ideology—
treading on thin ice all the while.
She never wavered, and displayed no weakness.
As ruler, she would use her devastating power to secure victory with all
the pride of a queen.
That was, after all, the last promise she made to him.
A flicker of emotion showed in Tinasha's dark eyes as she gazed down at
the miniature garden. Next to her, Legis noticed it and glanced at her.
Without making the slightest movement, Tinasha said to the two spirits on
her other side, "I've gotten sloppy lately."
"Yes, especially since your engagement, but you've been like this ever
since you arrived in this time period, you know. I thought you were just
exhausted," Mila remarked.
"Thank you for that tart answer. It's quite refreshing," said Tinasha,
though a smile didn't bloom on her face like it normally did. Feeling as
though something were slightly off, Legis stared at her.
Karr, the other spirit, piped up. "But you never used to be super vigilant
when you were younger anyway, little girl. You were so obedient and sweet
that I was actually a little worried."
"What? You were? That's the first I've heard of it," the queen replied.
"Well, it's the first time I'm telling you. And I don't think it's a bad
thing, either. You're only human. After becoming queen, you did everything
so perfectly and carefully that it had me a bit concerned."
"A queen can't very well act like she's still a child," Tinasha remarked,
nodding as if the conversation wasn't about her. "In any case, dealing with
this person I'm up against feels like he's able to read my thoughts. As if that
isn't impolite enough, he even seems to know my private personal details. I
don't want him poking his nose in there."
Valt was clearly one step ahead of Tinasha. Since their first meeting, she
had gotten the strangest sense that he could read her like a book. How was
he able to look past the facade of Queen Tinasha of Tuldarr? Valt
understood Tinasha's love for Oscar and what she would do to be useful to
the king, using that information to trap her.
It was how he'd kidnapped her—he'd seized a chance after the battle
with Simila. Likewise, he'd taken advantage of that same understanding of
Tinasha to steal the Eleterria orb. Zefiria's feelings for Oscar kept him from
harm, but things could have easily escalated and resulted in his death.
Tinasha would not let Valt get away with it anymore.
Before she was a private citizen, she was a queen.
She could discard her emotions any way she pleased. She could forget
them.
Only those capable of that could sit on the throne.
A ruler required a mind. Not a heart.
"I'm going to switch to another mentality."
Now she wore another face, one she had never shown in this era. Surely
Valt wouldn't recognize it.
She turned a cold gaze upon the miniature garden. The light faded from
her eyes. This all-powerful mage made soft a declaration of war.
"I hereby accept his challenge and will show him a side of me he does
not know."
There came a change like drawing the curtains on a window. Something
had altered, something small yet fundamentally different.
The air in the room shifted.
With heads lowered, the two spirits flanking Tinasha spoke together.
"We are yours to command, my queen."
Tinasha gave a haughty nod. Threatening waves emanated from her,
making all in the room frightened to so much as breathe. Legis had gone
rigid all over. Tinasha pointed to a series of settlements in Tuldarr. "These
three villages first, and these two places. Make arrangements."
"Yes…Your Majesty," he replied.
"Also, bring me all the materials you have pertaining to Magdalsia. I'll
read them by tonight."
"I shall," Legis said with a bow. He paid careful attention to her many
orders, never lifting his head. The intimidating air Tinasha emanated made
him hesitant to do so. He merely listened as she gave instructions in a
dispassionate tone of voice.
Tinasha had behaved coolly before, but she always retained a sense of
amiable self-deprecation.
Not this time. None of that was present now. This was likely her true
persona.
History spoke of her as a fierce queen who did not hesitate to execute
anyone, and who never feared dirtying her own hands. A shiver ran through
Legis as he beheld the truth of it.
Lying on her bed, she closed her eyes. Alone in the dark, Tinasha began to
sort through all the knowledge she had accumulated. She also considered
the wards and surveillance spells she had set up all over, drawing new
information from them.
Before entering her magic sleep four hundred years ago, she would end
each day reviewing her plan and what she needed to do. She also wrote
down part of that in a diary. What to prioritize, what to discard. What
verdict to give, what to rescue.
Those on the throne faced these choices constantly. There could be no
personal feelings involved, nor sense of self.
Tinasha expanded her consciousness. Her mind emptied. She tidied up
and categorized all the disparate fragments. While multiple thoughts ran
concurrently, she took a step back and observed the mental jumble with the
benefit of perspective.
I still don't know where Senn is.
Her heart ached to acknowledge it. Each of her twelve spirits was
irreplaceable.
She had confidants and supporters during the Dark Age, but none who
could be counted as close friends. And for every supporter, there had been
an opponent.
In this era with Oscar, Tinasha knew neither allies nor enemies. Perhaps
it was only natural that she'd grown a bit soft. It didn't offend her to be told
that; it was true.
Perhaps the time since waking in the modern day had merely been an
extended vacation—a nice bit of fun for one who had been running her
whole life.
And now it was coming to an end. Tinasha would set aside her own
personal happiness and stride forward.
No one needed a rusted, inoperative cog.
"Ah!"
All of a sudden, Tinasha sensed someone nearby and instinctively cast a
spell, leaping to her feet on the bed. Before she could launch the magic
from her right hand, she caught a glimpse of a very surprised-looking man
just ahead.
"Hey, you scared me," he said.
"Oscar! I was lost in thought and didn't realize it was you. Sorry,"
Tinasha replied, dismissing her spell.
Oscar was mid-lunge to evade the attack; it would have been a good
fight. He sat on the edge of the bed and threw Tinasha a baffled glance once
he got a closer look at her. "Your forehead's all scrunched up. What were
you thinking so hard about?"
"All sorts of things," she answered with a tight smile. Standing, she
went to grab a bottle of liqueur, and a book on the table caught her eye.
"Oscar, do you know the story of the Mirror of Oblivion?"
"The Mirror of Oblivion? Sure. The fairy tale, right? The one in the
book I got for the castle library."
Once upon a time, there lived a princess in a small country. She grew up
happy and beloved by all, but one day the king and queen were attacked by
bandits while outside the castle and perished. The princess fell into despair
and refused to leave her room for a year, no matter how her royal attendants
cajoled her.
But then a traveling mage heard of her plight and sent her an old looking
glass, a mirror said to absorb all sadness. When she peered into it, she
stopped crying and left her room to be among her people again.
Such was the ancient fable recounted since the dawn of the Dark Age.
"The story of the Mirror of Oblivion is told all over our land," said
Tinasha, "but it changes a little in each region. In some versions, it isn't
sadness the mirror takes, but memories. Others have it that the mirror steals
the minds of those who refuse to believe in its power, and sends them into
comas."
"Huh. That's interesting."
"About a hundred years ago, a researcher in Tuldarr looked into it and
published a paper. According to the report, every nation has the odd account
of someone who encountered the mirror. Following that trail leads us to the
last place it was sighted…Magdalsia." Tinasha handed Oscar a glass.
He looked faintly shocked. "Do you think the fairy tale has some
connection to the witch in Magdalsia?"
"It's one possibility of many. However, if the Witch of the Forbidden
Forest wanted to steal a country, why would she appear after the king fell
into a coma? It would be easier for someone with her power to use
psychological manipulation, rather than incapacitate a ruler. The
incapacitated king is why Tuldarr learned of the situation, after all."
"So you believe the witch appeared because the king fell unconscious?"
"That's what I suspect. I'm going through any fishy-sounding stories
with a fine-tooth comb to try and discover what brought on the king's
mystery coma and why it summoned a witch. The Mirror of Oblivion is one
compelling candidate," Tinasha explained, climbing onto the bed, sprawling
out on her back, and throwing an arm over her eyes.
It looked like she wanted the conversation to end there. Sensing
something different about her in that moment, Oscar set down his glass.
"Tinasha?"
Five days had passed since one orb of Eleterria was stolen from Farsas.
Ever since, Oscar had noticed a slight change in Tinasha's behavior. It was
as though her mind were constantly working while her emotions had been
set aside. There was a noticeable sharpness to her as well, like all her edges
were honed.
Called back to herself, Tinasha asked, "Hmm? What is it?"
"Nothing. Are you upset?"
"I'm not upset," she chirped, smiling at Oscar. But her arm remained
thrown across her eyes. She wouldn't look at him—as if she had no need to.
It was certainly different from anger. Oscar could sense how terribly far
away her heart was, and he found himself at a loss for words.
This was the woman he was supposed to marry in three weeks, yet it
was the first time he'd seen this side of her.
They still met every day as usual, but recently, Oscar had noticed that
something felt slightly off, accompanied by a mysterious sense of déjà vu.
Thus, he made sure to ask Tinasha about it to check on her, and sure
enough, something really had changed.
What was to blame for this shift? Oscar reached out and touched
Tinasha's face. "What's going on?"
"What do you mean? Nothing's going on," she replied, dropping her arm
and revealing her dark, cold eyes. Tinasha sat up and looped her arms
around her knees. "I think I'm going to visit Magdalsia to investigate after
all."
"You're what?"
"I'll go undercover, gather what info I can, and then take out the witch,
if necessary," she stated. Her matter-of-fact demeanor stunned Oscar.
He recovered swiftly, however. "Absolutely not. Do you realize that
your abdication and our wedding are just around the corner? Why go
stirring up trouble?"
"I am the only person who can battle the Witch of the Forbidden
Forest," Tinasha answered. To Oscar, that felt more scathing than the words
alone should have been. He remembered Lavinia's letter, which rendered
him incapable of replying, before Tinasha could continue. "If I let her do as
she pleases, things might grow out of control. I will take her down now,
before that can happen."
"But…she still has royal authority in Magdalsia. Considering your
position, one wrong move could start a war," Oscar pointed out.
"So I should just wait for her to attack? If we delay, we'll only end up
suffering greater damage, and there's no telling how she'll outsmart us."
"But that's—"
In a sense, Tinasha was correct. Responding now was the right move to
secure peace in Tuldarr. However, it was also a clear act of war. Such a
preemptive strike from a powerful mage had not been seen in hundreds of
years. Should the truth of it come to light, the ramifications would shake the
mainland to its core. It was akin to…
"You're going against the times," Oscar observed. A while back, Druza
had attacked Farsas with a forbidden curse, and Tinasha had aided in
repelling it. In the aftermath, the major powers signed a treaty banning the
use of forbidden curses in war. Should Tinasha go rogue here, that treaty
might turn into mere lip service.
In reply, Tinasha gave a beautiful smile and a confident answer. "That
will get sorted out one way or another."
Implicit in what she said was enough power to make anyone who heard
her tremble.
This woman sat on the throne four centuries ago; that was who she was.
At her center, she was a Dark Age queen.
Oscar hadn't forgotten it, but ultimately, he hadn't known what that truly
meant. During that period, everyone had to fight and backstab one another
—life itself was not guaranteed. To protect her country, Tinasha had
vanquished a witch. And now, she was attempting to do it again.
Yet while she'd survived then, she could easily lose this fight.
Oscar grabbed her arm. "Don't go."
"You don't have the authority to stop me," she replied, echoing
something Oscar had said to her once. But it felt different coming from her.
For a moment, Oscar wavered between warning her as one ruler to
another or stopping the woman as her fiancé. No matter which he chose, the
answer was the same. "I am going to be your husband."
"You are. And I will become Farsas's queen consort. I have that position
to keep in mind," Tinasha said, giving the answer of a sovereign queen. Her
black eyes glanced down at Oscar's grip on her arm. "But we aren't married
yet, and you are a member of a foreign nation."
"Tinasha…"
Having her point it out made all the blood rush to his head, but it was
unquestionably true. Oscar knew very well that they ruled different
countries, although they had come far by supporting each other. So then
why was she rejecting him now?
"Do you not want to live in this era?" he muttered. Hadn't Tinasha
traveled forward four hundred years in time to be with him?
Her black eyes widened a fraction. There was a tranquil glow to them.
"This time period is the reason we're not enemies."
Was that a form of hope in her eyes?
Oscar recalled how Tinasha had abdicated during the Dark Age. After
defeating a witch and triumphing over Tayiri, rumors began circulating in
Tuldarr that someone who could kill a witch might be a witch herself. Amid
that tumult, Tinasha was forced to relinquish her position.
And she was even stronger now than she was then.
Oscar stared at her, this person he once thought he knew extremely well.
Perhaps the best solution would be for her to lose her chastity and a fraction
of her power with it. Tinasha carried too much individual might and too
strong a desire to head into battle. It was dangerous to leave her unattended.
One misstep could spell catastrophe for the mainland.
However, that was not an option the man who loved Tinasha could
suggest.
As Oscar fell silent, still clinging to her arm, Tinasha gave him an
innocent smile. "What's wrong? If you're thinking of reducing my magic,
go ahead. I'll win, even if I lose some of my ability to use spiritual magic.
Or are you thinking of restraining me in a more direct manner?"
Beneath that grin lay a hostility that made it plain she wouldn't balk at
making an enemy of him.
She was so far away, distant enough to be unreachable.
How could she have changed this much?
Oscar was stunned, and he released Tinasha's arm without realizing it. "I
don't…know what you're thinking."
"The same as ever. This is who I've always been," she stated as she
reached up and looped her arms around Oscar's neck, snuggling in and
holding him tight.
Her warmth was no different, but her mind couldn't have been further
away.
Closing his eyes against a significant rush of sentimentality, Oscar
realized where that odd sense of familiarity had come from.
This was the same person he caught a glimpse of in Tinasha's diaries
from four hundred years ago.
Piled haphazardly on the floor of the study were stacks of papers penned by
the past sixty-seven generations of so-called heirs to the family. All of them
had written so much—no, some refused and fled. One such example was
his own father, who hanged himself.
"Valt, did you scribe any of these?" Miralys asked.
"Plenty. Whenever I had something I wanted recorded for the next
time."
Miralys frowned, holding a broom in her hand. As her eyes turned
anxious, Valt immediately gave her a reassuring smile. "There's no need for
you to make that face. The people who wrote these did so because they
wanted to. What they recorded would disappear with a rewinding of time.
But while all of them could remember every life they experienced, they
didn't know anything beyond that. If they wanted to inform future heirs
about what had happened up until that point and what changed when time
restarted, writing it down was the only way."
Some of the past successors had memories from multiple lifetimes,
while others didn't. There had been many types of heirs before Valt. Only a
small portion of their number were recorded here.
"Of course, not everyone documented things each time. Some were too
worn down by multiple rewritings of history to leave records. To fill in
those blanks, others penned what they recalled of records they had read in
earlier lives. It really varied," Valt explained. The sizable archives seemed a
representation of a great many people and all the lifetimes they'd
experienced.
However, the only thing that mattered was what each one had inside.
Valt glanced at the girl next to him. The first time he met her was at the end
of a distant memory, one so remote it was aggravating.
In a part of some forest only a few steps from a main road, he saved an
injured girl. The Miralys of the present didn't remember it, but Valt would
never truly forget. It was a terribly precious…and very regrettable memory.
Miralys walked over to the stack of papers. "There's some material on
the Witch of the Azure Moon in here, isn't there?"
"Yes, although she rarely came down from her tower. I know more of
her than the records do. Because I knew her when she was his queen—"
Just then, the ceiling of the study shook violently. Miralys screamed,
"What's going on?!"
"Oh no, did she abandon Magdalsia to come here?" Valt moaned.
From the way the mansion was creaking and groaning, it was obvious
who had arrived.
"Miralys, over here!" Valt shouted, dashing to a corner of the study and
lifting the trapdoor concealed on the floor there. It led to a passage
underground, and he stuffed Miralys into it. Despite her shock, she obeyed
without a word. Valt had one foot down in the passage when he wove a fire
spell and launched it at the archives.
"Valt?!"
"It's fine. We can't leave them there."
Tearing his gaze away from the burning sheaves, Valt hurried down the
stairs. As he dashed along the underground passageway that led off the
property, he muttered, "Why is she doing this when she should be
incredibly busy? In a sense, she's more trouble than when she was his
queen."
Across countless lifetimes, Tinasha had been a witch and queen consort
at once. Valt knew. Having lived for eons, she held herself apart from the
world. She was a fiercely compassionate, kindhearted loner who liked
people but kept her distance.
The current Tinasha was similar to all of that, yet atypical. The king of
Farsas drew out her girlish side remarkably, though in the past several days,
she'd been acting more merciless than when she was a witch. Perhaps
because her mind was still young, she was highly aggressive and decisive.
That was how she had conducted herself as a sovereign during the Dark
Age—a side of her Valt was ignorant of.
"This was in the records from four hundred years ago, but I certainly
never expected the change to be this drastic," Valt said quietly. Cold sweat
formed on his nape as he hurried down the passageway that stretched into
the dark.
That was when he heard the roar of a cave-in behind him.
Focusing on what needs to be done could avert sadness.
Tinasha had learned that form of mental control when she was queen
many years ago.
Therefore, she was not sad. She'd never had anything to be sad about.
"If they thought I'd focus all my attention on Magdalsia and take no
action, they're sorely mistaken," the queen stated coldly, her face an
emotionless mask.
Next to her, Mila asked, "Are you sure about this, Lady Tinasha?"
"Sure about what?"
"You're fighting with the Akashia swordsman," the spirit remarked
while floating next to Tinasha in the sky.
For a moment, Tinasha gaped at Mila. Then she burst out laughing.
"We're not fighting. We just had a disagreement."
"But you're about to get married. What if he's tired of you now?"
"Hmm. Well, I can't do anything about that if it happens," Tinasha
replied indifferently.
Mila's eyes grew wide. "You're really okay with it?"
"I can't change how he feels, and I have something I need to do. Even if
I don't become his queen, I can still be by his side in other ways. Farsas
would approve of something like that more readily anyhow."
"Something like what?"
Tinasha only grimaced. Then an intricate spell configuration formed
between her hands. From the air, the queen peered down at the mansion
below. Located on the outskirts of a rural town in Tayiri, the holiday villa
had belonged to some noble or other for five years. That was the cover
story, anyway. However, several days of monitoring a magical surveillance
network that spanned the mainland had revealed the truth.
Tinasha snapped her fingers. "I finally got a bite on one of my lines, but
it took up a good chunk of time. Still, now I have some hope of winning."
She signaled Mila with a look, and the spirit nodded. "Let's go. After this, I
have to appear at the Gandona ball."
The queen snapped again. With that cue, her spell became a gigantic
cage and sank onto the mansion below. It would prevent teleportation and
crush anything within.
Unfortunately, it was repelled, if only just, by defensive wards laid upon
the estate. Mila whistled. "Wow! That's a pretty ironclad barrier."
"Looks like we'll have to force our way in," Tinasha said dismissively,
lifting her right hand. Then she swung it straight down. A huge hammer
made of magic smashed a hole in the villa's roof with a loud bang. With the
core of the wards destroyed, the barrier dispersed.
Tinasha and Mila descended into the hole. Immediately, Mila frowned.
"It's all smoky. Did something catch on fire?"
"Or someone set one, perhaps as a smoke screen," Tinasha replied,
erecting a defensive barrier around herself and the spirit as she landed
inside the mansion. They appeared to be in the living room, although it was
difficult to be certain, given all the floating white ash.
As she redirected the airflow in the room, Tinasha glanced around.
Smoke was pouring from a spot just beyond a toppled wooden chair. Mila
went in first, followed by Tinasha. There she found the source of the blaze.
"Documents?"
Stacks of papers were alight. There were enough sheets for close to one
hundred bound volumes. Tinasha picked up a sheaf that was farthest from
the conflagration, which had so far been spared the flames. She strained to
make out what it said.
"What in the—?"
"I'm sorry, Lady Tinasha. They got away," Mila reported, popping her
head out from a hole in one corner of the room. The underground passage
must have taken them outside the ban on teleportation. Tinasha's attack was
meant to catch them off guard, but they'd still proved to be quicker.
However, Tinasha was more concerned with the papers in her hands. As
she read, her face screwed up in a dark scowl.
Once a year, the Great Nation of Gandona held a ceremony to
commemorate its founding, an event the most influential and powerful
individuals of every country attended.
Naturally, Oscar was in attendance at the castle in Gandona. He
suppressed a sigh as he donned formal attire in his guest room. He never
liked going to state functions, but that was the least of his worries.
His first concern was that Aurelia's guardian, a revolting demon man,
would also be there. The other was that he would see his fiancée.
While Tinasha refused to let him stop her, she ultimately didn't go to
Magdalsia. When he asked if she was holding herself back, she smiled but
said nothing. Oscar was puzzled by the distance that had somehow opened
up between them, even though they saw each other daily.
He'd even inquired whether she'd had a change of heart about their
relationship. With a strained grin, she'd denied it, claiming she didn't
suddenly hate him. However, she did request a hold on wedding planning
for the moment, because the near future was too uncertain. From Oscar's
perspective, it was clear that things had shifted around in her list of
priorities.
"Why is she so impossible to get a read on?" he muttered, staring at
himself in the mirror as he fastened his jacket cuffs. His foul mood was
written all over his face, but aside from that, he looked fine. Upon leaving
his guest chamber and joining Als, who had been waiting outside, they
entered the hall.
First, Oscar greeted the king of Gandona, the man of the hour. After that,
he looked around but did not see Tinasha. However, he caught sight of
Aurelia and her chaperone on the other side of the hall. The man noticed
Oscar's gaze and gave him a nasty smirk, one entirely unlike the pleasant
smiles he'd shown all the young ladies in attendance.
Oscar's eye twitched. Under his breath, he muttered, "I hate that guy."
Als evidently caught the remark, for he winced. "It does not appear that
Queen Tinasha has arrived."
"Yeah, she's been running around like crazy lately," Oscar replied curtly.
That was when the woman in question made her appearance.
Although her hair was only in a loose updo, and she was dressed in a
black gown sporting little ornamentation, she was still beautiful enough to
turn heads. Oscar watched from a distance as she greeted the king of
Gandona with a diplomatic smile. Behind her trailed a red-haired girl clad
in formal attire, marking perhaps the first time a mystical spirit had
accompanied Tinasha to an official function. Oscar was surprised.
After Tinasha completed her formal greetings, she let her gaze wander
the hall. After marking out where Oscar and Travis were, she wove her way
through the crowd and approached the former. He glanced down, partially
dismayed. "You're dressed so plainly. And you're late, too."
"I made it just on time. I haven't eaten anything yet… It hasn't been my
lucky day," she replied, sighing dispiritedly.
Now she looked like the Tinasha he knew. Oscar laughed and grabbed a
plate from a nearby table. "Here, get some sugar."
"You want me to start with sweets?!" Tinasha cried, but she received the
tray obediently enough and partook of the cream-covered pastries. As she
devoured them with impeccable manners, she took a step closer to Oscar
and whispered, "I found out something kind of dicey. I want to ask Travis
about it."
After a sullen pause, Oscar bit out, "Fine."
While he certainly wanted to object, he knew that would do no good. It
risked worsening his relationship with Tinasha, throwing the situation into
chaos. Of course, that might happen after she spoke with Travis anyway, but
they could worry about that when it happened.
Once Oscar nodded, Mila brought Travis and Aurelia over. Travis bowed
and gave a courteous greeting, which morphed into his usual rough manner
of speaking immediately after Tinasha put up a barrier to prevent anyone
from hearing their conversation.
"What did you call us over for? What do you need?" he questioned
brusquely.
Tinasha finished her second pastry and set her plate down. "I'll get right
to it. Do you have any memories of time repeating?"
Oscar frowned. He knew what she was trying to ask. Tinasha wanted to
know if this demon king recalled the world before Eleterria rewrote it.
Aurelia looked confused. Patting her head, Travis scoffed. "Oh, so that's
what this is about. I don't have any memories, because those orbs are
outsiders' artifacts."
Tinasha cocked an eyebrow. "Outsiders' artifacts? What does that
mean?"
"What? You mean you don't know?" Travis said. He glanced at Oscar,
who shook his head. Reluctantly, Travis went on. "To put it simply, it's a
general term for items with powers that shouldn't be possible under the
laws of magic. That means they affect me as much as anyone else. There
are no exceptions."
"Really? Sometimes you truly make me wonder. Occasionally, you act
like you know the future or you're aware of what it was before things
changed."
"I don't know anything. Get off my back," Travis huffed, waving
Tinasha off crossly.
That made Oscar recall something. "Wait. The first time we met, you
called me her husband."
At the time, Oscar and Tinasha hadn't been engaged—they hadn't even
been romantically involved. Surely that meant Travis knew their prior
history, the one where they were married.
The demon king could not mask his annoyance at Oscar's comment.
"You didn't need to remember that…"
"It was kind of hard to forget."
"Shall I erase that memory for you?"
Before the two men could engage in pointless bickering, Tinasha
intervened. "Travis, answer me honestly. I saw records of a history that
doesn't exist."
Tinasha's face had gone pale, and Travis replied irritably, "You saw
that? Which part?"
"The part about Cezar. Before history changed, there was no Simila in
Cezar. It was a prosperous Great Nation that never attacked Farsas."
No one said a word.
After thinking it over for a few seconds, Travis patted Aurelia on the
shoulder. "You go over there for a while."
"Oh, but—"
"Go on. And don't follow any strangers," he insisted in a tone brooking
no refusal. The girl nodded and left the hall, looking over her shoulder
repeatedly as she walked away.
Once Aurelia was gone, Travis turned back to Oscar and Tinasha. "First
off, I really don't recall anything. High-ranking demons are not exactly
compatible with outsiders' artifacts, because they operate on all planes of
existence. That said, I've seen the same records you did—many times.
There's this family of Time-Readers, and they do retain their memories.
They have mass archives of various repeated histories that they pass down
through generations. The current heir is… You know him, don't you? A guy
named Valt."
Oscar and Tinasha both inhaled sharply.
The plot against them, the meticulousness of it. Everything traced back
to the frightening records and memories their enemy had access to. It was
difficult to believe right away, but it was also a truth they had both
somehow suspected. They were left stunned.
"Did you only see the records about Cezar?" Travis drawled, sounding
bored.
"Yes. All the others were destroyed in a fire," Tinasha answered.
"Well, I'd call that lucky. It's best for humans not to see too much of that
stuff," the demon king said.
In a sense, he was probably right. The records spoke of something
Tinasha had no memory of—a self that was not herself. Accounts of a
vanished world could only be for sentimental purposes. It didn't seem to
Oscar that any good could come from reading them.
Oscar glanced at Tinasha. "Were the papers that escaped the fire Valt's?"
"Yes. I've been tracking his magic for a while and traced him to a
mansion in a corner of Tayiri. I attacked it just before coming here. The
coward got away by escaping through an underground passage."
"Bet that shaved a dozen years off his life span."
While Oscar did believe Tinasha hadn't gone to Magdalsia, he hadn't
expected her to go after Valt instead. The man did have one half of
Eleterria, though, which put him at the top of Tinasha's priority list.
"Tell me more about these outsiders' artifacts. What does 'powers that
shouldn't be possible under the laws of magic' mean?" Tinasha pressed.
"Why do I have to tell you? Figure it out on your own," Travis
grumbled.
"Valt wants Eleterria!" she cried, and Travis scowled for the first time
during their conversation.
He stared searchingly at Oscar, then at Tinasha. With an annoyed click
of his tongue, he responded, "Outsiders' artifacts enable what is impossible
according to the laws of magic. That doesn't mean they operate using
undiscovered principles—they defy them. And there's a few of them
around. Most of them are objects with legendary characteristics, like
Eleterria."
"They defy the laws of magic, huh?" Oscar repeated quietly. Tinasha
had told him multiple times that it was beyond magic to rewind time. He
also knew of something else she had spoken of in the same way. "Does that
mean those old ruins full of cocoons were an outsiders' artifact, too?"
"Huh? Oh, that place that abducts humans and makes copies of them.
That's an interesting one. A long time ago, I saw it swallow up entire
villages all at once," Travis commented.
"If you saw it happen, you should have done something about it!"
Tinasha exclaimed, naturally.
"As if I'd care," Travis sniffed, naturally.
She let out a long, resigned sigh. "Why are they called outsiders'
artifacts, anyway? This is the first time I've heard that name."
"Well, because the existence of such things is a problem in and of itself.
Any humans who know about them would have a hard time going public
with that knowledge. They were all brought in from beyond our world,"
Travis said blandly.
His explanation didn't surprise Oscar, because he'd suspected the same
thing himself and had asked Tinasha about it once. Undoubtedly, she
remembered that conversation, too, because she only seemed a little rattled
as she asked, "So there really is something outside of our world?"
"Why did you think there wouldn't be? You mortals can barely even
recognize that there are different planes of existence, but you acknowledge
that they're real because we demons and other negative manifestations
exist. So why didn't an outsiders' artifact lead you to consider the existence
of something foreign to this world?"
"It seemed like a leap too far. We have far more evidence of the different
realms and planes of existence," Tinasha pointed out.
"So rigid in your thinking. Well, you're free to believe what you like. Go
ahead and think that what you know is all that exists, without even
considering that there may be those who enjoy watching you from the
outside." Travis smirked, looking as if none of this had anything to do with
him.
Perhaps he truly believed himself uninvolved. After all, he had also
spent centuries delighted with spectating humans.
Tinasha huffed out a laugh. "So it's like how characters in a book remain
unaware that a person is observing from outside the story? But if all they
want to do is watch us, then isn't rewriting the past overly intrusive?"
"It's you mortals who make the choice to alter history. Regardless, it's
futile to understand what the outsiders are thinking. I met one of them a
long time ago—a completely incomprehensible woman."
Tinasha hopped forward. "You've met one?! That's not fair! It's like you
know the correct answer already!"
"Oh, hush. It's you mortals' own fault for being so out of the loop.
Besides, while she was an outsider, she also wasn't. She chose to be an ally
to humans and lived and died among them. This happened long before you
were born. That was just one person, and she has nothing to do with the
artifacts."
Oscar frowned. Over the course of simply listening to Travis and
Tinasha talk, something had gotten stuck in his mind. Earlier, when Travis
had said, "You mean you don't know?" he'd looked at Oscar, not at
Tinasha.
"Wait, was she—?"
Before Oscar could finish his thought, however, a man approached,
having slipped briskly through the crowd. He bowed silently before
Tinasha, though anxiety was clear on his face. Oscar recognized him as a
magistrate of Tuldarr.
"Your Majesty, I have an urgent message," he said, then glanced at the
other two men, unsure if he should go on with them present.
"They are of no concern. Speak," ordered the queen.
"Yes, Your Majesty. A short while ago, Magdalsia breached the national
border and began an invasion. They have about thirty thousand troops and
will reach southern Tuldarr in a half hour."
"What?" Oscar blurted out in his surprise.
But Tinasha only let out a small sigh. Her dark eyes shone with a cold
gleam. Rapidly, her entire aura sharpened to a point. "They've come a bit
earlier than I anticipated. Understood. Give the order to mobilize our
troops. I will be there immediately."
"Yes, Your Majesty," answered the magistrate, who hurried off into the
throng the way he'd come.
Tinasha watched him depart and then turned to Oscar. For a second, he
saw loneliness in her eyes. Yet all too soon, it was painted over by the
falling of a cold night.
The corners of her lips turned up as she smiled. "I will take my leave
now. Thank you, Travis."
"Sure. See you," he replied.
The black-clad queen made to leave, and, before Oscar could stop her,
she disappeared.
Oscar brought a hand to his mouth. Tuldarr was under attack by another
country. While Magdalsia was no Great Nation, it had a witch at its helm
who was very likely to utilize a forbidden curse in the war or introduce
some manner of weapon that was even worse. Given Tinasha's reaction, she
had been aware that Magdalsia was readying itself for battle. Tuldarr's own
army was prepared to march as well. Tinasha hadn't gone to Magdalsia
personally, because she had chosen war with them over conquering the
witch.
"Finally, she's back to her old self. I didn't know how long she was
going to keep acting like some spineless wimp." Travis sounded deeply
amused. Oscar eyed this inhuman creature.
Noticing the gaze, the demon king stared back at Oscar. "What's with
that face? She's always been like that. She just got soft after coming to this
time period. Oh, here's a fun story. I'll tell you about the war with Tayiri."
Travis grinned mockingly. "At the time, the Tayiri army had about…
fifty thousand troops, I think. And Tuldarr had less than seven hundred."
"What? They couldn't have possibly stood a chance, then."
"That's what you'd think, right? But it's true. Tuldarr was an isolated
country, ignorant of the ways of the world. They didn't have a proper
military back then, although once she became queen, things changed. She
started training up soldiers little by little and organized the mages for
combat, too. Still, she had no end of enemies within the castle. So when
Tayiri attacked, she was stuck inside."
"She couldn't act?"
"Yep. The Traditionalists opposed war with Tayiri and wanted her to
surrender without a fight. They believed Tuldarr couldn't win."
"So she couldn't get to the battlefield…"
In the Dark Age, having many enemies in the castle was a given.
Tinasha had also been an extremely young queen. If she left to battle Tayiri,
the Traditionalists might have seized their chance to take over the country
and declare a surrender. Thus, she stayed put to prevent that, choosing not
to yield for the future of mages and Tuldarr.
She was fierce by nature, but that did not mean she preferred eccentric
strategies. If at all possible, she would have surely raised an army the size
of Tayiri's and engaged the enemy.
Instead, she cooked up an outlandish plan. Of the two thousand troops in
Tuldarr, one thousand were sent to the border to warn Druza and Farsas,
while three hundred remained in the castle. She took the remaining seven
hundred to confront Tayiri.
It was on a stormy day that Tayiri discovered Tuldarr's army numbered
only a few hundred and set out to slaughter them. However, Tuldarr's
military fled without a fight once they spotted the Tayiri soldiers. Following
in pursuit, the Tayiri army's formation got disrupted, and they landed smack
in the middle of a fog that had crept up around them while they were
unaware. Such a thick mist was highly unusual for a grassland. Heedless,
they wandered into the dense fog like children lost in a nightmare, unable to
see the people and horses ahead of them. Amid the vapor, they began killing
one another by mistake with unprecedented ferocity.
It all went as the Tuldarr army had cleverly orchestrated. As the Tayiri
soldiers realized they were fighting one another, they found themselves
blocked by a huge wall of flames. From the other side of the burning walls,
relentless volleys of magic buffeted them. The surviving Tayiri soldiers
later said, "That was a sight no one should ever have to see."
Unable to fight back, the army was routed by fire and spells. After a
narrow escape, the Tayiri army discovered it had suffered thirty thousand
casualties on the first day.
Most horrifying of all was that the one who had instructed Tuldarr's
forces was the queen in the castle.
She observed through the eyes of the mystical spirits she dispatched for
surveillance while also communicating magically with her closest advisers.
That was how she gave direction to the mages in the army and, even from
so far away in the palace, reversed the overwhelming disadvantage.
The next day, a witch appeared before her.
Oscar held back a sigh of grief for young Tinasha.
He trusted that she was an excellent ruler. From what little he'd seen of
her diary, he knew she'd stood firm in a maelstrom of war both within the
country and without.
However, he'd never imagined her orchestrating such a cutthroat
strategy. The way she smiled at him so innocently made it difficult to
believe.
This meant that Tinasha was now back to her true self, the queen who
fought to the bitter end despite her own loneliness.
So that's her other side… It's truly a world apart.
All royals had two faces—a public one and a private one. While Oscar
largely operated with his public demeanor while keeping his private
feelings in check, Tinasha's two sides formed a clear duality. Both portions
were opposed.
That was only becoming evident now that Tuldarr was at war, despite
remaining hidden during her coronation and her fight with the demoness.
The appearance of a witch meant that Tinasha was about to become the
Witch Killer Queen once more.
"I told you it was a fun story, didn't I? Anyway, she was fighting a battle
while working on eliminating her enemies in Tuldarr at the same time. She
didn't have any spirits to spare—they were all filling in as castle guards for
the soldiers who'd gone off to fight. The Traditionalists who meant to
capitalize on a chance to assassinate her wound up arrested instead. She left
herself open on purpose, and they fell for it. One after another, they were all
executed or banished."
"All of them? But wasn't it the Traditionalists who pressured her to step
down after the war?"
"So the records claim, but it's not actually true. There wasn't a single
Traditionalist left by then. She made the decision herself to appear like
she'd been forced to abdicate to satisfy Tayiri."
"But…"
If Tinasha had stepped down from the throne by choice, then that
changed the story drastically. It made clear that she believed her
extraordinary might put her at the same level as a witch. She'd expelled
herself for having too much strength.
"There is no need for a ruler to possess mighty power."
She'd said that many times since coming to this time period. From the
beginning, she'd seen herself as an anachronism. Yet she had chosen the
path of abomination once again.
And once the dust settled, what would she relinquish this time?
Wait a minute… Is she not planning to become my queen?
If a person dangerous enough to kill witches single-handedly became the
queen consort of the Great Nation of Farsas, other countries would
undoubtedly grow exceedingly worried. That meant Tinasha had already
abandoned a future where she became Oscar's queen. It explained her
request for the wedding plans to be postponed.
Even if she still came to him after everything was over, it would only be
as someone under the watchful eye of Akashia's wielder. At best, Tinasha
would be his mistress; at worst, a prisoner. Either way, she would never
show herself in public. She was going to force him to accept that.
"She's crazy," Oscar muttered.
He knew that if such a future came to be, Tinasha would only smile and
insist, "I'm perfectly happy this way."
Whether that was true or not, Oscar would find it unbearable.
Oscar turned to Als, who stood behind him. "Change of plans. I'm going
back to Farsas."
If he acted now, there was still a chance that the situation could be
resolved privately, without other countries finding out. Legis, the next king
of Tuldarr, wouldn't want the image of the queen who preceded him to be
tainted with needless prejudice. Oscar could work with Legis and appeal to
the other nations. While Tinasha confronted the witch, they would handle
the diplomatic side of things and control the narrative.
Fortunately, Magdalsia was the aggressor, and it was headed by a witch,
a creature fearsome to all. Oscar felt confident that if he got the major
nations' understanding, he could do something from within Farsas. All that
remained was coordinating with Tinasha.
As Oscar bid a hasty good-bye, Travis suddenly went from smirking to
grave. "About what we discussed tonight… Do not hand over Eleterria. I
don't want any do-overs of history, even if I remain unaware of them. I
don't want to forget Aurelia, and there's no guarantee that things will
happen the same way. Don't use it, and don't allow it to get stolen. I refuse
to let this timeline go." Without waiting for a reply, the demon king walked
away, melting into the crowd.
Now that this inhuman being had gone back to his girl, where should
Oscar go next? What should he do? He still didn't have a clear idea, but
inaction was not an option. Thus, Oscar left the ornate, gorgeously
decorated hall behind, his heart heavy.
Although his aim was to get out of Gandona swiftly, Oscar had to make a
detour to his guest room first. And it was there that he detected something
was off.
Nothing had been amiss when he left the room, but now there was very
clearly something wrong. Oscar scanned the room, gripped by a vague
sensation that he wasn't alone. Drawing Akashia, he demanded, "Who is
it?"
He hadn't expected an answer, but a young man replied, "I have a few
things to discuss with you, so I let myself in."
No person emerged—there was only a voice. Oscar recognized it,
however. "Valt? Show yourself."
"You can't be serious. I'm quite afraid of you, you know. Anyway,
would you like to hear something nice? It's about the Witch of the
Forbidden Forest."
Oscar's intuition told him that what he could sense of Valt was too faint
for the man to be hidden in the room. While Oscar had deliberated over
how to respond to the mysterious voice at first, that made him fire back,
"Tell me."
"Always so quick to decide. The woman who controls Magdalsia now…
is not the Witch of the Forbidden Forest," Valt revealed, and Oscar had to
bite his tongue to stop from making a noise of surprise.
Tinasha had all but decided that the one stirring up trouble was a witch.
If she was wrong, the consequences could be astronomical.
Valt went on calmly. "However, physically, she is the same as the Witch
of the Forbidden Forest. It is only the soul inside that differs. The soul
inside her now is that of King Hubert of Magdalsia."
Oscar frowned. Things were escalating beyond expectation to a scale
that felt absurd. "Is that even possible?"
"Not with magic. But unfortunately, there is an artifact that enables it. I
believe you call it the Mirror of Oblivion?"
"Is that an outsiders' artifact?"
"Oh, did you hear that from that demon king? That does save me the
trouble of explaining. Yes, it is an outsiders' artifact. The witch's soul is
sealed within the looking glass, along with your queen's missing spirit."
"Within the mirror? According to the fairy tale, it's only supposed to
absorb sadness."
"Yes, in the most widely circulated version. But absorbing sadness is
merely one side effect. What the Mirror of Oblivion actually does is capture
human souls and memories, recording them. It's triggered when you lock
eyes with your reflection."
Valt was revealing incredibly detailed information about an item from
beyond the known world. Perhaps Valt knew so much about it because of
his intimacy with another outsiders' artifact, Eleterria.
"The Mirror of Oblivion has been sealed away along with the Witch of
the Forbidden Forest in a cave deep in Magdalsia for a very long time. But
it would appear the seal has been broken, and the mirror was taken and sold
to the king as an antique. King Hubert gazed into his new looking glass, but
the seal within the artifact must still be intact. His extracted soul couldn't
enter it. From there, I imagine it wandered around until it found the body of
the witch and possessed it."
Oscar picked up on a vague sense of bitterness from Valt, though it
vanished in an instant, so perhaps it was only his imagination.
"If the mirror is broken, the witch's true spirit will return, and the king's
will be driven from her body. But outsiders' artifacts are sturdily crafted, so
your queen is the only one who can manage it."
"What a ridiculous story," Oscar scoffed. He was having a hard time
believing all of this coming from out of nowhere. According to mages,
separating a person's soul from their body was impossible. But outsiders'
artifacts enabled what was magically impossible.
In a voice kept even so as not to give away his doubt over which was the
truth, Oscar replied, "If that's true, why are you telling me this? It sounds
like a trap."
"It is true. I've offended Tinasha quite terribly in the past, so I wanted to
do something to try and mend her impression of me a little."
"That's not going to happen. Aren't you the one who gave the Mirror of
Oblivion to the king of Magdalsia in the first place?"
"Why…would you think that?" Valt questioned stiffly.
Oscar retorted matter-of-factly, "You're much too knowledgeable about
all of this to be merely a messenger. What's your angle? If you're trying to
lure her out, you're on a suicide mission."
"I'm not that reckless. She is quite formidable at present."
Several hours earlier, Tinasha had attacked Valt's estate. He shouldn't
want to see her at all, so then how did he stand to benefit? Why had he
given the king of Magdalsia the Mirror of Oblivion only to turn around and
feed Oscar information and urge him to undo everything?
Belatedly, Valt responded to Oscar's question. His voice sounded
strained. "It's simple. It was a mistake to use the witch's body to declare
war on Tuldarr. In truth, I only intended for the Mirror of Oblivion to put
King Hubert into a coma for a diversion."
"Yeah, you've really botched this one. And now you want her to clean
up your mess?"
"I don't care if Tuldarr and the witch end up clashing. But…I don't wish
for her to remain in that state. You understand what I mean, don't you?"
"...…"
Ever since the Eleterria orb had been stolen, Tinasha had been changing
by the day.
She decided everything on her own and implemented her decisions
immediately. That had to be difficult for Valt to contend with. Tinasha had
to be somewhat aware of this herself, since she fretted that Valt could
predict her thoughts.
"Left to her own devices, she'll take unpredictable actions like
destroying my mansion. I'd like to ask you to take the reins, so to speak.
And, admittedly, I don't wish for her to die. You can tell that I bear her no
ill will, can't you?"
"You would have killed us long ago if you wanted to."
"I'm glad you understand. So consider this a mere confluence of mutual
interest. All you have to do is tell her that she needs to break the mirror. No
one has to fight a witch. I would hate for Tuldarr Castle and its half of
Eleterria to be destroyed in a battle."
"By witch, you mean Hubert, right?"
"Yes, but magic is in the soul, while half of knowledge resides within
the body, and the two are linked. A different soul can still use quite a bit of
the body's magical power. At most, the spells will be clumsy and crude.
Now that he has the strength of a witch, he will not hesitate to wield it even
more brazenly than she would have. That's obvious from how Magdalsia
mobilized for battle."
Under normal circumstances, a country as small as Magdalsia would
never have attacked Tuldarr. It wouldn't stand a chance at winning.
However, King Hubert must have decided that victory was assured with the
witch's power.
Too much strength could easily lead a person astray, a fact that history
had borne out. Generals had brandished devastating military might to carry
out massacres, while kings had ordered execution after execution for no
reason at all. Forbidden curses were proof enough that a not insignificant
number of mages had also fallen prey to such temptations.
And then there were the witches.
Far too mighty, their deeds—feats that should not be humanly possible
—became the stuff of legends.
With the capabilities of a witch, the king of Magdalsia wished to trample
over the Magic Empire that had been his neighbor for so many years.
"He's got ambition; I'll give him that. He's certainly creating trouble for
us," remarked Oscar.
"Having power makes you want to use it. However, we know its limit.
The Mirror of Oblivion is in the castle of Magdalsia. Destroy it, and this
will be over," Valt said, repeating his instructions as if to indicate that the
conversation was over.
Oscar still had questions, though. "I heard you have memories of before
the timeline changed."
"That demon king told you that, too? He's really ruining things for me
with how much he meddles."
"Why do you want Eleterria?" Oscar pressed.
"To change the past, of course."
"Then wouldn't just one orb be enough?"
"It will be meaningless without both. Shouldn't you be hastening to your
lady's side?"
"She…doesn't want my help," Oscar admitted, unable to hide his
bitterness.
Tinasha's first war in four centuries and the desire to prevent Valt from
predicting her actions had changed her.
But in all likelihood, she hadn't told Oscar a thing because she didn't
want to drag him and Farsas into the conflict. Oscar had done the same to
her once. On that occasion, Tinasha had provided aid secretly to help him
break a forbidden curse, even though Tuldarr would have wanted to receive
public credit for intervening.
Oscar wondered if his private wish to attempt something similar would
be a violation of Tinasha's choice. He thought of the distance that had
formed between them. It was the proper space two rulers ought to maintain.
Up until recently, Tinasha was the one bridging it, moving closer to him
with an innocent smile and unguarded affection. Those qualities had made
Oscar choose her to stand beside him.
And now, she would no longer lean on him, becoming again the
sovereign queen who acted for her homeland. It was clear from their
previous conversations that she did not require his help.
Valt sounded dismayed. "Isn't it a little late for this? Don't slack off just
because you earned her heart so easily this time. In every other instance,
you only managed to win her over after considerable effort. That she loved
you from the start is unique. You need to act prudently."
"What the hell are you talking about…?"
Valt had to be referring to previous timelines. Oscar had no recollection
of doing anything worth such censure, but it also felt like the blame really
did lie with him somehow. He pursed his lips.
Valt went on, his voice brimming with conviction. "This is who she
really is. But she's also her true self when she's with you. She is not your
one and only partner, but you are hers. You will always be the one who
saves her. And you're going to let her go?"
"You…certainly sound confident. It's like you've witnessed it all
personally."
"Because I have. Why do you think I can predict both of your actions? I
worked for you both once, in the past."
"What?" Oscar blurted out.
Valt had infiltrated Farsas as a court mage from Yarda, a neighboring
country. It wasn't beyond conception to learn he'd worked directly for
Farsas in another timeline. Tinasha was right when she'd said Valt was
familiar with them. Apparently, he'd even been close with the two.
"So you're a spy. I can't believe I have no memory of you ever
existing."
"Think that if you like, but it isn't as if I manipulate time at will. Back
then, a farmer who lived far away from Farsas had Eleterria. The orbs
changed hands many times, and I wasn't able to follow their trail."
"But you still remember all the previous timelines?" Oscar demanded.
Valt fell silent. After a few moments, that aura of bitterness seeped out
again. "For me, the events happened a very long time ago. To you two, they
never existed. However, I am well aware of how often you rescued her in
many of those erased histories, and of how deeply she loves you."
A purehearted, lonely, earnest, and ruthless woman.
What kind of person was Tinasha in another timeline? And was Oscar
really her salvation?
Had she loved him regardless?
It was all ludicrous. Without meaning to, Oscar let out a heavy sigh. He
hadn't the slightest notion what parts were true. He was genuinely
bewildered. Was this how a person with knowledge of lost histories spoke?
Valt continued placidly. "If you understand, then you need to get going.
Now Tuldarr is… She is fulfilling the role, but ordinarily, you would be the
one facing a witch, yes?"
"Because…of Akashia," Oscar muttered. Possessing the royal sword
made Oscar the prime candidate for vanquishing a witch.
"Go carry out your mission. Save her," Valt instructed candidly. Too
candidly.
But for some strange reason, it didn't feel wrong. In fact, the truth of it
sank through Oscar like a stone. He clenched one hand into a fist, then
released it. Tinasha's sad smile when they had bid good-bye to each other
surfaced in his memory.
Oscar made up his mind, selecting the path that had always been right
there for him—the road to a life with her. That decision had long since been
made.
He had to be brutally honest with her to bridge the distance between
them. It was no longer the Dark Age when she was a lonely queen. She had
crossed four hundred years to find him.
"How dare you say she isn't my one and only. You've got some nerve,"
Oscar spat.
"It's true."
"I don't care about something I don't recall existing. She's the only one
for me, and I'll prove it," Oscar proclaimed, sheathing Akashia and heading
for the door. Before exiting, he turned back to the empty room. "And
someday, I'm going to pay you back in full for what you did."
Valt offered no reply. He only chuckled, sounding both amused and
perturbed. Then his faint aura faded from the room entirely.
After watching Oscar leave the room from a distant vantage point, Valt let
out a long sigh. Undoing his spell, he sank into a chair.
The fifth witch was not the king of Farsas's only partner. In many
timelines, he never met her and married other women instead.
Still, Valt knew better than anyone that Oscar was the most attached to
Tinasha out of all of them. Because of that, he had been given the
opportunity to go after her once more.