Is it really okay to use Getter Rays in a world of Otome Games? [MobuSeka/Getter Robo]

[Blackraptor]

Mylene Rapha Holfort rubbed the bridge of her nose as her dear son, Julius, finished explaining what he could not convey via letters on certain things that had happened during the first term of their student exchange experience. The partial Sacred Tree Guardian Crest on the back of his hand made her imagine all the wonderful letters that would start being exchanged between the Kingdom and Republic should word get out to the other ruling houses of Alzer.

To think that they had a sapling of the legendary Alzer Sacred Tree inside Holfort's borders right at this very moment, safely nestled away in her dear Leon's ship. The political and international upheaval it could cause, on top of the looming threat of the Principality, made her want to drink until she couldn't remember her name anymore.

Maybe even drag Leon into one of Roland's safehouses and not come out for a week. Angie and the others wouldn't mind, right?

"And why didn't you tell me all this when you first returned for your break?" She sweetly asked her son, who very much knew what that specific tone meant. Julius fidgeted in his seat, the poise and confidence he displayed earlier all gone.

"It didn't seem like something I should open up with right after coming home. I at least wanted some time to spend with you, Erica, and Jake before telling you about everything." Her son's answer and sincerity warmed Mylene's heart and her earlier irritation melted away.

"I see, thank you then." Julius looked rather relieved that his excuse was accepted. How cute of her son! "Back to the topic then, you say that Yumeria has been communicating with the Sacred Tree sapling and it has already identified a potential Priestess?"

"You are taking the fact that our sapling can communicate at all rather well." Julius' disbelieving tone made her giggle, which then ceased when she remembered why exactly that was the case.

"Certain things in my life recently have forced me to keep an open mind about many extraordinary things." She explained with only a slightly strained smile.

"Leon things then, I understand." He stated with a smile, correctly guessing the person even if not the specific reason why. "But yes, it seems that Miss Noelle Beltre is suited to become a Priestess."

"You understand what this implies, yes?" Julius nodded at her before answering.

"That she and her twin sister are likely survivors of the Lespinasse massacre. It is an extraordinary irony considering she seems to be quite taken with Serge." Mylene hummed at that. Her son's letters spoke of Serge Sara Rault and the friendship they had forged. He was adopted into the Rault house but they were still likely the reason why Noelle and her sister no longer had a family.

"That will cause complications." She muttered. Starcrossed wouldn't even begin to describe what those two would be should they try to pursue a romantic relationship.

It would likely take a miracle for it to actually work out.

"Hopefully, Chairman Rault can develop a suitable plan of action by the time it could become a complication. We had also considered her sister as a candidate, since she is also involved with a son of a great house of Alzer, but we don't quite know if the sapling would agree." Julius added in contemplation. Mylene was very proud of the way he was taking all this so seriously. Regardless of what the relationship between Serge and Noelle would end up as, forging bonds with them would be very beneficial for Julius once he became king.

"And what is Marie's opinion of the situation?" Mylene decided to ask. Throughout their discussion on the ongoing events in the Republic, Julius had not once mentioned his shared lover.

Such a term should have irritated her more, if she were not in the exact same arrangement with Leon. Like mother, like son then.

"She is the first person among us to befriend both Noelle and Louise. It was quite a boon that she thought of inviting them both here for the break." Julius quickly said with a smile that made Mylene look at him with worry. It was the same kind of smile she had whenever someone asked her what it was like to be married to King Roland Rapha Holfort.

"Julius, what's wrong?" Her son looked like he was about to deflect but ultimately decided to be honest with her.

"I fear that Marie is hiding something very important from us. From me." That made her blink. Ah, so her son had started to piece together that there was more to his dear Marie than he thought. It seemed that the girl had chosen to continue keeping her true status as a reincarnator a secret from her son and his friends.

"Are you certain?" She probed, wondering how he made that conclusion.

"Leon all but confirmed it when I asked about her behavior as of late, but he seems unable to divulge anything. Likely out of respect for Marie's privacy." Oh Leon, you darling young man. Wanting Marie to come forward with the truth herself was an honorable intent, but it seemed that he failed to understand that not all could do what he had been able to accomplish.

Unfortunately, she also needed to think about the Kingdom's future as well.

"Julius, we both know that you will need to take the crown the moment you graduate. Roland will likely force the issue one way or another with how favored you have become in court and to the populace." She began, leaning forward despite the obvious discomfort her words were causing to her son. It was an inevitability they needed to talk about. "So I must ask you this so we can begin preparations. Will you be taking Marie Fou Bartfort as your Queen?"

"I…would like to ask for a bit more time before I give you a committed answer, mother." The crack in her baby boy's voice made her immediately stand and take him in an embrace.

"I understand." She whispered as she stroked his hair. "Julius. I want you to know that whatever you decide, I will always love you. You will always be my darling son."

"Thank you, mother." He said, returning her embrace.

They both decided then to talk more about the other things that had been happening during his stay in Alzer. The adjustments they needed to make to the different way their Academy went about things. The frustrations they had over not having a competent Adventuring class. The misadventures they experienced when going about Alzer itself.

Hearing her son living his life and enjoying it was something Mylene would always treasure whenever she could.

"And if I may ask one more thing?" Julius asked just as he was preparing to leave. There was a certain smile and glint in his eye that Mylene should have been better prepared for. "When are you planning on introducing Leon to Erica and Jake?"

The mention of her daughter and step-son nearly made her trip. She pouted at her eldest when he didn't look the least bit apologetic. It was certainly something she had thought about more than once whenever she spent time with her other children. She knew that explaining how she had fallen so deeply in love and was having an affair with a man as young as their older brother was going to be quite complicated. Even moreso that she was planning on eventually divorcing their father so she could become that young man's wife or concubine.

So, Mylene hedged her bets on a situation that would likely lighten the blow once it comes.

"Not until I am free of Roland at least." She firmly said, her son nodding without any judgment in his eyes.

"Very well. Please be careful around Erica then, we both know how perceptive she can be when she chooses to." Was his parting words as he finally left her office. Mylene knew that most of all, her young daughter sometimes acted with a wisdom beyond her age.

It was almost like she was also a reincarnated individual as well. Of course, such a coincidence would have been absurd.

Certainly.

Mylene shook her head free herself of the odd topic, she was just spending far too much time with the absurdity that was Leon's life.

Perhaps she should also make an effort to get to know the true Marie and have a serious talk with her about her son. It was her right as the girl's possible future mother-in-law…and maybe even future sister-in-law.

When exactly did her life become a trashy fantasy romance novel?

…

Angelica Rapha Redgrave sat with her father and older brother, enjoying the rare opportunity to have tea with both. It was a few days after Clarice was able to finally capture that hateful Zola Fou Bartfort and the Queen's agents were able to extract several important truths from her regarding the so-called Forest of Ladies. Hopefully the Crown would be able to root them all out before they cause any further problems.

"I would like to give my thanks again for your support in uncovering where Zola Fou Bartfort was hiding and providing much needed resources and manpower in reconstructing Leon's lands." She told her father, ignoring how her brother, Gilbert Rapha Redgrave, was snickering at her gratitude. Honestly! He never changes!

"That organization was always something I wanted to stamp out, had I the time to actually seriously pursue them. I suspect that all the complications I have run into while investigating them were deliberately done." Her father, Vice Rapha Redgrave, told her in irritation. He then shook his head to likely dismiss the thought. "It was also to our family's advantage that your future husband's lands prosper anyway."

It was at that moment that her brother decided to speak his mind about her presence with them. "Still, I had thought that you would be spending more of your break with my future brother-in-law. Not that I am against spending time with my precious little sister."

"I would love nothing more than to spend more time with him. However, his sister thought it wise to invite important guests from Alzer for the break." Angelica would likely never come to like Marie Fou Bartfort. No matter how much her Leon treasured his reincarnated sister. "There is also the matter of him training with Deirdre in the use of her new Getter Robo."

"Ah, yes. You mentioned that before. Such a curiosity that he so freely gave out an Armor that can match his own to a woman of another house." Her father mused, clearly not happy with the decision. His words caused a stab of irritation in Angelica.

"Deirdre is an honorable woman and I trust Leon's wisdom in the matter." She defended her friend and her love. Her father scoffed and waved a hand in her direction.

"It is not the girl herself that you need to worry about. That Armor represents a scale of power that none can yet match, save for its counterpart that your fiancé wields." He clarified. It was true that both Getter Robo were far beyond what other Armors could handle. Control did state that such machines were originally used to destroy what they termed as Enemies of Humanity.

The fact that the Principality acquired a dilapidated Getter Robo was something Leon has been trying to prepare for.

"You suspect that Deirdre will be taken advantage of?" She asked and got another scoff.

"If not her, then her family. Her house has many allies that would quite enjoy wielding her as a weapon against their political foes." Her father's words made far too much sense that it was actually starting to worry Angelica. It would not be the first time that a house leaned on their ally to strike against another.

"Would it matter once she marries Leon's older brother?" Considering how happy Deirdre was with Nicks during her birthday, it seemed to be a sure thing. The complication with her older sister would likely be settled between themselves.

"It may even make it worse as they could be pressured to bring both Armors to bear for the sake of their allies." Gilbert pointed out. Angelica frowned with how her father and brother were speaking and where their discussion seemed to be leading to.

"And it would be best if it was in our hands. Is that what you are implying, father?" She said in a tone that was perhaps sharper than she would have liked. If her father was offended, he did not show it. Her brother looked rather amused though.

"No self-respecting head of their house would not want such power at their disposal. Your friendship with her helps. But should the Roseblade house turn against us, then we would have little chance to stand against such a monster." Her father's words caused an ugly feeling in her stomach. Imagining their men facing down a Getter Robo in futility was an image she did not need.

"Leon wouldn't allow that." She asserted.

"Leon Fou Bartfort is a good man, but a poor politician with likely no training on how to navigate court." Gilbert said with a patient smile. Angelica knew that he wasn't trying to be irritating, but the feeling still surfaced within her. "His individual power and his connections can only take him so far. He still needs to be able to stand before the rest of the court on his own two feet. There are many problems that he can and will encounter that he cannot simply destroy."

"Angie, you are trained by Queen Mylene Rapha Holfort to be her successor. You may not become Queen anymore, but all you have learned is still there. You were meant to support a King. Surely, you can support a Viscount." Her father continued the train of thought. She could not refute what they were saying at all.

"What are you suggesting then?" She had an idea, but she wanted to be certain first.

"Cover for your future husband's shortcomings in court. It will be your responsibility as his wife that he will never be taken advantage of." Her father said in all seriousness.

"Does that also include you, father?" All her father did was laugh at her accusation.

"I would be disappointed in you if you simply folded from pressure from me." He told her with a big smile. "Show the court why you are your mother's daughter."

She returned the smile and bowed at her father. "Of course, father."

"It would also be prudent to solidify an alliance with the Raults, seeing as their heir and daughter are acting quite favorably towards Leon." Gilbert added as if it was an idle thought.

"You are never satisfied, are you brother?" Angelica asked with a long suffering sigh.

"I will always look for ways to ensure our family's future, sister." Her brother responded in full amusement.

…

"My baby girl!" Olivia laughed out loud as her father embraced her. He was a large man with a full beard and short brown hair. A life of farmwork forged him into the caring man that loved her mother and raised her into the person she now was.

Olivia finally found the time to visit her home village and it was fitting that the first person that recognized her was her father. Angie had offered to take her here with an escort, but she assured her love that she would be fine. The trip back home was largely uneventful, thankfully. With the way Olivia chose to dress herself in heavy traveling clothes, she just looked like any other commoner that was traveling alongside her. Her clothes also helped conceal the Saint Relics and her handgun.

"I missed you too, Papa!" She happily said, returning the embrace. The other people in the village also started to recognize who she was and started greeting her as well. Olivia couldn't help but be happy being with so many people she cared for being around her.

"You should have sent a letter ahead if you were going to visit." Her father told her with mock annoyance. She bumped her shoulder against his as they made their way back home, greeting friends and neighbors along the way.

"I wanted it to be a surprise." She said with a shrug.

"Well, I'm certainly surprised. Though, we also have a surprise for you too." The grin on her father's face made Olivia furrow her brow in suspicion.

"What do you mean?" Instead of answering, her father simply smiled and opened the door to their modest home.

"Dear! Look who decided to drop by!" He called out into the house. Olivia stepped inside and was hit with a wave of comfortable nostalgia. Footsteps from deeper in the house caught her attention and a woman who closely resembled her stepped into view. Her mother was almost like a look into the woman she would grow into, if only having far longer hair.

"Livia?!" Olivia smiled at the surprise on her mother's face. She then looked down and the smile turned into her own shock.

"Mama, why do you have a baby in your arms?" Her father laughed and made his way to her mother's side.

"Say hello to your younger brother." Her father's words made her smile again. She was now a big sister?! That was great! "This little man's name is Darlington!"

That was far less great! "What did you name my baby brother?"

"It was a joke, Livia! You should have seen your face!" Her father laughed while her mother just shook her head with her own smile. They were both in on it?!

"That wasn't funny Papa! Mama! I thought you named the baby something he would regret for the rest of his life!" Her alarm was not appreciated by her new baby brother as he started crying in her mother's arms.

"I'm sorry! Please don't cry!" She quickly stepped to the baby and wasn't quite sure what to do. Thankfully, her mother was quick to calm the baby down with soothing coos and gentle rocking.

"His name is Nicholas." Her mother finally revealed his real name. That was definitely more normal than Darlington. "This is your big sister, Olivia."

"Would you like to hold him?" Her father offered and she immediately nodded her head. She gently took the baby into her arms and the two of them kind of just stared at each other.

"Hello Nikky." She whispered and her brother responded with various gurgling noises.

"Aww! He likes his big sister!" Olivia rolled her eyes at her father's words while her mother looked on with clear joy.

Treasure your bond with your sibling.

Anne? What's wrong?

I am uncertain. It seemed like something I needed to make sure that you understand.

After spending some more time catching up with her family, Oliva decided to walk around her home village, greeting the people who weren't there when she first arrived. She eventually found herself standing on the very hill where the old Sage found her the first time they met. The moment when her life changed forever. It gave a view of her village and made her feel like her old life was so far away now.

"I won't be able to be just Olivia anymore once we go to claim your Staff." She idly muttered as she thought about everything that had gone on in her life in the past year.

Getting cold feet?

She giggled at Anne's question. "Of course not. Just wondering how it would affect things here."

Leon will likely want your family safe and well provided. Angie and Clarice will absolutely agree with him.

"They are all lovely like that." She nodded in agreement. The two of them relaxed in companionable silence as the clouds rolled by.

"Once all of this is over, after we claim the Staff and we save Hertrude's sister and deal with the ones ruining Fanoss, what will happen to you?" Anne was quiet for several moments, to the point where Olivia thought that she might have made her friend angry.

I am uncertain. Claiming the Staff and learning the truth of everything might end up letting me finally pass on properly.

"You would be fine with that?" Especially considering what the whole point of leaving part of herself in the Relics was.

What reason do I have to stay here? I cannot share your body forever. I will also never try to take it away from you. You deserve to live your life without a ghost living in your head.

Olivia wanted to argue that she could just stay with them, but that wouldn't be fair to Anne either. To a degree, she would still be an outsider in everything. She heard Anne sigh before she spoke up again.

More than that, I am just tired.

"I'm sorry that you couldn't find Lea." Olivia sullenly said, earning a chuckle from Anne.

It was a foolish endeavor to begin with. Reincarnation may be real, but the chance we took was simply a gamble that did not pay off.

"I understand why you did it."

Giving me the chance to be truly loved by Leon and the others is more than I could even ever hope when I woke up again. So thank you, Livia.

"I'm happy to share it with you, Anne." And Olivia meant every word of it. After a while the two of them noticed loud voices coming from the village.

A commotion?

"Monsters." Olivia whispered as the village warning bell sounded. She was on her feet and quickly ran back with magic enhanced speed.

"Livia?!" She ignored her father's yell in favor of running at one of the villagers who was about to be attacked by a giant wasp.

Olivia pulled out her handgun but hissed in frustration at the angle. "I don't have a shot. Take control!"

Anne took over and a blade of light manifested in her other hand. The Saintess danced between the monster and its intended victim before driving the blade into its head.

"Foolishness."

Olivia took back control just as her father ran up to her. She turned to him and pointed back at where he came from. "Take everyone deeper in the village!"

"What about you?!" He yelled in panic as more monsters started closing in.

She turned and quickly dropped five of them in quick succession using precise shooting. "I'll be fine."

"Right." Her father whispered in awe. He hesitated for a moment longer to speak to his daughter one more time. "Be careful, Livia."

Olivia nodded and turned back to the oncoming monsters. Not really enough to be called a horde and none of them were too big. Compared to the things in the Capital's dungeon, these were more like inconveniences.

"Don't come near my village!" She yelled out as ran her hand across her handgun, changing the property of her shots. Wind seemed like an appropriate element to use considering how many flying insect monsters there were. She aimed at the closest one and a sound akin to thunder boomed when she pulled the trigger. A single shot had the force and area of a cannon ball with how the air around it twisted and howled. Just like that, the group of monsters directly in front of her were reduced to chunks of meat, goo, and carapace.

Olivia turned to another target and repeated the process until all the monsters were dead. None were even able to come close, which was a shame since she had a light spell ready in case they got near enough.

"Livia!" Her father called out when she returned to where everyone was.

"I told you that I'd be fine, Papa." She told him with a giggle. Olivia turned to the rest of the villagers and gave the good news. "All the monsters are gone."

Rather than the joyous cheer and applause she was expecting, there was dead silence as the other residents just stared at her. She could see awe and fear in their eyes in equal measure.

"They're just surprised. You're still the same Livia that grew up here." Her father assured her but she just shook her head.

"We both know that's not true. But I appreciate the thought, Papa." Olivia said before walking back home to check on her mother and brother. The villagers parted before her and she just walked on without uttering another word.

We'll reclaim the Staff once the break is done, Anne.

So be it. Thank you for being with me, Livia.

Of course. We do this together, Anne.

 

[Blackraptor]

Hertrude Sara Fanoss would never admit it out loud to anyone else, but being away from her sister for so long had been making her rather anxious for her well-being. Being able to spend her days as simply Hertrude and not a Princess of Fanoss had been very enjoyable. She just wished that Rauda was here to experience it alongside her.

Gaining the trust and support of her savior had been laughably easy, Livia was such a darling like that. Likewise, she trusted her and her allies to make the correct decisions on how to approach the looming problem of the Principality. Scheming on her own had been troublesome and there was more than one instance when she felt that her paranoia was getting the better of her.

Thank goodness that she had found allies that she could implicitly trust.

"The military has started mustering their armies at staging points throughout the Principality." She demonstrated her reciprocation of trust by freely providing the latest covert reports that she received from her 'handlers' in the Principality. The fools still thought her a sleeper agent that they could use to unleash hordes of monsters in the Capital when the time came.

"Fanoss is finally making their move?" The Bringer of Doom, Leon Fou Bartfort, asked with narrowed eyes. His voice had an almost excited tin to it. It was one of the rare instances wherein they spoke without any of his lovers present. Livia was still visiting her home village, while Angelica and Clarice were busy assisting the Queen with the rot festering in Holfort's noble court. She had given them as much information about the Forest of Ladies as she had available, but most of the work had to be done by them.

With all of his women indisposed, he had no choice but to live up to the responsibility foisted upon him by Holfort's frankly disgusting King and keep her safe. To that end, she was picked up by Leon at the Capital and would remain at his Estate for the rest of the break with his guests from the Republic. Hertrude could not help but be impressed by his ship even as he served her tea in the Captain's quarters. Vandel would have quite the surprise when he came here.

His broken elven servant was also present in the room, as was the machine known as Control, but the two of them were the ones carrying the conversation.

"It will take time to be able to organize everything, but the orders have been sent out. It seems that Vandel and his ilk are almost ready for their invasion." She told him, more to manage expectations than anything else. "Are you?"

"If it's against D2, then we're pretty sure that we can take it down." Leon stated a nod and a smile. The way he said it made her raise an eyebrow.

"Such confidence. I'm intrigued as to the source of your certainty." To her surprise, it was Control who elaborated on the point.

Both Leon and Deirdre have been training in the combat simulator against a production class Getter Robo D2 that is being piloted by a simulated version of an incredibly skilled pilot.

"Simulator?" She repeated the strange word, it was not something she was familiar with at all.

Leon hummed and slowly answered her, as if he was trying to convey the information in the best way that she could understand. "It's basically something that lets us experience a pretend version of a scenario and have us deal with it to a shockingly realistic degree."

"And this has let you prepare for the fight against Vandel's Dragon God?" That got a nod from both Leon and Control, which was a strange thing to see as it was presently just a floating orb.

With both Black Getter F and Getter Roze in active combat, I cannot see a scenario where a refurbished Getter Robo D2 controlled by a lone pilot with no experience can win. The size difference between units will be irrelevant.

"I see." Hertrude halting said. With how they spoke, it was like the oncoming threat of the Dragon God was going to be nothing more than an inconvenience to them instead of the catastrophe she saw it as.

How fearsome.

Leon's next words surprised her even more. "The thing we're more worried about are you and your sister."

"How so?" Her heart clenched. What manner of trial did the world have in store for them now?

"Control and I agree that the moment that the Black Knight realizes that he doesn't stand a chance against us, he'll pressure you to summon a Hundred Demon Mechanized Beast to try and even the odds." Hertrude wasn't sure how to take how dismissive Leon was being regarding Vandel. Was he so certain of their victory against him? Were they truly that powerful?

She dared to hope that they were.

Based on your account of summoning and controlling one, it is highly likely that attempting to do so again by yourself will result in your death. There is also the circumstances surrounding Hertrauda Sara Fanoss' comatose state.

She grimaced at the memory of trying to control a Guardian Monster alongside Rauda. She wouldn't be surprised if Vandel ended up using her sister's safety as a threat for her to summon another one despite the risks.

"If your sister became that way trying to control the D2, then her consciousness might actually be trapped inside it." Leon posed the possibility, making her gasp.

"Are you certain?" The way that Leon and Control glanced at each other made her worry.

No. A Getter Robo D2 should not be capable of doing such a thing to anyone. We theorize that the usage of magic is the cause of the current complication, but we simply do not have enough information to be sure.

"It means that even if we can secure your sister's body, Livia might now be able to do much if her consciousness is actually trapped inside D2." Hertrude's hands tightened into fists at the news. Even with their Savior on hand, it might all still be for nothing then?

"Will destroying the Dragon God free her?" She proposed the obvious solution to the problem.

"Here is the hard part. We don't know either." Leon grimaced after she found herself slamming her fists on the table, rattling the tableware on top.

"Then what do you know then?!" She hissed at him. What use was everything she did if the whole purpose of her reaching out to them was so plagued with uncertainty?!

Please understand that we are operating with the goal being your sister's survival and wellbeing. This is why we are being so cautious about all aspects. To that end, both Leon and Deirdre have been training in disabling a Getter Robo D2 instead of outright destroying it.

"Which, believe me, is a hundred times harder in practice." The hollow tone that Leon used as he spoke conveyed the difficulty of the task. Knowing what they were aiming for made her feel a little better about the unknowns. "If we can immobilize it, then Control can study it to see what the best way of getting your sister out of it is."

Fundamentally, it is still Getter technology. Even with the interweaving of magic, it should not be beyond comprehension.

"Very well, I understand. However, there is also the challenge of securing Rauda's body in the first place." She finally brought up the other complication in their situation.

Leon nodded as if he had already anticipated that, something Hertrude honestly wouldn't put past him. "Mylene might be able to help that with her agents, though it would make things easier if you have anyone loyal to you and your sister over on that end that can help."

She was still amazed at how casually he refers to the Queen.

She shook her head and got back on topic. "We do, in fact. The challenge was always finding a safe place to keep her once she is out of the Principality. I shall see how we can coordinate our efforts then."

Hopefully, all this preparation and planning would also give her the opportunity to kill Vandel herself.

The rest of their journey was rather quiet, time that Hertrude spent luxuriating in her room's wonderful bathtub. Control was a darling for suggesting that she experienced a warm scented bubble bath. She could have stayed there forever. Sadly, she was warned by the very same Control not to stay in the bath for too long in order to avoid getting sick.

When they arrived at Leon's lands, they did not disembark at the local harbor. Instead, she followed Leon to a much smaller ship that flew out and deposited them right in front of his estate. It was like having a small ferry hidden inside a larger vessel, quite novel.

"Welcome back! This the person you went to pick up?" A man greeted them when they stepped off the tiny ship, Leon's maid quietly walking off directly to the manor without prompting. Hertrude paid her no mind as she found attention taken by the man that Leon was happily shaking hands with. He was tall, with brown hair slicked back, his sharp eyes were even more striking due to his tanned skin. He was wearing adventuring equipment and looked as if he had just returned from a dungeon expedition.

Hertrude found herself quite intrigued by this man and the casual confidence he exuded. It wasn't like the confidence that Leon sometimes displayed either. She was also used to people desperately projecting bravado, such was the sad reality of being surrounded by warmongers.

But this was different. Very different.

"Greetings," She smoothly inserted herself into the conversation, making sure to sway her hips just a bit more than normal. Her smile widened a bit when she caught his gaze flicking down for a moment to appreciate it. "I am Hertrude Sara Fanoss, Princess of the Principality of Fanoss. Who might you be, sir?"

He blinked at her a few times and turned to Leon, who just shrugged at him. "Uhh, Serge Sara Rault. Nice to meet you."

So this was the man Deridre said that Louise and Noelle were competing for? She was starting to see why. This was quite intriguing indeed!

"Rault? The ruling house of the Republic?" She sweetly asked, a little lean forward and an upward turn of her eyes making him swallow. How cute! She obviously already knew about the details, but it was a good way to open a rapport between the two of them.

"Well, more or less. Don't let the other five houses hear that though, they'll probably start complaining." He tried to regain his footing with levity. She giggled along with him, with poor Leon looking like he had no idea what was happening.

"Fascinating," She wrapped her arm around his and felt him shiver when she pushed her chest against him. "I'd love to learn more about the Republic."

An unexpected interruption suddenly made themselves known from the direction of the manor. "I would be more than happy to discuss the finer points of how ladies of the Republic are supposed to conduct themselves, Miss Hertrude."

They all turned to the voice and Hertrude was surprised when Serge suddenly freed himself from her grasp. Both Noelle and Louise didn't look very happy with her, though it seemed that Serge interpreted their expressions to be directed at him instead.

"It's so nice to see you again, Miss Hertrude." Louise's perfect smile belied the venom in her voice as she greeted her. The reason why was obvious. Truly? The Republic really condones such relationships between siblings, even adopted ones?

"A pleasure to see you again as well Miss Louise." She returned the greeting, the other woman not looking the least bit intimidated despite knowing that she was a princess. Noelle quickly attracted attention by very unsubtly placing herself between Hertrude and Serge.

"Hi there! Great to see you again, Hertrude! Are you visiting?" A rather forced introduction, but Hertrude chose not to comment on it.

"Good to see you too, Noelle." She returned the greeting with a nod, her eyes lighting up in mischief as she answered the blonde's question. "And no, I shall actually be staying here with all of you for the remainder of the summer break."

She was never a meek girl, and decided to demonstrate it by clearly making her intentions known.

"And thank you for the offer earlier, Miss Louise. However, I would very much enjoy a different perspective on the Republic. I have a feeling that conversing with Serge about it would be rather delightful." Louise's smile became much more brittle at her words. Noelle's lips also started twitching at her declaration. She then turned and winked at the man in question, who just helplessly turned to Leon.

The fearsome Bringer of Doom, the man so confident that he could prevail against a Dragon God, seemed like a lost child as he looked between all of them. The juxtaposition was astounding.

Hertrude Sara Fanoss found that she was inserting herself into a love rivalry that was already underway.

That was fine, she didn't mind the competition.

She was planning to overthrow the ruling factions of the Principality and deal with a Dragon God for the sake of what is effectively her sister's soul.

What are two ordinary girls compared to that?

…

Noelle paced around her room, an irritated expression on her face as she thought about what happened earlier that day.

"Ugh! Another one just had to show up! Thanks a lot, Leon!" She complained to herself once she fully understood the implications of Hertrude's words and actions. "It was bad enough with just Louise, now a literal princess has to be interested in him too?!"

Louise's change in demeanor towards Serge was as sudden as it was shocking. But the underlying emotions behind it was something she couldn't deny. Even though she was still weirded out that Louise could develop such feelings for her own brother, regardless of their actual blood relation.

Weird or not, she was still competition.

And wasn't that something she never would have thought a year ago about Louise!

Noelle already knew that what she was feeling for Serge was going beyond that of just friendship.

She was woman enough to admit that she was attracted to him.

Spending time with him and getting to know what he was really like was wonderful! Him not even commenting about the way she styled herself or how she acted was just a big plus! He just saw her as she was and acknowledged it all! No weird looks, no questions as to why she behaved that way, so asking her to act more like a proper lady! He took in everything about her and accepted that it was all Noelle!

Add to that how he stood up for her against Loic, how he declared that she was now under his protection, how he did right by that promise so far, how could she not develop feelings for him?

Was she maybe going too fast? Probably? But the cost of taking things slow might be Louise, and now Hertrude, swooping in and snapping him up instead. Like hell she was going to let that happen without a fight!

Noelle couldn't deny that her rivals were mighty, so she badly needed advice on how to proceed. Who else better to ask than the girl who has five men head over heels in love with her?

"It's open." Marie called out from inside her room. Noelle opened it and couldn't help but take a look around. It wasn't the first time she had been in there, but she couldn't help but feel how much more mature Marie's room felt. Which was so weird considering how short she was, not that she would tell the girl that out loud. "Noelle? What's wrong?"

"I need advice." Comprehension immediately formed in Marie's face and she nodded to a chair for Noelle to sit on.

"I heard about Hertrude, definitely wasn't expecting her to be attracted to Serge." Noelle snapped her gaze back to Marie. She already knew? The other girl just shrugged at her. "I heard from Leon."

"How am I not surprised that you already know about my feelings for Serge?" She asked with a helpless chuckle. She just couldn't get anything past Marie.

"You and Louise don't hide it well. I think denial is the only reason why Serge is still acting dumb about it." She even knew about Louise?! Wait, what was that about Serge? "Give him time."

Noelle blinked and nodded. So things just haven't really sunk in for Serge yet? "Okay, but what should I do? I'm up against the daughter of the ruling house of Alzer and a literal princess!"

"Just be yourself, that's all you really need to do in order to make Serge fall in love with you." Noelle could feel her face heat up at the certainty in Marie's voice. Really, already going with the L-word there?!

"Are you sure?" She squeaked out.

"You're a lot more special than you give yourself credit for. Just remember, have more confidence and be yourself." Marie's assertions made Noelle think about something she put out of her mind for so long.

Be herself? Who was she really anymore anyway?

"Sometimes, I'm not even sure what that means anymore." She muttered to herself while looking at the floor.

"What do you mean?" She sighed at Marie's question but decided not to look up.

"Serge told me about the Sacred Tree Sapling." The lack of reaction from Marie just confirmed that she already knew all about it as well. Then she probably already knew about her lovers being the guardians. That made this next part much more awkward for her. "I am also aware that I could become the Priestess."

"Since when did you know?" Noelle couldn't help but laugh at that.

"Since I was a little girl." She finally looked up and gave Marie a sad smile.

It was a long running belief in her family, her real family, that the Sacred Tree would choose its Priestess. The Priestess would then find the man that she loved and, if he reciprocated her feelings, he would gain the Guardian crest as proof of their mutual feelings for each other.

A story of True Love.

"Hey, Marie." She spoke up in a whisper as the girl she was talking to walked up to the window and looked outside. "If it really chooses me as its priestess, and your lovers remain its guardians, what will happen then?"

It was something she didn't want to think about, but it was like a sword dangling over their heads. It would have to be addressed one day.

Marie was completely silent for several moments, to the point where Noelle was about to call out to her and ask if she was okay. Before she could, the other girl turned around to face her and Noelle couldn't help but feel frozen and terrified at the look that Marie gave her.

Noelle decided to give Marie space for a few days.

 

[Blackraptor]

Deirdre Fou Roseblade wasn't really paying attention to all the goings-on around her. It made her feel a bit bad because she was currently with her family as they made their regular inspections of their lands and people. It had been a long standing tradition for the Roseblade house to make time throughout the year in order to personally check in on the territory they held and those who lived there. Their family were once commoners themselves, until her forebearers proved their excellence to the crown through accomplishments as Adventurers.

Despite being distinguished, their house never forgot their roots and endeavored to have good relations with the commoners they governed over. After all, if their house could rise up and earn greatness, it was not out of the realm of possibility that another family under their rule could one day do the same.

The rather unorthodox approach of governance resulted in a much more positive relationship between them and their people. Their productivity and loyalty spoke for the effectiveness of this policy. Although, an odd result of this was that the various villagers knew them even better than their actual peers at court. To the point where she and her older sister were actually treated by village elders as their own grandchildren.

"What's wrong little Deirdre? Thinking about your man?" One such elder teased her after being caught spacing out. Her thinking about Nicks? Well, perhaps at another time, but not at that moment!

All she had in her head recently were the various strategies that she and Leon had been developing on how to subdue a much larger foe. Specifically, the Getter Robo D2 that they had been facing in the simulator back in the Academy. Both of them were learning more and more about their foe through their respective failures. It was a process Leon liked to refer to as 'Labbing'. Control even provided an invisible drone to stay with her so they could still communicate and the like, she was sure that it was floating around the room at that present moment.

It still did not change the fact that she was anxious to try out some ideas that they came up with over the break.

"It is a bit too soon to consider Nicks as 'her man' in my opinion." And with those words from her dear sister, Deirdre's focus immediately centered on the current conversation. Their parents were busy speaking with the various suppliers and distributors in this village, so the two of them were left with an elder for the moment. She was an old woman who actually spent a bit of time helping raise them when they were both still toddlers, hence they were both still doted on.

"Ah, so the argument on which one of you would be the wife and which would be the concubine is still ongoing then." The casually delivered words caused a shock between her and Dorothea that neither of them expected. The elder simply snorted and waved her hand at the two of them. "Oh, don't look at me like that. I was once young as well, I know how things can sometimes work between nobles. Men who are rarely satisfied with just one woman."

"No, it's not that. It's more about you implying that we can both have Nicks." Her older sister thankfully pointed out the reason why they were so surprised. The elder merely raised her eyebrow and tilted her head.

"Can't you? The only real issue would be the official titles, I believe." Not at all! There were absolutely more concerns than that!

"But both of us being with the same man would cause problems in securing ties with other houses through marriage." Her sister continued to argue but the elder actually just laughed at her face in response.

"Dorothea, if you were really concerned about such a thing, you'd already be married and with child." Well, that certainly shut her up. The elder then gave both of them a much gentler smile before continuing. "Besides, your house has always ever prioritized the happiness of the family over politics."

Neither of them could deny that. The philosophy of happiness and contentment resulting in excellence and productivity extended to their family as well. She knew of relatives who actually married commoners out of love, despite their chance to marry into other noble houses instead.

"If your parents were against the two of you loving the same man, then they would have already talked to both of you about it and drawn the line." The two of them looked at each other with widened eyes. That was certainly a good point. She assumed that their parents were just waiting for them to settle the matter between themselves, but was she wrong about that?

"But then, what of succession?" Deirdre suddenly asked before she could stop herself.

"Don't ask me, I'm just an old commoner woman." The elder reminded them before waving them off as if she wasn't the one who started this whole discussion to begin with. "That's something better spent talking about with each other, your parents, and your man."

Such a solution would be a rather convenient way to circumvent their current issue regarding Nicks. Despite their love rivalry, both her and Dorothea also genuinely wanted each other to find happiness in life. If they could both be with Nicks, then would that not solve everything?

Well, not entirely considering how competitive they could be.

"I shall bravely take the burden and responsibility of being the wife then. You may relax and enjoy the life of being Nicks' concubine." Dorothea suddenly declared with closed eyes and a solemn nod, as if she was undertaking a great challenge. Oh, was that how she was planning on starting this?

"Not at all, dear sister. I am more than up to the challenge of supporting the love of our lives as his wife. You are more than welcome to assist us as his concubine." Deirdre challenged as both of them leaned toward each other, neither backing down even for a moment. Despite their words, both of them were smiling and had laughter in their eyes.

It seemed that matching collars were in their future after all.

After their enlightening discussion, the two of them joined their parents and spent more time going around the village. It was always a pleasure to talk and catch up with their citizens. Deirdre couldn't understand why more nobles didn't do this. There was almost no real downside to it and the chance to find rare talent among the common folk was always a good thing for all involved.

Unfortunately, fate decided to interrupt the good cheer as the village warning bells rang and shouts started erupting from beyond the settlement.

"What is happening?!" Her father called out over the tolling bells. Just as he spoke, a man came running toward them. The sheer terror in his face made it obvious what the cause was.

"Giant monster attack! There are so many of them!" His hoarse yell only confirmed it. The villagers started to clamor in panic even while her parents looked up to the skies.

"What of the army patrols?" Her mother asked. There were supposed to be regular army patrols around inhabited islands due to the rise in monster attacks all over Holfort.

"The ones that were supposed to be here never showed up! We thought that they would just be late but they're not here!" One of the other elders answered as everyone started to understand their dire situation. Giant monsters were approaching and the village did not have any form of military presence. Even with her family here, there was no way they could fight several large monsters on foot by themselves while keeping the people safe.

Their parents immediately sprung into action and began coordinating an evacuation, Dorothea quickly instructing that the children be gathered together immediately. Unfortunately, the distant roars made it clear that it may have been already too late. She was proud of their people that, despite their obvious fear, they still had the presence of mind not to panic.

"Control." Deirdre called out and the drone quickly became visible at her side. Control immediately made it known that they were listening in on the whole thing.

I have already deployed Roze Getter from the Nagare the moment the first bells rang. It will arrive shortly.

"So quickly?" Not that she was complaining!

Do not underestimate a Getter Robo's speed if it does not have to take the pilot's safety into consideration.

"Deirdre! What are you still doing here?" Her father asked after running to her. He then turned in surprise at the presence of Control. "That sphere."

Roze Getter is inbound. It will arrive in the next seven seconds.

Knowing what that meant, he turned to her in slight worry. "You're going to fight?"

"Of course. I am a Roseblade." The sound of the sky being sliced open punctuated her declaration. She looked up and beheld her Getter Robo lowering itself from the sky, much to the shock of the villagers. "Continue with the evacuation in case any monsters get past me!"

She didn't wait for her father's answer as she was already running to where Roze Getter landed. She quickly jumped up the offered hand and climbed inside the cockpit. Control's voice came from all around her with a warning.

Please observe caution while maneuvering without your pilot suit. The effects of sudden movement will be more pronounced and you may suffer from discomfort or even injury if you are not careful.

She nodded as the screens finished lighting up. "Noted. Thank you, Control."

Several Armor sized airborne and ground based monsters detected.

She turned Roze Getter in the direction that the indicators were pointing at and confirmed what Control said.

Gigantic wolves with bull horns, chimeras, and four-armed bears on the ground.

Giant sharks, squids, and crabs in the skies.

There weren't as many as the Mechasaurus she had once faced in the simulator. This was good for the sake of the village behind her.

"Control, I shall use the magic converter!" Deirdre declared, placing both hands on two specific levers. She concentrated and let the spell she had in mind flow through her and into Roze Getter.

After but a moment, she felt it begin.

Magic thrummed all around her. Her Getter's power was resonating with her own magic. She absolutely did not understand the underlying mechanics of it, but she knew that Getter Energy was being converted into magic somehow.

She never felt so powerful before! It was a feeling like no other!

Deirdre beheld the monsters threatening her family and her people and decided to deal with the ones in the sky first.

"Take this! Roooooose Twisteeeeeer!" The emitters on Roze Getter's forearms, where Black Getter's Getter Razor would have been, discharged a constant stream of pink light. Her Getter's cape flapped from the wind generated from the effect. Roze Getter then crouched down before leaping into the sky, arms forward as the entire Getter Robo started spinning. With her magic being amplified to a degree that should be impossible, Deirdre turned Roze Getter into a tornado of destruction that shredded the airborne monsters.

It did not matter that they tried to bite at her.

It did not matter that they tried to restrain her.

It did not matter that they tried to smash her.

Roze Getter tore through them all.

The attack eventually ran its course and she came to a stop just as the monsters on the ground were finished being showered with the fading remains of the ones she had just killed.

"Huuuuurrrggghhh!" Deirdre groaned out as she desperately kept her mouth shut to prevent herself from throwing up all over the cockpit. With a disgusted grunt, she swallowed everything back down and made a mental note to ask for a lot of water once this was all done.

I warned you about the ill effects of fighting without a pilot suit.

"Yes, I should have taken your advice more seriously." She said with a nod, trying to ignore the gross feeling in her mouth. "We shall use more conventional means then."

Control thankfully chose not to comment that she could have used any number of other spells instead.

"Double Tomahaaaaaawk!" Deirdre found herself loving the extra weight and heft that the larger battle axe-like tomahawks had. Each swing punched through her foes much more easily than the normal tomahawks that Black Getter wielded. The tradeoff, she quickly discovered, was that they were much more unwieldy and tended to get stuck in things she wasn't intending.

Thunk!

Such as the ground.

She needed more practice in using them.

Despite having to be more conscious about her swings, the ground monsters didn't prove any more challenging than the ones in the sky.

Jaws filled with sharp teeth? Chopped off.

Claws that could crush Armors with ease? Chopped off.

Tails that discharged corrosive venom? Chopped off.

It did matter how fast, or how many, or how aggressive they were. They all fell to the swings of her tomahawks.

Deirdre was starting to miss her enemies in the simulator, the ones in the real world were too easy to defeat!

I noticed that you decided against using Getter Beam on the monsters.

"Ah, I didn't want to cause problems for the villagers by causing melted gashes all over the ground." She quickly explained to Control after finishing off the last of the monsters. "The holes made by the tomahawks would be easier to fill in and smooth out."

A good point. Rather considerate of you.

"Of course, these people are under my family's rule and protection." She proudly stated while returning the tomahawks back to storage. Deirdre then returned to the village to see everyone at the entrance cheering and waving at Roze Getter.

It seemed they realized that they were no longer in imminent danger and chose to witness the monster extermination instead.

"Our people!" Her voice came out of Roze Getter's external speakers. With her Getter Robo's arms spread wide, Deirdre made her triumph known. "Roseblade stands before you, victorious!"

The villagers' cheers intensified.

…

Serge Sara Rault wondered when his life started spiraling out of control.

Who was he kidding? It started the second he involved himself with people from the Kingdom of Holfort! If he hadn't met Julius, Jilk, Chris, Brad, and Greg, then his life would have still had a sense of stability! Things would have still been the same! Everything would have still made sense! No Noelle teasing him! No Louise clinging to him! No Hertrude cornering him!

He would have been back in the Republic and-

"And what, Serge? Be miserable and alone, hating everything and everyone?" He asked his reflection in the bathroom mirror. It was a brand new day and he was almost getting used to all the changes in his life so far. That was until a literal princess decided that he was prime boyfriend material for some damned reason and riled up both his friend and his sister.

He couldn't deny it anymore. His life had turned into a trashy romance play. He would have said book, if he actually read trashy romance books.

As he changed into a fresh set of clothes, he thought back to the time he had been spending with Noelle and Louise. At first, he just assumed that they were both just being friendly even though they still couldn't get along with each other. With the self realization that it was something more, he understood that he had actually been going out on dates with them this whole time.

Why the hell didn't anyone else tell him?!

Add the Fanoss Princess to the mix and things got even more complicated!

Louise was Serge's First Love when he was younger. He would freely admit that she had just become more beautiful as she grew into the woman she now was. No, it still felt weird that he wasn't weirded out at the possibility of having a romantic relationship with his adopted sister. Their dad was going to freak out when they came back from the summer break.

Noelle was Serge's First Friend who was actually from Alzer. Her smile and positivity was just incredibly infectious that he couldn't help but become happy around her. He knew that the name Beltre was just a front and that she was actually a Lespinasse, spared by their father along with her twin sister. Yet another thing his dad was probably going to freak out about.

Hertrude was Serge's First Admirer that didn't back down because of his name and status. The sheer focus, confidence, and certainty in her words and actions was something he personally admired. He didn't really know Hertrude that well yet, but he had a feeling that she would fix that issue even without his input. His dad may freak out about that, he wasn't really sure yet.

Serge found that he didn't mind their company at all, and that scared him more than he wanted to admit. He knew that he was a fuck up. He had been wasting his life since he was a kid thinking that everyone hated him and hating them in return. He let the voice in his head that always made him angry over nothing win every single time.

Who's to say that he wouldn't fuck up a potential relationship with any of those women too?

That terror drove him to seek advice from the one person who would know a thing or two about his dilemma.

"So what do you think I should do?" He felt a bit bad interrupting Leon while he was working in his office, but he didn't have anyone else to turn to. Sure he could have asked Marie, but something about her just always rubbed him the wrong way. He had no idea what the boys saw in that girl.

"Still weird to see this from the other side." Leon muttered after blinking at him a few times.

I hope the perspective lets you be more appreciative of certain things.

"The hell are you two on about?" Both the man and the floating orb turned to each other and then back to him.

Don't worry about it.

"What Control said," Leon added with a nod before clearing his throat. "But more importantly, I don't really have any real advice that could probably help you."

That was complete bullshit! "You have three lovers!"

"Who are all very lovely and, more importantly, very different people from the girls you are talking about." Serge grumbled but couldn't deny that Leon was right.

"Honestly, I'd just give you the same advice I got myself and wish you luck." He then perked up and leaned forward in great interest. He'd take pretty much anything at this point!

"And what advice is that?" He asked with bated breath.

"Decide for yourself what you want out of this and make your choice based on that. And make sure that you adhere to these three things: Trust, Communication, and Understanding." Leon sounded pretty proud of his words, but Serge didn't share his confidence at all.

"All that seems way too general." He pointed out, to which Leon just shrugged.

"Aside from Hertrude, who acts way differently around you than she normally does with us, you know those girls better than I do." Damn, that was a good point.

He slumped in his seat and looked up at the ceiling. "That doesn't help as much as I hoped it would."

"Sorry to say that girls don't come with an instruction guide. If they did, then it would have saved me so much headache last year." He and Leon shared a chuckle at that.

Man, if only.

Leon then looked at him more seriously and gave him something to really think about. "Serge, before you decide to do anything, make sure that it is what you really want. It might hurt them more if you are just forcing yourself just to try to make them happy."

A few days later, Serge found himself walking back to the manor after some target practice with the shotgun he got from Serge's grandfather. It was a surprisingly quiet day for him, with everyone doing their own thing. His ears perked up when he heard familiar voices as he passed by the manor's main tea room. The door was ajar and he saw that Louise was having tea with Leon.

"Leon was so excited and promised that he would protect me if he became the Sacred Tree Guardian." His sister animatedly said. Serge immediately understood who she was talking about, and it wasn't the Leon she was having tea with.

"Sounds like he was a great kid. I would have liked to meet him." Said Leon told her with a nod.

Louise sighed and looked down at her cup of tea. "I'm sure the two of you would have gotten along well."

There was a moment of silence between them and Serge was about to walk away when Louise spoke up again.

"I must confess, I had originally wished that you would have taken my Leon's place when I first saw you months ago." He felt his heart clench at the admission, even Leon looked pretty surprised. "When you and Marie spoke during our tea party and I saw your face, it was like everything was falling into place again."

"Do you feel the same way now?" Serge could hear the hesitation and caution in Leon's voice.

His sister shook her head and gave him a sad smile. "All I can feel when I look at you now is a dull ache in my heart. I can't let myself stay like this."

"Move forward then," Leon told her before shrugging. "I mean, you have Serge now right?"

The smile he saw Louise give took his breath away. "Yes, I do. Having him in that place in my heart sounds wonderful."

Serge couldn't breathe, he couldn't think, he couldn't do anything but quickly walk back to his room and lock the door. Through ragged breaths, all he could hear was his hammering heartbeat, all he could feel was the heat from his face, all he could think of was that smile on Louise's face and if Noelle and Hertrude could smile like that too.

"I am so fucked."

 

[Blackraptor]

With the summer break winding down, I got a surprise visit from Angie. She said that she just missed me and finally had free time in order to properly see me. Sadly, it seemed that Clarice was still caught up with work for Mylene and likely wouldn't be able to visit any time soon. The joy I felt in seeing her again was quickly changed to fear when she started looking over my work with the renovations.

"-and look here! You are being overcharged on building materials for roads that don't even need to be built anymore!" She scolded me while waving an invoice that I had approved a week ago.

"Okay, I may not have been completely paying attention to it." I meekly admitted and got a sharp glare in return. Angie shook her head and turned her gaze on the floating drone at my side.

"Control, why haven't you been helping Leon here?" Control and I glanced at each other at the question and I silently pleaded them to be cool about it an-

Leon requested that I leave administrative tasks to him. He gave assurance that he was up to the task.

Come on! I thought we were bros! Why you gotta rat me out to my girl?!

"I thought that I was up to the task." Angie's gaze became colder at my response. I quickly leaned back to my roots as a Japanese man and began making excuses. "Look, I've been a bit distracted with my guests and figuring out a way to safely deal with the D2!"

"I know, which is why I will take over your tasks for the remainder of the break." Her immediate response made me blink. Even Control didn't seem to have expected those words from her.

"Excuse me?" That made her laugh and she immediately launched into correcting my work. Time slipped by as we did paperwork side by side. It was surprisingly relaxing, even moreso that when I did it alone.

"Not that I'm ungrateful, but why do all this now?" I asked when we took a break for some tea.

"I will be your wife, will I not?" I nodded at the question.

"Well, of course." That wasn't really in question at all anymore.

"Then is it not my responsibility to support my husband if he has too much to deal with?" I felt myself blush at how sweetly she said that, making her giggle.

"I suppose."

"I'm sure that Clarice would agree and likely would have taken up some of your work as well if she was here." She continued, reaching out and caressing my cheek. "Like you said, you have other things that require your attention. Let me help you with the other things then."

"I didn't want to bother you with all this menial stuff." The caress then turned into a pinch. "Ow!"

"Silly Leon. Did you forget? I was being trained to be Queen until last year." She reminded me as she started patting my cheek instead. "This? This is nothing compared to what I would have dealt with if my engagement with Julius was not broken."

I could not win. She was clearly fully prepared to take over my work even before she got here. "That's a really good point. I'll leave this to you then."

"Oh, and do warn Marie. If she is to become the next Queen, then she will be in for a rather thorough educational experience." Her casual remark suddenly reminded me of the can of worms that had yet to be addressed.

"Leon?" Angie quickly caught on to my discomfort. I looked into the eyes of one of the women I loved and immediately chose to be honest with her.

"Marie hasn't told Julius and the others yet." It took a few moments for her to fully understand what I was talking about.

"About her being a reincarnate and her foreknowledge?" I nodded at her clarifying question.

"I've been hinting that she should and Julius is definitely catching on with how careless she has been about it lately." I explained, I still wasn't completely sure when Marie's mask started slipping in front of the boys but it was definitely coming off more and more.

"But why? The five of them are utterly devoted to her." Control decided to step into the conversation to address Angie's confusion.

Based on my observations of Marie, she seems to have surprisingly deep seated distrust of men in general.

"Her? But she is in a relationship with five men." Angie correctly pointed out.

It is very complicated. Another factor I have observed is that Prince Julius and the others do not have the awareness of her that she would have appreciated from a partner.

"What do you mean?" I was the one who asked this time.

Why did they not know of the abuse and neglect she experienced with the Lafans?

Angie and I turned to each other with widened eyes. We both turned back to her and she spoke before I could. "They never asked her?"

Looking back on the events of the past year, there are several context clues that would imply her unfortunate life circumstances. From her general stature and growth being stifled due to malnutrition, to her lack of clothing other than her school uniform, to her refusal to speak of her family voluntarily.

With what I knew of my sister and how she operated, I started putting things together.

"And with how easy it was for her to hook them in, she must feel like the five of them are only with her because she showed them what they all wanted from a girl." Control bobbed up and down to confirm my theory.

Correct. Marie does not consider them as true lovers because they only see the Marie they want to see and not the true person underneath. They may not have even made any efforts to try, believing everything at face value.

"I refuse to pity her for what she did to us, but I at least understand why she is acting that way. It is the same ignorance I displayed with Prince Julius before." Angie sounded like she just swallowed something bitter when she said that.

"Any way we can help them along then, Control?" This was my sister and my friends after all.

Any intervention from outsiders would be met with suspicion. Unfortunately, this is something that they all need to resolve themselves. Much like how it went with your own relationship.

There was only really one thing I could say to that. "Emotions are hard."

"I do not disagree." Angie agreed with a nod.

…

With Angie freeing me up, Control and I finally had the time to do something we had wanted to for the entire break. We were back at the Saotome Labs with an extra person looking at everything all around us.

"Is that an actual Mechasaurus Skull?!" Deirdre squealed out as we passed through some of the areas that I went through the first time I discovered the labs. She immediately ran up to it and started touching the skull like a little kid.

"Yeah, I didn't really know where else to put it so we just left it alone here." I told her once Control and I caught up.

Professor Jin had originally wanted to put it up as a trophy, but circumstances ultimately prevented that from happening.

"Who is Professor Jin?" I smiled at Deirdre's question.

"Someone we want you to listen to." We then proceeded to lead her to Control Room 1, the very same place that I watched Professor Jin's final message. We didn't have to do this here, but it felt more significant that we did.

She took a seat in front of the main monitor at our instruction before Control played the Professor's message. Deirdre gasped, clenched her fists, and even teared up a bit throughout the video. By the end of it, she looked like someone who just had a lot of her world views suddenly upended.

"That was all quite a lot to take in." She whispered distractedly before looking down at her hands. "To think that we are wielding the final legacy of the protectors of humanity's past. It is a rather sobering responsibility."

"Trust me, it's not quite over just yet." I told her before moving my seat in front of her and telling her my side of the whole story. Reincarnation, Marie, Anne, Fanoss, Alzer, D2, the Sacred Tree, all of it.

She started rubbing her forehead now that she had more context on everything we were having to deal with. "Did Professor Jin not specifically ask that Getter not be treated as divinity?"

Time has a way of making people misinterpret things from the past.

"And this threat is the reason why you built Roze Getter for me?" Control and I nodded at the question.

"We didn't want to waste your talent and I didn't want to have to fight D2 alone if there would be innocents that have to be protected." I told her and Control continued the thought.

Not to mention the issue of Hertrauda Sara Fanoss' safety.

"The vanquishing of an Evil Getter wielded by the Black Knight, with the soul of a Princess possibly held hostage within. A godlike tree in another nation with the potential to doom us all." Deirdre said with a shake of her head, her voice having a slightly excited lit to it. "This would be trashy fiction if it were not true. And this is before I even consider the ghost of the Saint that is apparently sharing Livia's body now."

Truth is stranger than fiction, but it is because Fiction is obliged to stick to possibilities; Truth isn't.

"That sounds like a quote from someone important." Control nodded at my observation.

Mark Twain, a writer from the distant past.

I vaguely remembered someone with that name but couldn't really put my finger on it. I just shrugged and turned to Deirdre instead. "Well, that is pretty much all of it."

"Obviously, I shall fight at your side Leon." She instantly declared with a determined nod. "With everything happening and what could happen in the future, you shall have me as your ally."

"That means a lot more than you can imagine." I told her in sheer relief. We shared a laugh before we gave her a tour of the rest of the labs.

"So, was I ever mentioned in those stories from your other world." Deirdre suddenly asked as we took a lift down to some of the lower levels.

I hummed and thought about it, shaking my head when I couldn't remember anything about her or her sister in the Otome Game. "Sadly, the Roseblade family wasn't really mentioned at all."

"Then those who wrote those stories have poor taste!" Deirdre then started to rant about all the reasons that she and her sister could have enriched Livia's story.

I certainly couldn't deny that they would have made things more interesting.

…

Summer Break was nearly over and we were all already preparing to return to our old routines. Before that though, I decided to gather some people together and address a god tree shaped elephant in the room. I served tea and snacks in the admittedly crowded tea room of my manor. Those present were Marie, Noelle, Louise, Serge, Control, the Boys, and the baby god tree.

Said baby god tree was currently in its new enclosure and nestled in Greg's arms.

Hertrude returned with Angie to the Redgrave Estate, but not before very publicly kissing Serge and promising to visit Alzer some time. From the looks that Louise and Noelle gave her, it was pretty much a declaration of war from the princess.

"So that's the Sacred Tree Sapling then?" Noelle warily asked, pointing at the baby god tree.

"Yes, we are all also aware of you and your sister's circumstance as the remaining members of the Lespinasse house and your ties to the Sacred Tree." Julius' words immediately made Noelle tense up.

"Easy there, Noelle." Serge quickly said in a soothing voice while reaching out and holding her hand. "We're all here to talk about a way for things to not go bad once we head back."

Noelle gave him a relieved smile and I noted that they didn't let go of each others' hand. Louise seemed to have noticed as well but didn't comment on it.

Jilk spoke up to continue the conversation. "Her concern is understandable though. If the sapling chooses her as the Priestess, then she would gain its crest."

"Gonna be weird to explain her having to wear gloves to hide it, especially if she never wore them before." Greg pointed out the obvious.

"Not to mention the attention it would bring to her from the other great houses if it does go public." Chris added with a thoughtful hum.

Brad suddenly spoke up with something I had also considered. "Does she need to become the Priestess already though?"

"That's actually a really good point. Noelle doesn't necessarily need to do it now." I agreed with a nod. Everyone else seemed to be considering it until Marie finally chose to speak up.

"No, the extra political clout it would give her would be too useful in case anyone tries anything dumb." I mean, that was true. However, I couldn't help but feel like Marie was jumping the gun a bit.

"Noelle's under my protection so it shouldn't even matter anyway." Serge reminded everyone. That was true. If it was clout, then the Rault family should have more than enough to keep Noelle covered.

"Loath am I to admit it, but keeping Noelle safe should be our main priority." Louise's reluctance was pretty obvious to hear.

"Been pretty quiet there, Noelle." Serge suddenly said, nudging Noelle with his shoulder. We all finally noticed that Noelle had been staring at the baby god tree for a while now.

"It's talking to you, isn't it?" Marie asked tensely. Noelle nodded distractedly and narrowed her eyes at the baby god tree.

"It's saying that there is something wrong with the other Sacred Tree and it needs me to become its Priestess." Well wasn't that just the kind of good news we all needed right now.

"Well that isn't ominous at all." Greg said what we were all probably thinking.

"We promise to protect you while we are the guardians and see if there is a way for the crests to be transferred over to Serge." Brad declared with complete confidence. The mention of giving the guardian crest to Serge made him and Noelle blush due to the implications of it. From what I understood, the guardian and the priestess always ended up marrying.

"I accept." Noelle finally declared.

"Here we go." Marie muttered as both Noelle and the baby god tree started glowing. A few moments later, the Priestess Crest was visible on the back of Noelle's hand. I guess it was time for us to get her some gloves.

A couple of days of preparations later, Control and I gave them all a ride back to the Republic. The words of the baby god tree made the gigantic god tree look a lot more sinister when I saw it again from a distance. After saying goodbye to everyone and returning to the Nagare's bridge, I spoke to Control about something that was on my mind the whole trip.

"Control, keep an eye on Marie. Make sure she doesn't do anything drastic." Because I had a feeling that my sister was going to go off the rails and I worried that the boys might not be able to catch it in time.

That was already my intention.

"Have I told you how much I love you, Control?"

Not recently, but thank you.

…

Vandel Him Zenden face split into a vicious grin as he looked up at the Dragon God.

Finally!

Finally, it was restored! The massive ancient Armor that had the power to reduce cities to ash in a matter of moments! It was finally at his fingertips!

The lives of the Elves that were sacrificed to power it were irrelevant!

The experiment that led to Princess Hertrauda becoming comatose was irrelevant!

The number of lives taken by their manufactured monsters to stretch Holfort's armies thin was irrelevant!

Everything led to this moment!

All for the sake of his vengeance!

"It's time." Vandel breathed out as the golden eyes of the Dragon God stared back at him, challenging him to take control of all that power.

So be it. He was ready for it.

Even if it resulted in his body and soul burning away to nothing.

As long as he burned down Holfort first.

…

Lelia Zel Lespinasse rolled her eyes as she heard her sister open the door to their apartment while singing an inane tune. It was just like her to be so happy while being so oblivious to the truly important things.

"Lelia! I'm home!" Noelle called out as she moved around the living room, likely looking for her. "I brought a bunch of souvenirs! Did you know that there are a lot of-"

Lelia couldn't help but smile in satisfaction upon seeing the look on her sister's face when she saw who was with her in the apartment.

"Loic." Noelle whispered in utter fear as her eyes went from the man to the collar and chain in his hands.

"You kept me waiting for a long time, Noelle." Her sister made to run, but Loic was much faster and she was quickly restrained before she made it to the front door.

"Lelia! Whatever I did, I'm sorry! Please help me!" Lelia just sneered at Noelle as Loic collared her stupid sister.

"I'm done with your wishy-washy shit, Noelle." Her sister's eyes showed complete shock and hurt at her words. Good, it was about time she finally understood. "You belong to Loic now."

"What do you really want out of this anyway?" Loic asked her even as he pulled the chain, forcing Noelle to follow them back to the living room.

Lelia looks at her terrified sister, the protagonist and savior of Alzer. "Break her and make her your obedient pet. It should make everything moving forward easier for me."

She then blinked when she noticed the gloves that Noelle was wearing. No way. Could it be?

"Stop!" Noelle shouted but Lelia was still able to tear the gloves off her, revealing the Sacred Tree Priestess Crest on one of her hands.

"Holy shit." Loic whispered in awe, recognizing the crest.

"I told you." Lelia smugly told him. That should secure his trust in her.

At last, after putting up with that dumb sister of hers for all this time, things were finally going her way.

Of course, there could be more.

"Actually, can I borrow a few of your soldiers? There is something in a dungeon I want to get as insurance."

 

[Blackraptor]

It had been a long time coming, but here we were. Livia stepped into the Temple of the Saint with myself, Control, Angie, and Clarice in tow. Hertrude decided to stay at the Academy while we did this, citing that she didn't want to be caught up with what happened considering what occurred last time Livia and Anne got a Saint Relic. Both agents of the Crown and a Control drone were looking after her so she should be fine until we returned.

Livia showed the two Saint Relics and requested to be tested for her worthiness to become the new Saint. She was quickly ushered by the bishop to a room with a weird glass ball and was asked to apply her healing magic to it. It glowed bright enough for all the priests present to gasp in surprise.

"Is that a good gasp or a bad gasp?" I whispered to my fiancées. They looked at each other and shrugged.

"The specifics of the rite for succession of the next Saint is only really known by the temple." Angie explained. "The only thing the crown really knows is that any prospective candidate needed the other relics first as well as unprecedented amounts of healing magic."

"Besides, there hasn't really been a new saint since Anne anyway." Clarice also pointed out. Yeah, that made sense.

We watched as Livia talked to the bishop before he walked with her back to us. "There is one more test. The candidate is required to wear the regalia of the saint before claiming the Staff."

"So what is the test? Does she need to fit in the dress?" I asked and received groans from Angie and Clarice.

"Leon." Livia called out to me with a pout. Sorry!

"No, the final test is claiming the Staff itself." The bishop took it all in stride. "If the Staff reacts to the Saint candidate, then we know it to be the final proof."

Angie and Clarice went with Livia to be fitted with the Saint regalia. That left me on a bench with Control floating at my side. "How are everyone back on the Nagare?"

There are no delays in transit so far. Your sister and the others should arrive back in Alzer by tomorrow afternoon.

"Good, that should give everyone enough time to rest before their new term starts up." I commented with a smile. "So you'll be leaving a drone with Noelle?"

Marie suggested it and I agreed with her. She is now a person of interest to anyone who would want to control the Sacred Tree.

"Well, she has a lot of friends to keep her safe, at least." I said just as I saw the girls return. Wow, Livia looked really good in her Saint Regalia.

It was an elaborate dress of white, teal, and aquamarine. Gold linings gave it a flare and the white detached sleeves brought it all together. Prominently displayed on her are both the necklace and the bracelet of the Saint.

"Well? What do you think?" Livia asked a bit shyly.

"I already knew how it would look, but I wasn't really prepared to see it in person." I told her with a smile, referring to the CG in the first game that showed her in the regalia.

"She gets to keep this, right?" Clarice asked the bishop, who nodded. "Nice."

Clarice? Please don't say that in a way that could be interpreted as sacrilege.

"See, I told you that you look wonderful in it." Angie reassured Livia with a smile and a squeeze of her hand.

We are then brought to a hall that had a set of very heavy looking double doors on the other end. Before we could reach the doors, the bishop interrupted us.

"Only the Saint Candidate may enter. All others must remain here." He suddenly said, making us all look at him in surprise. "The birth of a new Saint must be a solemn and private affair."

Livia seemed fine with it but the rest of us looked at each other in worry. Hertrude had a point when she said that she was worried that another fragment of Anne might do something drastic.

"What do you want to do, Livia?" I asked the girl herself and she just smiled at us.

"We'll be okay." She said confidently, her gaze going distant as she likely conversed with Anne in her head. "Yeah, it'll be okay."

I was about to say something else when Angie and Clarice walked up to my sides and held my hands. Clarice spoke up, "We trust you, Livia."

"Make sure to come back to us." Angie added as the both looked at me meaningfully. What else could I have done?

"I believe in you." I said, both to Livia and to Anne.

With one more wave, Livia entered the chamber and the heavy doors closed behind her.

…

"I must admit, I am feeling nervous about this." Anne said as they walked up to the very ornate gold and teal Staff that was displayed at the center of the chamber. "It'll be okay, Anne. We'll face it together. Whatever truth it may be."

"Ready?" Olivia asked as she reached out to the Staff. "No, but go ahead."

Olivia's vision was consumed in white light as her hand made contact with the Staff. After a moment, she found herself in a very familiar place. "We're back in my mind?"

"We are." Olivia looks to her side to see Anne standing next to her in an identical outfit. Anne grimaced and pointed towards the distance. "Behold, the last piece of myself."

Olivia looked in the direction Anne was pointing and gasped. There, on the ground, was a figure who looked like their whole body was being restrained by heavy chains. The chains wrapped all around them save for their neck and head, secured by several of them that seemed to be fused to the ground itself.

Olivia quickly ran up to the person, with Anne walking somberly behind her. She gasped when an identical face to hers and Anne's looked up at them. An expression of misery and resignation regarded them, bags under their eyes and their hair disheveled. She looked awful.

"Why are you here?" The chained up Anne gasps out, sounding like she hadn't had any water for ages. "Leave."

What? Leave?

"What do you mean?" Olivia asked with a strained smile. "We're here to free you! To get you back together with your other fragments! We already have two of the relics and–"

"No!" The chained Anne gasps out in a poor attempt at a scream. "Leave! There is nothing to be gained here, fools! Only misery, pain, and death! Give this up or everyone you love will suffer!"

Olivia took a step back from the hostility she was receiving. She turned to Anne, who just regarded her other self dispassionately. "Anne, what's happening? Why is she talking like this?"

"This part of me embodies Anne's sorrow." Anne said in a hollow tone of voice, a tone Livia never wanted to hear from the Saintess. "She likely has no other way to interpret anything aside from that emotion."

"That's all the more reason to save her!" Livia reaffirmed before turning to the chained Anne. "Don't worry, everything will be okay!"

She was regarded with an incredulous expression before the chained Anne shook her head and gave her a broken smile. "Ah…so nothing has changed after all."

"Huh?" Before Livia could ask what she meant by that, Anne placed a hand on her shoulder and nodded to her other self.

"Let's get this done, Livia." Right! Of course! We needed to focus!

"Okay!" Olivia smiled at the chained fragment of Anne and tried to reassure her. "Hang in there, we're going to release you."

She and Anne then each placed a hand on the chained Anne's head and everything went white once more. Things were blurry for a while until a vision coalesced in front of Olivia.

"What? What is this?" It was a courtyard with a very familiar pair of people talking. "Leon? Is that me?"

Due to how different they are dressed and how they both looked older than herself and Leon, there was only one conclusion. "Are these…Anne and Lea?"

The vision shifted to other moments of their lives. They showed what looked like relatives of Prince Julius and the other heirs. Based on the time frame, that meant that these were the founders of the Holfort Kingdom.

"So even everyone's ancestors were such good friends." Olivia couldn't help but comment as she watched scenes of them all going on Adventures and overcoming hardships.

Dealing with pirates.

Making alliances between other nobles.

War, so much war.

Despite all that, the seven of them kept moving forward together. If one would falter, they would quickly be supported by all the others. It reminded Olivia a lot of Leon's friendships.

There was just one problem.

As happy as all this was, there was something at the back of Olivia's mind that reminded her that this was all going to end in tragedy. It was what Anne kept saying after all.

Except, the visions just kept going.

Olivia stood in awe as the first King of Holfort raised his sword in triumph in front of all his people. His friends and comrades cheered in relief and joy. Even she could feel how victorious they all were. There, at the king's side, were all the founders along with Anne and Lea.

"So the betrayal happens after the founding of the Kingdom?" Olivia asked as the visions shifted. It showed everyone struggling to keep the court in order. How the new King met his wife and how he received foreign dignitaries. In the meantime, all the Founders were shown establishing their own territories.

All the while, Anne and Lea were at their side in support.

"Is Lea proposing to Anne?" Olivia asked in shock as a vision showed Lea going down on one knee and placing a ring on a crying Anne's ring finger. The King and the other Founders gave them both congratulations. They were in a familiar courtyard. Was that in the Academy?

"Wait, what's going on?" She started getting worried when she saw Anne and Lea's wedding. They got married?! Why didn't Anne ever tell her something that important?!

The visions shifted to Anne and Lea saying goodbye to their friends and moving to a homely village somewhere in the Kingdom. They had a small cabin and Lea was unbelievably just working as a carpenter. One of the people who stood side-by-side with the Founders was a carpenter?! Was this why Leon's family weren't considered as a Founding Family?

She watched as Lea went home to be greeted by Anne carrying a tiny bundle in her arms.

"A baby?! But I thought that Anne was betrayed by everyone? What is happening?!" Olivia started to panic. Was this the truth of Anne's past? But she was happy! Lea was happy! They had a family and were content!

"Hang on." She muttered when she finally realized something very important. "Why haven't I been looking through Anne's eyes if these were her memories?"

The vision was suddenly cut out and Olivia is suddenly left in a void of complete darkness. She looked around but saw nothing but black

"What?! Anne?! Where are you?! What happened?! Everything is dark! Anne?!" Her cries echoed through the darkness, but there was no response. She tried to move, she tried to wake back up to reality. She couldn't get control of her body again. Nothing was working.

Something was wrong. Something was very wrong.

Olivia's blood froze when she felt a pair of hands wrap around her head from behind.

"You are just like her." A familiar voice whispered from behind her.

Olivia screamed.

…

Dammit, was it supposed to take this long? What the hell are Livia and Anne doing?

I paced around the room worriedly while both Angie and Clarice simply held hands and kept their eyes on the heavy doors to the chamber. I wished that I had a fraction of their poise.

That was when a shrill beep sounded from Control's drone.

Alert! Sudden increase of build up of Magical Energy detected from within the chamber! Please get clear!

That was all the warning we got before the heavy doors were very violently slammed open, cracking the walls when they hit. The shockwave knocked everyone in the hall off their feet as we all looked to the entrance. Livia stood there with the Staff of the Saint in her left hand. All three relics glowed as Livia looked around the hall.

What the hell is going on?!

"Livia? Anne? What the hell are you two doing?" I called out as I got back up on my feet. Livia looked at me like it was the first time she had ever seen me. Her face suddenly lit up with a big smile.

"Lea!" Wait what? "It's been so long! How have you been?" Livia then raised her hand and a lance of white light shot out towards me. It would have hit me had Control not moved directly in front of me and projected some sort of energy shield. Livia clicked her tongue and regarded the drone in front of her.

Identify yourself.

I blinked at Control's statement. What the hell were they talking about?!

Another lance of light shot out from her hand that managed to pierce Control's shield and impale the drone with some sort of lance made of light. It then falls to the ground, completely inert.

"Control!" I yell out, cradling the broken drone in my arms. I look up and yell at the perpetrator. "Anne! What the hell are you doing?!"

"You don't get to use that name, Lea!" She snarls at me before saying something that completely caught me off guard. "Not after you stole my sister away from me!"

She tries to blast me again but I got pulled away by Angie and Clarice. I looked around and found that the bishop and the other priests had wisely vacated the hall.

"Thanks!" I say as the three of us stand together against…whoever this was.

"That isn't Anne or Livia." Angie points out grimly.

"I noticed." I say with a nod.

"Who are you?! What have you done to Livia and Anne?!" Clarice yelled out and got a look of confusion from the woman before us.

"Anne?" She questions before shaking her head. "She was never here."

Never here?

"There has only ever been me." She smiled and placed a hand on her chest. "Mary."

Who the fuck is Mary?!

 

[Blackraptor]

Mary, that was the name the person in front of us identified herself as. She sure as hell wasn't acting like either Livia or Anne. She slowly walked forward, making Angie, Clarice, and I back away to keep our distance for the time being. Mary pursed her lips and narrowed her eyes at me. Was she getting ready for another attack?

"You're not Lea." She idly mutters, as if talking to herself. Mary then looks at me in disgust. "Their descendant then. Somehow, that makes me feel worse when looking at you."

"Part of me really wants to just kill you outright because of what you represent. Your very existence just reminds me that Lea and Anne had-" Her words were interrupted by Clarice swiftly closing the distance between them to attempt a punch straight to her face. My fiancée's fist was stopped a few inches from its target thanks to a small circular magic shield that got in the way. Mary raised an eyebrow at Clarice as she continued to try to force her way through the shield. "Rude. Didn't your parents teach you not to interrupt someone who is speaking, Clarice?"

Bang!

"Tsk!" Angie clicked her tongue as she leveled Livia's handgun at the Staff of the Saint, the bullet being blocked by another magic shield. So Livia handed her gun to Angie when she got changed, huh?

I hated that I was completely unarmed, but that didn't mean that I was completely helpless! I charged at Mary and reached out to the Staff. I heard her snort before using the staff to parry another punch from Clarice and smack my arms away from her. Before I knew it, she had driven the end of the staff into my gut and narrowly missed smashing the side of Clarice's head with a swift spin move.

"Please, I was a top level Adventurer back in my time. You three are nothing compared to what Anne and I had to face together." She said while turning her gaze to Angie. She made a contemplative sound and smiled at her. "Shame. You would have been a much better host."

None of us really knew what she meant, but there'd be time to try to figure out what was going on later! The three of us exchanged looks and began to move to surround Mary. She just rolled her eyes and spoke. "Kneel."

Just like that, we were all brought down to our knees. I grit my teeth as I tried desperately to get back to my feet, even pushing down on the floor with my hands. Nothing worked. I looked at Angie and Clarice and they were both failing to find any success, though Angie fired another shot at the Staff that pinged against a magic shield.

"Give Livia back to us!" I yelled defiantly at Mary, who looked at me in confusion.

"Ugh! You even sound like him!" She said in clear disgust. Well, excuse me! "Clearly helpless and defeated, yet still so confidently defiant."

"Argh!" I cried out in pain when Mary struck the side of my head with the staff. My vision swam for a few seconds and I could feel something warm flowing out from where I was hit.

"You bitch!" Clarice snarled before once again trying to get back to her feet.

"You'll pay for that!" Angie emptied the rest of the ammunition in Livia's handgun at the Staff, to no effect.

Despite it all, Mary ignored them both and kept her gaze trained on my face. "Strange, that wasn't as satisfying as I had expected."

"Who are you, really?!" Angie yelled out. "You said that your name is Mary, right?! What do you even want?!"

Mary looked at Angie with a frown. "Do none of you really know who I am? What I had accomplished alongside Anne, Lea and those morons that you call Founders?"

She clearly didn't like how the three of us just looked at each other with uncertainty.

"Who am I?" She snarled in command, compelling us to answer truthfully.

"I don't know." The three of us answered at the same time. Mary growled before flourishing the Staff of the Saint behind her, blasting the chamber that once held it with powerful beams of magic.

"So they erased my name from history as well?!" She screamed out at no one in particular. "Was stealing my sister not enough?! Was sundering my soul and trapping the fragments in relics not enough for them?!"

"Fine. I guess I'll wipe their families from existence to return the favor." Mary suddenly said in a completely calm tone of voice. She turned to me and smiled. "I'll start with you."

"We'll stop you." Clarice's voice gave her pause.

"Excuse me?" Mary slowly asked, walking up to Clarice and placing the end of the Staff under her chin. "How are you planning on doing that from all the way down there?"

"We'll find a way. Whoever the hell you are doesn't matter. We'll stop you, get Livia back, then you can fade away from history for good." Clarice's words made Mary's eyebrow twitch in irritation. "No one will ever remember you or your name ever again. You'll just become a forgotten memory."

Mary stared at Clarice for a few moments, seemingly thinking about her words. She then smiled, pulled the staff away, and patted Clarice's cheek with her hand. "You know what, you're right. Everyone would just eventually forget about me even if I get my revenge."

Alarm bells rang out with the way she agreed with what Clarice just said. Angie and I then cried out in alarm when Mary drove the end of the Staff into Clarice's stomach, making her double over in pain.

"That means that I need to do something unforgettable." Mary kept talking as if nothing happened, slowly pacing in front of us. "Something that would etch my name as the last thing that this Kingdom ever knows. Something that the rest of the world will forever remember me for."

That definitely didn't sound good at all.

"Right." She muttered, giving a faraway look. "That could work."

"Well! This was all very enlightening, but I think I need to talk to a few people." Mary said in an utterly delighted voice. "I think I should pay a visit to a certain Principality, see if I can't convince them to accept some changes in leadership that would be beneficial for everyone involved."

Oh fuck no!

"No! Don't you dare!" I snarl out. Mary taking Livia and the Saint relics straight to Fanoss would be the worst thing that could possibly happen! Clarice and Angie shared my opinion based on how they were trying to struggle against the compulsion again.

She ignored us in favor of kneeling down in front of me. I hated how Mary was using Livia's face when she smiled at me. "Here's a parting gift for you, Leon."

"Lea's decisiveness was always so irritating. It seems that is something which his bloodline retains even now. So…" Mary placed a finger on my forehead, making my heart skip a beat. "Doubt."

My breathing suddenly became ragged. All sorts of horrible scenarios flashed in my head. Different scenes of failure and hopelessness formed in my mind. There was no way we could deal with all this without something terrible happening! Even with Black Getter F, there was always a chance that my mediocre piloting would let everyone down! There were so many ways that this would go wrong!

This was all my fault! If I hadn't met Livia, then she would have been fine! Everything would have been fine if I hadn't stuck my nose in everyone's business! I should have just stayed as a mob and coasted through my Academy days! What the fuck was I thinking?!

"What did you do to Leon?!" I heard Clarice scream out and shuddered as Mary started laughing. A strong woman like Clarice didn't need a man like me weighing her down. She deserved a man who could stand at her side who didn't need the crutch of an all-powerful ancient machine of destruction.

"Leon? Leon, love, look at me." I turned to Angie with a frightened look on my face. Oh god! Why the hell did I ever think that I deserved a woman like Angie?! She was so out of my league that I might as well have been a commoner! She was supposed to become a Queen and I took that away from her!

What about Mylene?! If word of our affair got out, she would never recover from it! I'd end up destroying her life and her family just because I couldn't keep it in my pants!

I killed Yumeria's people!

I risked the lives of Clara's family!

I cursed Deidre to a life of combat with a Getter Robo!

I left my sister in a foreign country that had something that could cause the end of the world!

I'm ruining their lives!

Everything is my fault!

I shouldn't have even been reborn!

I didn't deserve this second chance at life!

I should have just stayed dead!

Before anything else could happen, the doors to the hall burst open. I turned my head and saw a large armored drone with boxes on its sides suddenly fly in. It flew up and moved towards Mary.

Cease all hostilities! Prepare to be detained!

Control's declaration was followed by a pair of nets being fired at Mary. She snarled and blasted the nets away with her magic.

"Irritating machine!" She said, dodging away from another pair of nets. "Don't think that I'm stupid enough to fall for this twice!"

Mary turned to me with a vicious smile.

"Try not to die, Leon." I shivered at her words, looking at her with wide eyes. "I want to be there to laugh at your face as you watch your Kingdom burn to the ground."

"Ta-ta!" She added, raising the Staff of the Saint before she vanished in a flash of light. All at once, our compulsion to remain kneeled disappeared. I was quickly enveloped by Angie and Clarice in an embrace.

Control's new drone hovered near us as several priests and the bishop cautiously peeked in from outside.

"Control, Mary did something to Leon." Angie told them worriedly while stroking my hair.

I assume that the Mary you refer to is the individual who has possessed Olivia's body?

"Yes. She said that she was going to Fanoss to make them help her get revenge on the Kingdom." Clarice added with a pained expression.

That is very alarming.

Alarming didn't even begin to describe what just happened!

Leon, you must calm down. Extended elevated heart rate may permanently cause damage.

"How can I possibly calm down, Control?!" I yelled out hysterically. "We may have just ruined everything!"

"Don't despair, Leon. We'll find a way." Clarice tried to reassure me as she cradled my head on her chest.

"How could you possibly know that?" I asked her helplessly.

What transpired for Leon to become this way?

"Before you arrived, Mary compelled Leon to doubt." Angie answered worriedly.

Specifically on what?

She hesitated before shaking her head. "She didn't specify."

That is even more concerning. For now, we must have Leon's head injury treated. I shall look into ways of helping him overcome the inflicted brainwashing.

Oh yeah! My head was still bleeding! No wonder I was getting dizzy!

That was my last thought before the adrenaline wore off and I blacked out.

…

When I woke back up, I was in my dorm room at the Academy. A regular sized drone was floating at my bedside. Other than that, I seemed to be alone.

"How long was I out?" I asked out, my throat hoarse.

A little over a day. Your head injury has already been attended to personally by the bishop of the Temple. They have agreed to keep the incident under wraps for now.

Yeah, that made sense. There would be a panic if people found out that the next Saint turned out to be a genocidal maniac bent on the complete destruction of the Kingdom.

I shall alert Yumeria to bring you food to aid in your recovery. Please hydrate in the meantime.

I looked at the jug of water and empty glass that Control indicated.

"Thanks." I said after drinking a glass of water. I sighed and looked at the drone. "So…Livia."

I apologize. I am somehow unable to track her after Mary teleported away.

Dammit! This was all my fault! I shook my head, remembering that what I was feeling was all Mary's fault. "Angie and Clarice?"

They are currently speaking to Princess Hertrude and Queen Mylene about the incident and potential threats that Mary represents if she makes contact with the Fanoss forces.

"God, this is all my fault." I groaned, slapping my forehead. "I should have left that fucking necklace alone."

If you had done so, then you and the others would have remained under Olivia's unintended brainwashing.

"That would have been better than this!" I yelled back before taking a deep breath. "I'm sorry, Control. I just…"

I understand. This is one of the many unknowns that we couldn't have anticipated. The solution of using the Saint Necklace was a speculative one to begin with.

And now, we had a vengeful ghost possessing one of my lovers who had the power to control people's minds and was in possession of three powerful magical artifacts.

You couldn't have said Final Boss any louder if your tried.

God, I might even be forced to kill Livia at this rate!

"Mary's messing with my head." I hissed while trying to shake off that horrible thought from my mind. "I can't think of anything except how badly anything can go."

I am aware. I am currently synthesizing medication that should help with your symptoms.

"You're going to give me medicine?" I asked in surprise. I had thought that we would have needed to get Mary to remove this from my head.

Your initial symptoms are consistent with acute anxiety. It may not actually be the case, but the medication should help with suppressing it until we can have Mary or Olivia to undo it.

"Thanks, Control." I said with a relieved smile. Sadly, the moment didn't last very long.

A warning alarm suddenly sounded from the drone, making me groan. "What now?"

I'm afraid that another emergency situation has transpired in Alzer.

"Is it Marie?" I immediately asked worriedly.

No, though I have already informed her and she is presently trying to call you.

"Patch her through." I sighed, might as well find out what this new mess is about. Control projected a very panicked looking Marie in her room.

"Leon! Something really bad just happened!" I sighed at her words, surprising my sister.

"What a coincidence, join the club." She looked at me worriedly before speaking.

"Oh god, what happened over there?" Marie asked and I shook my head, gesturing to herself.

"You first." I said and she immediately regained her panicked expression.

"Lelia handed Noelle to Loic on a silver platter when she went back to their apartment! What about you?!" I buried my face into my pillow and screamed at that news. After a few moments I put away the pillow and looked at Marie dead in the eyes.

"Anne wasn't actually Anne. It was actually the ghost of her crazy sister. She possessed Livia and is planning on linking up with Fanoss to destroy the Kingdom." I said, Marie repeating my action on her end. After a while, the two of us just stared at each other.

"I can't tell which one of us has it worse." She muttered.

"Does it matter?" I responded with a shrug.

"What do we do? If Serge finds out about what happened to Noelle, he'll go on a warpath." Marie started, the gears in her head obviously already spinning. "I sent out Julius and the others to keep him from doing anything stupid, but we're still stuck."

"I don't know." My words startled my sister.

"What?" I could hear the fear in her voice.

"Mary brainwashed me into doubting everything I have ever done and everything I can ever do." I explained and Marie became even more alarmed. "Until I can get the medicine that Control is making to suppress the effects, I'm pretty useless right now."

"Fuck." It was really the only way for Marie to express our current state.

I sighed and told her the first thing that came into my head. "Ask Louise for help. I know they're love rivals, but she should be able to put that aside if she knows what could be at stake."

"Yeah, better than nothing." Marie muttered before rubbing her temples. "God, why do we have to save the world? We were failures in life back on Earth."

I couldn't give Marie an answer.

…

"Thank you for your cooperation." Mary told the nice man who let her ride in his carriage after she asked him nicely. In truth, she could have teleported or flown to the airship port. She decided to take the scenic route to get used to her new body as well as properly sift through all the recent memories in her head.

She was disgusted that the incomplete version of herself had enthusiastically laid with Lea's descendant. Yet another reason for her to make Leon's death as slow and painful as possible. She didn't even want to think about the insurmountable lasciviousness of the girl who looked so much like her sister. She felt dirty for even having to possess the girl.

More importantly, she had learned the full strength of Leon and his allies. They were formidable and Mary would have had a genuinely difficult time overcoming them.

Thankfully, the lunatics in Fanoss had the perfect solution for her problem ripe for the taking. Controlling their armies and monsters along the way would also be a nice bonus as well.

Compelling the crew of a luxury airship was trivially easy for Mary and she stood in the bridge as the Captain and crew awaited her command.

"Where to, ma'am?" The Captain asked. Mary smiled as everything started to finally come together in her mind. After so long, she would finally have her vengeance for the betrayal of the ones she had thought were her friends and allies.

Anne was destined to rule everything with Mary at her side!

They would all pay for tricking Anne into marrying Lea, into giving him children, into making her lesser than what she should have been!

"The Principality of Fanoss, if you would."

Mary couldn't wait.

 

[Blackraptor]

Olivia grunted as she struggled against the chains wrapped all over her body. She understood that this was all in her head, but she had so far been unable to make her restraints disappear. She didn't know how long she had been trapped in her own mind, Mary made sure that she remained unaware of what was going on beyond her chains. She still had a trump card that she could use, but she needed to be careful with how she deployed it. Thankfully, the one she was preparing for decided to just walk right up to her.

Mary strutted up to her with a satisfied smile. Before she could say anything, Olivia made her move. Black Getter F quickly manifested before the two of them and reached out to Mary. Instead of being caught by surprise like the fragment of her in the bracelet, she simply raised an eyebrow and snapped her fingers. Olivia looked at her in shock as the mental manifestation of her precious Black Bunny was reduced to dispersing motes of white light.

"Sorry, child." Mary says with satisfaction. "This mind doesn't belong to you anymore."

Olivia scowled at her, but Mary simply manifested a chair and sat in front of her. She silently wondered if Mary and Anne were twins, since she was still using Olivia's face even in her mind.

"You look almost exactly like Anne, aside from a different shade of color in your eyes. A shame that you share her poor taste in lovers." Mary started, completely unprompted. "Still, you are much more gullible than she was."

"I mean, truly? You trust the story of some strange ghost in an ancient relic without verifying their story? Helped her gather everything she needed to become even more powerful than she already was? It certainly made my first steps to revenge much easier."

Wow, Mary really enjoyed listening to herself talk.

"Your precious Leon even put himself on a silver platter for me." Mary smiled sweetly at Olivia. "I hated his conviction so I gave him a command to doubt everything. It should be fun to see him after a while when his mind fully unravels from the strain."

"But you must be wondering where this is all going, yes? Well, we are currently headed to the Principality of Fanoss." Olivia furrowed her brows, wondering why Mary was bothering to tell her all this. "Once I gain control of their armies, monsters, and Dragon God, I will bring it all to bear upon Holfort. Everything will burn until there is nothing left but ash and blood."

Mary then leaned forward and patted Olivia on the head. "And it will all be your fault, little Olivia."

Olivia's gut clenched with how Mary said her name.

"It can't all have been lies, Mary." Olivia stated, surprising Mary. The other woman recovered quickly and slapped Olivia for talking back to her. Instead of looking hurt, she just smiled at Mary. "I heard every word you said whenever Leon held you in his arms, every time you made love to him, every time you just wanted him to spoil you, every single time you told him that you love him. All of that was real."

Mary's earlier confidence went up in a flame of sheer anger with Olivia's words. She yelped as the furious woman reached out and roughly pulled her closer by the hair. "That was just my defective, incomplete self that did that! You should try to have your soul be forcefully ripped apart and see if you retain your true self without all the parts!"

"It disgusts me even now that I would have ever wanted to be with Lea's descendant! All of it was just because I confused myself for my sister! That was all it was!" Mary screamed, but Olivia was unfazed at her rant.

Olivia looked at her tormentor dead in the eye "So even an incomplete, half-remembering version of you still acknowledges that Anne loved Lea with all her heart. No one forced anyone to do anything against their will, Mary. No one betrayed anyone. All of it has just been in your own head."

Mary let go of her hair and sneered.

"I will enjoy showing you Leon's dying body." She said, barely keeping her temper in check. "He no longer has his edge and he will falter at the most important moment."

"Leon is already above things as silly as doubt and indecisiveness." Olivia confidently declared, making Mary snarl. "Even if he somehow isn't able to handle it by himself, he's not like you. He isn't alone."

Mary suddenly stood up and looked like she wanted to kill Olivia. Instead, she spat on Olivia's face. "I guess we'll see, won't we?"

"You will." Olivia said with a threatening smile, making Mary furiously stomp away from her.

Olivia was starting to understand why Marie always riled up people she didn't like.

…

Noelle Zel Lespinasse cried out in pain as Loic Leta Barielle pulled her along the hallways of his family estate. The magic collar around her neck formed a chain of energy that led to that bastard's hand. Try as she might, she didn't have a choice but to obey him.

Despite all that, it was Lelia's betrayal that hurt her the most.

"Here we are." Loic declared as he pulled her into a lavishly decorated bedroom. Noelle's mind immediately went to countless horrible things that could happen to her there. Her tormentor noticed her face and snorted. "As much as I want to start your training as my pet, father insisted that you remain pure for our wedding and the subsequent ceremony for you to officially become the Sacred Tree Priestess."

"You're not the Guardian." Noelle's back talk earned her a slap on the face that left her sprawled on the floor.

"Father told me to keep your chastity intact, but he never said anything about the rest of you." Loic coldly stated, making Noelle shiver in fear. "Don't test me, Noelle. I might just decide to break you anyway."

Noelle grit her teeth and glared at Loic as tears welled up in her eyes.

"That's a good look for you." Loic happily stated as the chain that connected her collar to him disappeared. "Better get used to looking up at me, Noelle."

She made sure not to give him the satisfaction of watching her cry. After Loic left the room and locked the door, Noelle crawled her way to the bed and curled up in a fetal position and started sobbing.

Miss Noelle.

"Aaaaahhhh!" Despair gave way to shock and fear as Control's drone suddenly became visible in front of her. She blinked a few times and calmed down, reaching out to check if what she was seeing was actually real. "Control?"

Yes. I apologize for not making my presence known until now. Secrecy is paramount for me to be able to monitor your condition.

"How long have you been around me?" She asked, pulling the drone into her arms.

Since you disembarked the Nagare.

Noelle very nearly threw Control at the wall. "Then why didn't you do anything when Loic collared me?!"

Because this drone does not have any meaningful offensive or defensive capabilities. It is primarily for surveillance. The risk of failure in a rescue attempt was unacceptable.

Noelle grumbled, but did not refute Control. She did release the drone from her grasp in case she suddenly felt like throwing it.

If your sister and Loic would have been able to disable this platform, then I would not be speaking to you right now.

"Then you're here to make sure I'm okay?" Control bobbed up and down in the air. Noelle assumed that control was nodding at her.

As well as keeping everyone informed as to where you presently are.

That made Noelle blink. "Everyone?"

I have already informed Marie and Leon of what happened to you. Unfortunately, a separate crisis is currently developing in Holfort, we cannot rely on Leon or the others there for immediate assistance.

"But Marie knows?" Control bobbed up and down in another nod. "What about Serge?"

Prince Julius and the others are presently making sure that he does not, to quote Marie, go on a warpath after he found out about your predicament.

Somehow, that warmed Noelle's heart despite everything. After a moment, she reached up to touch the accursed thing around her neck. "Can you do anything about this collar?"

I can.

Noelle's face suddenly lit up in a smile.

However, we presently have no means to rescue you safely. Breaking the collar would only alert your captors that there is foul play.

She slumped at the rest of Control's words. "So I have to keep this on me?"

Sadly, we must maintain the illusion that they are in control of the situation and that nothing is being done to undermine their efforts. Rest assured that this is not actually the case.

"Dammit." Noelle sulked until she realized something. She looked at Control. "Can I talk to Marie?"

That service, I can indeed provide.

Noelle sighed in relief at that.

…

Julius Rapha Holfort idly wondered if Leon ever had to do something like he currently was at the moment. The crown prince of Holfort certainly never expected to be body blocking one of his friends to keep him from charging at his own father. Thankfully, his other trusted friends were also there to help him.

"I don't give a shit that you can't do anything!" Julius smiled at Serge's words. He almost wished that he had the courage to speak that way to his own father. "Just lend me an Armor so I can go to the Barielle estate myself! I just want to talk to Loic for a bit!"

"If you appear in front of the home of one of the Great Houses, then you risk making the situation even worse!" Albergue yelled back in clear exasperation.

"That fucker Loic kidnapped Noelle!" Serge shot back in fury. Julius looked around and noticed that Louise was near the doorway pinching the bridge of her nose.

"We have no proof!" Albergue's words made Serge pause and grit his teeth. At least he wasn't trying to physically charge at his father. Julius and his friends looked at each other and slowly let Serge go. Thankfully, their friend seemed to have calmed down somewhat.

"Actually, we kinda do?" Brad suddenly said, making everyone pause and look at him.

"We do?" Julius asked in wonder.

"We do?!" Serge echoed as he grabbed Brad by the collar.

"Well, I mean Control was there when it happened, right?" Brad quickly stated. "Doesn't that mean that they saw everything?"

That made everyone look at each other. Serge let Brad go and patted down his shirt.

"Sorry man." He apologized and got a smile in return.

"I get it, Serge." Serge nodded at Brad's response and took a deep breath.

The moment was interrupted when Albergue spoke up. "You want the Lost Item to testify?"

"He means that Control may have recorded the whole kidnapping." Louise smoothly inserted herself into the conversation and walked up to Serge's side. "Something as advanced as Control should have been able to capture everything on video in perfect clarity and even with audio."

"Would we be able to use that as proof?" Jilk asked as everyone turned back to Albergue for confirmation. His grimace did not inspire their confidence.

"We could, but that would cause another set of problems." Albergue said, clearly thinking the whole scenario through.

"What problems?! We probably have Loic red handed!" Julius and the others nodded at Greg's exclamation. If they could show everyone what happened, it would clearly display hostile intent towards the Priestess of the Sacred Tree. Their Great Houses surely would have been forced to act.

"The ceremony." Louise suddenly picked up the conversation while rubbing her temple.

"What about it?" Serge's sister and father looked at each other before turning back to him.

"Think, child." Albergue stated, irritating Serge with how he spoke. "The ceremony concludes with the Guardian and Priestess demonstrating their control over the Sacred Tree."

"Oh no." Ever quick on the uptake, Chris seemed to have figured something out.

"What is it?" Julius asked his friend. Chris sighed and shook his head.

"Not only are the Guardians of the Sacred Tree from a foreign country," Chris gestured to himself, Julius, Brad, Greg, and Jilk in turn. "But Noelle is not the Priestess of the Alzer Sacred Tree, and neither are we its Guardians."

Of course! They were all bonded to the sapling and not the fully grown tree!

"Exactly," Albergue picked up the conversation. "In addition, carelessly revealing this without ascertaining which houses are aligned with the Barielle House could end poorly."

Julius couldn't help but click his tongue. Even here, under dire circumstances, factions and self interests of the nobility got in the way.

"Thanks for reminding me how much I hate politics, dad." Serge flatly stated, earning a raised brow from his father.

"So what are our options, Chairman?" Julius asked on behalf of everyone.

"We already have irrefutable proof, if the Lost Item truly has a recording of Loic kidnapping the priestess." Albergue quickly stated, seemingly already considering the possibilities. "The issue will be using it in a way that wouldn't result in a civil war."

"I do not comprehend why you hold such affection to Noelle," Albergue suddenly said to Serge, making their friend blush and look away. "But I will not allow your passions for her to cost the lives of innocent people."

"Fuck." Serge muttered, his embarrassment forgotten. Julius smiled when he saw Louise reach out to hold Serge's hand, surprising both him and their father.

"We will find a way." Louise softly stated to everyone's surprise. "We have most of the needed pieces, we just need to find the perfect way to use them."

That was quite the surprise. It was not a secret that Louise disliked Noelle, even before both of them became romantically interested in Serge. For her to be so supportive in rescuing Noelle spoke volumes. From the way Serge was looking at his sister, he knew this as well.

"Whatever you need me to do, I'm in." Serge firmly stated to his father, his hand still holding on to Louise's.

"Then I will require both you and Louise." Albergue stated before turning to Julius and the others. "Thank you for your constant support, Prince Julius. And to you others as well."

…

Serge gave all five of his dear friends a hug goodbye before they got a ride back to Marie. He went back inside to his father and sister. Surprisingly, his father was smiling at him.

"Treasure their friendship with you, Serge." He blinked at his father's tone.

"Huh?" Was all he could say, blushing when Louise giggled at him.

"Holfort is under constant monster attacks and is at the verge of war with Fanoss." Albergue pointed out, making Serge's eyes widen. "Despite that, the crown prince and the heirs of their own great houses are here standing at your side."

"Dammit." Serge covered his face with his hand but couldn't quite hide his red face or his smile from his family.

"Should everything workout, I daresay the Kingdom and the Republic will have an unbreakable bond." Albergue stated in full confidence, earning a sigh from Louise.

"Please don't jinx it, father."

…

"Almost there." Lelia Zel Lespinasse muttered as she navigated the inner workings of the Sacred Tree's dungeon. The soldiers that Loic lent to her have all died by either monster or trap. Honestly, he could have given her some more competent soldiers. She swore to get him back for that.

"This doesn't look right." Lelia muttered as she inspected the pure blue futuristic door in front of her. Her memories from the game told her that this should have been an airlock with a different color. Were her memories from the guide for the endgame already that deteriorated?
To her surprise, the door suddenly slid open with a hiss without any input from her. The hallway within was illuminated by lights from the ceiling. Without much else to go on, Lelia took a breath and entered. It didn't take long for her to realize that she was being led to somewhere. By what or who though?

"This is very different from the event." Lelia noted as she was led through hallway after hallway. She was curious about some of the other inactive sliding doors around her, but erred on the side of caution. Eventually, she ended up in front of a large pair of double doors that had a screen display on it. She flinched when the display suddenly lit up with words.

Words that cycled through different languages. Languages that she recognized. They were languages from Earth!

"Wait! I can understand Japanese!" Lelia exclaimed and the display immediately showed her a sentence in the native language of her old life.

SAPLING MUST BE DESTROYED

"Sapling?" Lelia muttered, her eyes widening. "What sapling?"

THREAT

"I don't understand! Explain it better!"

YOU ARE WORTHY

Lelia groaned when the screen didn't answer her question and just said something else. "Worthy of what?!"

PRIESTESS

"What? Noelle is the priestess!" Lelia yelled out, slamming her hands on the sides of the display.

FALSE

False? Noelle was not the priestess? But she had the crest! She made sure to double check before Loic took her to his manor! That got Lelia's alarm bells ringing immediately. "Either way, I'm not qualified to be the Sacred Tree Priestess!"

YOU ARE WORTHY

Why was it so certain of that?

"Are you…the Sacred Tree?" Lelia finally asked.

YES

"Bullshit." She challenged while crossing her arms. This whole sequence of events was nothing like the one she went through to get the cheat item for this game. "Is this some sort of trap?"

NO

Lelia hummed. Even through an unfeeling screen, she could feel the desperation. Sacred Tree or otherwise. Then again, she couldn't let herself come away empty handed. Loic was the correct choice to control Noelle, but he was crazy. If he ever tried to threaten her way of life, she needed a way to counter what he could bring to bear.

BECOME PRIESTESS

ACCEPT?

"Fine, I accept." As soon as she said that, the display went dark and the large doors opened. Lelia cautiously entered into what seemed like a giant warehouse. The lights from the hallway was her only real illumination but she noted the roots and vines of the Sacred Tree were all over the walls and floor. Suddenly, the lights inside came on and she couldn't help but gasp.

There was something in the center of the room.

It was a massive robot, or what looked to be the wreck of one. Lelia could see that there was only the upper half of it left. It was far larger than any Armor she had ever seen. The sheer size reminded her of the robots of Sentai shows from when she was a kid. It was primarily red with bits of white and what looked to be green glass or crystal. The shape of it was what she would describe as bulbous, especially the shoulders. Only the right arm was intact and the massive forearm had scary looking blades connected to it.

The most fearsome part of it was the head. It was mainly colored red with what looked like drills for ears and two straight horns that stuck at diagonally from the sides. Its yellow eyes looked disturbingly empty. Maddeningly, a stray thought made Lelia think that the monstrosity looked kind of like a red rabbit.

The same vines and roots were also all over the robot, some of them even going into the cracks and open areas of it.

"What the hell is this thing?" Lelia asked and a nearby display lit up, she turned to it and read something that made her giddy.

ORIGINATOR OF POWER

SOURCE OF EVOLUTION

SHIN GETTER ROBO

Lelia started howling in laughter.

 

[Blackraptor]

Mylene Rapha Holfort sat beside her dear Leon as he explained to her what happened at the Temple and what was done to him. They were in her private office as Leon wanted to talk to her about the situation personally, something that was very touching for her. She had already heard most of it from Angie and Clarice, but to hear the events from the man she loved made everything just that more heartbreaking.

"And then she vanished in a flash of light while I'm left in this state." She held Leon's hands tightly as he spoke. Mylene had only heard Leon sound this helpless once before, when he told her what happened to the Broken Kin Elves. Leon lowered his head and looked down at the floor in defeat. Mylene turned and looked at Angie and Clarice. Both of Leon's fiancées sat across them in a separate couch as a show of support. Mylene could see in their eyes how much they wanted to just walk up and hold him in their arms. She decided to do so on their behalf.

"And this command that Mary inflicted upon you," Mylene slowly broached the subject as she held her love in her arms, making Leon flinch. "How has it been affecting you?"

Leon looked up at her and made a complicated expression. "Right now, it's making me think how much of a mistake being with you actually is."

His words instantly made her feel like stomach was sinking and her face became pale. Leon realized what he just said and shook his head, placing both of his hands on her cheeks.

"And I know that it's not a mistake!" He quickly stated, making Mylene feel like her heart was going crazy. "I know that I love you and I want to be with you, even have children with you one day in the future."

That made Mylene smile and nod. He still loved her. He did.

"But now there's always this fucking voice in my head that keeps telling me about how all this can come crashing down. How I'm a step away from ruining your life, your credibility with the Kingdom, and your relationship with your family." Leon continued, pressing his forehead against hers and closing his eyes.

Leon took a shuddering breath and pulled away from her, looking at Angie and Clarice with a similar pained expression. "And the same thing keeps happening to me whenever I look at anyone else."

"Control has already told me that I can't pilot Black Getter like this without their treatment." Leon continued, not resisting Mylene pulling his head into her bosom. "It's too dangerous for me to doubt what I do in the cockpit."

"Yes, Control said that they are working on a cure, right?" Mylene asked, remembering something that Angie told her about the situation.

"Not really a cure, more like something to keep the voice down." Leon clarified, his voice slightly muffled. A suppressant then? "The only real way to get rid of this is to have either Mary or Livia remove the command from my head."

"God, I feel like a weakling." She held him closer to her when he said that. This sort of thinking couldn't go on forever. It was slowly breaking him down bit by bit. Was this what Mary was aiming to accomplish?

"Leon, my love." Mylene whispered, making him look up at her. "Do you doubt that I love you?"

"Never." She felt herself blush when he said that without any hesitation. Her brows furrowed from what he said next. "What I doubt is whether or not I should love you, or Angie, or Clarice, or Livia. What I doubt is whether or not your love for me is actually the best choice for you."

So that was how it worked. Mylene looked at Angie and Clarice and beckoned them to come closer.

"Leon, you are the one who believed in us even when we didn't have anyone else. You gave us your heart freely and that means more than we could possibly express." She began as she gave his other two lovers enough space to embrace him as well.

"If you currently cannot believe in yourself, then believe in us instead." Clarice picked up the conversation, the three of them thinking the same thing. "Lean on us and know that we will prop you up as you have done so for us before."

"Do you still…believe in us?" Angie hesitantly asked. Leon looked at the three of them and closed his eyes.

"I want to." Mylene couldn't really help but kiss him after that declaration.

She pulled Angie and Clarice aside as they were about to leave her office. "Please watch over him."

"We will, your Majesty." They said in unison. She waved goodbye to the three of them and watched as they walked side-by-side. That Mylene could not do the same yet made her heart ache.

Sometime later, she walked through the palace halls, intent on reaching a specific destination. One that she normally didn't go to voluntarily. Mylene understood that she didn't have the means to deal with the one who did this to her beloved, especially since they are effectively holding Livia hostage. There was also the fact that they were planning on using Fanoss' planned invasion for their own ends. Ultimately, this even went beyond her love for Leon. She may have not been born in Holfort, but Mylene was willing to do just about anything to protect it.

She stopped before an obnoxiously decorated set of double doors that had two armored knights guarding it. Mylene nodded to them and they gave her a salute in return. She took a deep breath and went inside without knocking.

"Hm?" Roland Rapha Holfort looked up from the document he was reading and raised an eyebrow at his wife's unexpected visit. He was not at his desk, instead opting to sit on one of the couches in the room. "I know that face. What do you want, Mylene?"

She repressed her irritation at the way her husband spoke to her. At least he wasn't in the middle of being serviced by one of his mistresses, not that she had any room to complain anymore.

"You're aware that the Principality has mustered its military to attack the Kingdom at any moment, yes?" Mylene asked from the doorway. She frowned at her husband when he rolled his eyes at her.

"It's all anyone ever wants to talk about anymore." Roland complained, gesturing to the paperwork littering the table in front of him. Mylene closed the door and stepped closer, reading one of the reports that the defense minister had been sending to them both. "Of course they're preparing for war. I don't need to hear it every single day."

"Don't you care?" Mylene asked with a frown.

"Don't you?" Roland returned the question, making her grit her teeth. Mylene knew what he wanted from her. It was always what he wanted for quite a while now, ever since she displayed her aptitude in rulership.

He was challenging her. Lucky for him that she didn't really care what he thought of her anymore. It wasn't his opinion that was important to her. She held a bit of satisfaction when she saw his eyes widen in surprise. Of course he did, since Mylene went down on her knees and kowtowed before him.

"Your majesty, King Roland Rapha Holfort, the strongest Adventurer of the Kingdom." Mylene formally said from the floor. She didn't even need to look up to know what kind of face her husband was showing at that moment. "Our country is besieged and is at the verge of war. I implore you, as your Queen, please save us from this crisis. Deliver us, your subjects, from utter destruction."

At first, there was silence.

Then, laughter. Sickening laughter.

"FINALLY!" Roland bellowed triumphantly. "Acceptance! At long last!"

"Please forgive my failure, King Roland." Mylene continued, the words tasting like bile in her mouth. She ignored it and continued. "Despite my efforts, war is at our doorstep. Only you can save us now."

She felt Roland's hands on her arms as he inelegantly pulled her up. "On your feet, my Queen."

"Fear not, I shall valiantly lead our Kingdom to victory. I am glad that you have finally recognized my greatness!" Mylene gave her husband a fake smile and bowed at his declaration.

"Thank you, your Majesty." Before anything else could happen, he bodily turned her around and pointed at the door.

"Leave me!" He grandly stated. "I will need privacy to draft the letters that will call our greatest subjects to arms!"

"Of course, King Roland." Mylene said as she quickly walked to the door. His joyous laughter followed her out of his office. Mylene's footsteps became faster and faster, wanting to be as far away from that man as she could. It eventually led her to an empty hallway. For a few moments, she just looked out the window to the city below.

"Mother?" The familiar voice brought her back to her senses. When she looked around, she found her two younger children walking up to her. Erica Rapha Holfort got to her first, as she was the one who called out to her. She was a beautiful young girl, her long black hair framing her face.

"What's wrong? Who did this to you?" Jake Rapha Holfort asked, looking her over with his sharp eyes. His blonde hair bobbing up and down as he fussed over Mylene. Despite not being his birth mother, it warmed Mylene's heart that Jake loved her as his real mother.

"Shouldn't you two be with your tutors?" She asked instead, pulling both of her children into a hug. "You're both going to be starting at the Academy next year."

"We're on break, mother." Erica smoothly explained even while Jake grumbled at being hugged. "Dear brother pointed out to our tutor that overworking our minds would not result in competency in the subject they were teaching."

Mylene heard her stepson snort. "Dear brother has a name, Erica. How many times do I need to tell you that?"

"Apologies, dear brother." Erica responded, her smile showing that she was teasing her brother. She then looked at Mylene with a look that was far too serious to belong on a face so young. "Is it because of the Principality?"

"Julius should be here, instead of galavanting in a foreign country with his friends and lover." Jake complained, looking away in frustration. "We are at the verge of war and he isn't here to protect the Kingdom he will one day rule."

Mylene smiled at her children. "Yes, it is partially because of the Principality. Jake, you know that what Julius is doing is also important. He would be here if he could."

Erica ignored her brother's grumblings and smiled at her mother. "On another subject, when will dear brother and I be introduced to your secret paramour?"

Mylene's thoughts screeched to a halt and her smile froze on her face.

What did her daughter just ask?

"Mother is not like father, Erica." Jake suddenly said with a roll of his eyes. "She actually has tact."

What?

"Wait…you both know?" Mylene slowly asked them. Her two children looked at each other and shrugged.

"Well, we don't know specifically who it is but Julius has hinted it to us a few times." Erica explained while Jake nodded along.

"Besides, it was impossible for us not to notice how happy you have become in the past few months." Her son added with a smirk, making her blush.

"And you two are unbothered by it?" She slowly asked her children. They both looked at her like she said something strange.

"Why would we be bothered that someone is making you happy?" Erica's question stunned her.

"Julius approves of him, whoever he is. That counts for something." Jake's statement made her smile.

Mylene reached out and held their hands. "Would the two of you like to meet him?"

"Sure." They both answered with a shrug, making Mylene giggle.

"Then I shall arrange something in the future." Her children's acceptance of her new love just motivated her to see this crisis through and get Leon back to normal.

…

"Obey." Mary said as the guards who tried to intercept her suddenly stopped in their tracks. "Take me to your leader."

It was laughably trivial for her to arrive at the central command of the Fanoss military. Bending them to her will went so smoothly that all she had to do was ask people to talk to her. Dressed in the way she was and having the Relics of the Saint on her person had a way of making people take notice and want her attention. Soon enough, people couldn't help but become her admirers. It expanded from there.

She was escorted to a room with several old men sitting around a large table. It seemed like they were in the middle of discussing something.

"Who dares?!" A particularly angry man, wearing black armor with just the worst hair and a large cross shaped scar on his head, stood up from the end of the table. The rest of them followed his example and looked ready to attack her.

"I am the Saintess of Holfort." The declaration made all of them pause. "I am here to take over your little invasion."

"You think that a child like you has what it takes to order us around?!" One of the other old men snarled at her. Even after all this time, men just couldn't help but bluster.

"Obey." That shut them all up. "Sit."

The old men obeyed, like the good dogs they were.

"Now then, what exactly were you all discussing?" Mary asked, taking the seat at the head of the table after making the one with the ugly hair give up his chair for her. She quickly learned that his name was Vandel, Fanoss' Supreme Commander and effectively now the ruler of the Principality.

More importantly, she found out that they were in their final preparations for their invasion. That made Mary smile with how convenient their timing was for her. They continued talking until they started discussing the Dragon God. It seemed that Vandel was going to wield it directly during the invasion.

"And where is the Dragon God?" Mary asked excitedly.

"It is in storage outside the city." Vandel answered with a serious nod.

"Take me there." Mary commanded, standing up. Before she and Vandel left, she turned back to the other old men. "The rest of you, prepare your armies and your strategies. Declare war upon Holfort and let the rest of the world watch as I break the Kingdom over my knee."

"Yes, Saintess!" Good dogs.

The ones guarding the Dragon God sent her questioning looks but knew better than to voice them, especially with their so-called Black Knight personally escorting her. When she finally beheld it, Mary couldn't help but laugh.

It was utterly massive, even taller than most structures. The Armors she had seen during the trip to Fanoss, along with the memories of Olivia and her fragmented self, made it obvious that nothing else came close. Even the Armors called Getter Robo that Leon and that other girl used would be dwarfed by this.

Getter Robo D2, the irritating machine called this. Mary clearly had the superior Armor.

"How will you use it?" She asked Vandel. He gestured for her to follow him to a floating platform that rose up to the Dragon God's head. The mouth part opened and they both went inside.

"Who is this?" Mary asked, pointing at the familiar looking black haired girl that was strapped to the back of the small room in the Dragon God's mouth.

"Hertrauda Sera Fanoss." Vandel answered, the name sparking a memory in Mary's mind. So this was the renegade princess' twin sister.

"Why is she here?" She followed up, poking the unresponsive girl with her staff.

"Her consciousness is somehow still inside the Dragon God." Vandel explained, looking up at the girl. "We have found that using her here makes controlling it easier for me."

Mary turned to the chair that had several levers around it. "And this is where you will sit?"

"Yes." Mary hummed at the response, looking around and finding a lot of room inside.

"Well, I hope that you don't mind me joining you here when the invasion begins." She sweetly said. She traced a gloved hand along one of the levers. "I should be able to supplement this wonderful toy with my own magic."

"That would be appreciated, Saintess." Vandel stated with a nod, making her smile.

"Good dog."

Mary could taste her vengeance already.

…

"The key is balance." Marie lectured to Noelle. They were once again speaking via Control's drones at night. "Don't overplay your helplessness or he'll strangely get bored of you or become suspicious of your reactions. Give some token resistance, but make it look like you are mostly docile to them."

"Should I be worried that you know how to do all this?" Noelle asked, uncomfortable that Marie seemed so knowledgeable on how to act in front of abusive men.

"Do you really want an answer to that?" Marie's flat tone and expression made Noelle wince.

"I'm sorry." Noelle's apology just earned her a roll of Marie's eyes.

"I'm not the one who was kidnapped and has a magic dog collar around her neck." She pointed out to the still captive girl.

The lull in their conversation made Noelle ask something gnawing in her mind. "I'm gonna get rescued, right?"

"That's what everyone is working on. Serge's dad just wants to make sure that what we end up doing doesn't make everything worse after." Marie answered, her voice becoming much softer. "Believe me, if we had our way, you'd already be back here complaining about what happened while Serge and the others finished burning down Loic's house."

"Thanks, Marie." Noelle said with a small smile.

"Not gonna ask about your sister?" Marie suddenly brought up, bringing down any good cheer that Noelle was feeling.

"Do I really want an answer to that?" Noelle's question was met with silence.

"Do you still love her?" Marie somberly asked instead. Noelle's silence irritated her.

"She doesn't deserve it." Marie spat out, surprising her friend. "Forget that bitch."

"She's my sister." Noelle stated in a shaking voice.

"And you're supposed to be hers! But look at what she still did!" She was startled at the ferocity in Marie's voice. "That piece of shit doesn't deserve to be called your family!"

"Marie." Noelle called out in worry.

Marie took a deep breath and looked away. "We'll end here for today."

Noelle looked like she still had something she wanted to say, but ended up nodding instead. "Goodnight, Marie. Thanks."

Marie took a calming breath after the call ended.

Do you wish to speak with Leon?

"Not tonight, Control." Marie tiredly answered, mentally drained by the end of her talk with Noelle.

Do you wish to speak with Julius or any of the others?

"Has anyone ever told you that you can be too nosy?" Marie asked Control irritably.

Not as of yet.

"You're being too nosy." Marie more firmly stated.

Noted.

 

[Blackraptor]

Noelle Zel Lespinasse fiddled with the red gloves she was wearing as Loic led her through the school entrance, not by the leash thankfully. She knew that she had to cover the Priestess crest, but the fact that it was Loic who provided her with the gloves made them feel more uncomfortable than they really should have. She noticed some students looking at them and pointing. Noelle grimaced at imagining what the rumor mill will turn this all into by the end of the week.

"Noelle!" Her heart skipped a beat at the very familiar voice. She turned and saw Serge stomping towards them. Noelle was about to walk up to greet him when Loic suddenly wrapped his arm around her and pulled her against him. She saw Serge's furious expression. "Get your filthy hands off her, Loic!"

"That's no way to greet your peer, Serge." Tears pooled in Noelle's eyes as Loic started openly groping her chest in front of everyone. The action felt painful and disgusting. She shut her eyes when she heard people around them gasping, knowing that everyone could see them. Loic ignored her discomfort and Serge's body language, continuing to talk. "Especially one who you will be working under once the Barielle house takes over the chairmanship of the Great Houses."

"Loic, you sick fuck!" Noelle frantically shook her head when Serge looked like he was about to attack Loic. He gave her an anguished look that broke her heart. "Noelle."

"Now, if you'll excuse us, we have classes to get to." Loic confidently declared before physically pushing Noelle towards the school building. He paused and looked back at the still fuming Serge. "Talk to your dad later. He should have something important to talk to you about."

Noelle morosely walked into her classroom with a sigh, the collar around her neck feeling heavy. She was thankful that Loic was in a different class, but it was just a temporary reprieve from the hell she had been thrown into. She looked around and saw that both Marie and Jean were in her class and were talking to each other. They saw her approach and she nearly flinched when their eyes wandered down to the collar around her neck.

"Noelle!" Jean exclaimed as he walked up to her and held both her hands. He briefly looked down at the gloves she was wearing before shaking his head and leading her to the seat next to his and Marie's. "Where have you been? I haven't seen you or your sister at the apartment these past few days."

Lelia hadn't been home either? Why?

"Like I was telling you, Jean. Noelle and Lelia just have some family things that they need to deal with, right?" Marie smoothly gave her an out, looking at Noelle meaningfully. She bit her lip and gave Jean the best smile that she could.

"Yeah. Nothing big to worry yourself over, Jean. Things will be back to normal soon, I promise." Nolle played along, the words tasting like ash in her mouth as she lied to her best friend's face.

"Well, if you say so." The way Jean looked so relieved broke Noelle's heart.

When lunch time came along, Jean excused himself to eat with his girlfriend. Noelle gave him a smile and a wave, turning back to Marie and saw her flat expression. Loic had already told her what his family's plan was so she had an idea why Marie looked so displeased.

"An invitation letter arrived at the manor we're staying at yesterday evening. It was addressed to Julius and the others, something about an engagement party between you and Loic." Marie said, confirming her fears. Noelle swallowed the lump in her throat and gave Marie a hollow smile.

"The esteemed Barielle house would like to extend an invitation to Prince Julius and the other Noble Heirs of Holfort to celebrate my engagement to Sir Loic. You are also invited as the prince's guest." She woodenly repeated the spiel that Loic commanded her to give to Marie or the others if any of them ever brought the subject up. Marie's frown deepened at her words.

"So that's what their play is." Marie muttered, looking thoughtful. Noelle looked down at her lavish lunch that the Barielle cooking staff prepared for her but didn't feel hungry at all.

"I hate this, Marie." She muttered bitterly to her friend.

"Right there with you, Noelle." Marie answered with equal frustration.

Noelle excused herself after a while, wanting some fresh air. She was thankful that Marie let her go without complaint. What she didn't expect was running into her sister, especially since Jean mentioned that she hadn't been at their home. She suddenly felt hurt and conflicted upon seeing Lelia, but then realized that her sister hadn't even noticed her yet. Lelia was looking down on the floor distractedly and had bags under her eyes. What happened to her?

Before Noelle could speak out, Lelia finally looked up and saw her. She flinched at her sister's gaze but was surprised when Lelia just kept on just staring at her. Noelle took a deep breath and gathered the courage to walk up to her sister. Thousands of things ran through Noelle's head, so many things she had wanted to say to the person who betrayed her, but all she could manage was a weak smile and a wave.

"Hey, Lelia. Is something wrong?" Noelle asked, mentally berating herself for not saying what she truly wanted to.

Lelia suddenly smiled at Noelle, the kind of smile she had whenever she was about to make fun of her. Her sister raised her hands, Noelle finally noticing the white gloves she was wearing. Alarm bells suddenly rang out in her head and her entire body was screaming at her to get away from her sister.

Before she could do anything, Lelia partially pulled down off of her gloves to confirm Noelle's worst fear. It was an identical crest to the one she had. Her breath caught in her throat while her sister just chuckled at her.

"Even when everything is given to you on a silver platter, you still can't do anything right." Noelle was frozen by Lelia's words. Even when her sister walked away in a slouch, she still couldn't bring herself to move.

Lelia was also a Priestess?

There was only one conclusion she could come to. Her sister had somehow managed to become the Alzer Sacred Tree's Priestess, the very tree that wanted her sapling dead. She stiffly walked back to her classroom, ignoring Jean and Marie as her thoughts swam from the revelation.

She could only wonder why her sister hated her so much to even do such a thing.

…

Serge Sara Rault grumbled irritably as he and his family stood amongst the other guests that the Barielle house invited. It was mostly members of the other great houses, but there were also a few out of shape military officers and prominent business men present along with their own companions. He stiffened when he felt Louise give his hand a gentle squeeze. He looked at his sister and she gave him a sympathetic smile.

"Remember what we talked about, Serge." Serge rolled his eyes at his father's words. Albergue ignored his reaction and kept talking, much to his irritation. "Noelle's safety can very well be on the line depending on your behavior here. We cannot afford any outbursts from you."

"I know." He responded through gritted teeth.

"We'll get Noelle back, Serge. We just have to bide our time." Louise said at his side.

"I know." He responded to her in a calmer tone. Albergue stared at them for a while but didn't really comment.

"Louise, keep an eye on him. I'll talk to the other house heads and get a feel of where they're at." Albergue whispered to them instead before walking off to where one of the house heads, Fernand Tola Druille, was talking to some other people Serge didn't recognize.

"Of course." Louise stated. After a few moments, Serge was startled when Louise made a disgusted sound and once again reached for his hand. He looked in the direction where she was glaring at and saw Hugh Tola Druille walking up to them with a smile. He was a man their age with shoulder length blonde hair and green eyes.

"Hello Serge, Louise." He greeted them both, Serge protectively stepped between the blonde man and his sister. Hugh raised an eyebrow at the gesture but chose not to talk about it.

"Hugh, I'm surprised that you can even remember your fiancée's name with how nonexistent you've been in her life." He didn't bother keeping the displeasure in his voice from seeping out. Hugh just shrugged and continued to smile at them.

"Well, I did send out an invitation to Louise to spend the summer with me." He pointed out. Serge looked at Louise for confirmation but she just remained stone faced. "But she seemed to have decided to go elsewhere instead. Though, I am surprised that you two are getting along so well."

"You would be surprised how effective an honest conversation between two people can be." Someone else decided to speak on their behalf and Serge couldn't help but grin at Hugh's face when he saw who it was. "Crown Prince Julius Rapha Holfort. A pleasure to meet you."

"Hugh Tola Druille. Second son of the Druille house and Louise's betrothed." He quickly recovered and shook Julius' hand. He looked at the rest of the boys but quickly lost interest in them. Bastard.

"Now there's a face that says a thousand words." He heard Greg mutter and saw the others looking at the scowl on Louise's face. It looked like they quickly caught on to what his sister thought of the engagement.

"It is nice to meet you, Hugh, but we have a few things that we'd like to discuss with Serge and Louise." Julius politely stated in a way that somehow didn't really sound like a dismissal.

"Of course." Hugh played along and looked at his sister. "You can stop by anytime you want, Louise."

"That guy gives me a lot of bad vibes." Brad stated as we watched Hugh walk up to a group of women with open arms.

"I don't know. He kind of reminds me of the old you." Chris noted as we watched him start to openly flirt with the women, several of whom had wedding rings. Brad looked at his friend with disgust, but Serge had heard from the others that he was a playboy before Marie finally locked him down. This must have been the first time he saw things from the other side.

"I was unaware that Miss Louise is engaged to a member of another great house." Jilk spoke up, making the others nod and turn to Louise.

"It was an arrangement our fathers agreed upon to secure an alliance between our houses." She said irritably. Louise sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. "I've been making a case to convince my father to annul it."

A stray thought passed through Serge's mind on a pretty definitive way for Louise's engagement to crumble to pieces, but this wasn't the time or place to talk about that particular powder keg.

"Lelia has not been returning to their apartment for the past several days." Marie suddenly spoke up. Serge didn't even notice the short girl standing behind Chris until she revealed herself. "Jean confirmed it to me when we spoke between classes."

"So? Why should we care what that bitch is doing?" Serge asked with a growl. He honestly didn't know if she hated Lelia more than Loic. How could he have ever been attracted to that girl?!

"Because she might still be planning something." Louise answered, getting everyone's attention. Serge shook his head as Louise and Marie stared at each other, probably having one of those weird silent conversations that only women could do. Fine then, let those two scheme all they want. He had other things to worry about.

About half an hour later, the lights all went out and everyone's attention was diverted to the spotlights illuminating the elevated stage at the end of the large hall they were all in. There were three familiar people up on the stage, but Serge only had his eyes on one. Noelle was wearing a flowing red dress that made her look absolutely beautiful, if not for the collar around her neck and the empty look in her eyes.

Bellange Lata Barielle, Loic's father, proudly stepped before his son and Noelle to address his guests.

"Ladies and gentlemen!" Bellange spoke into a microphone, his voice easily heard from the speakers throughout the hall. "Fellow members of the great houses of Alzer and other distinguished guests! Thank you all for taking the time from your busy schedules to attend this celebration!"

Celebration? What a load of bullshit!

"I stand before you a proud father and a humble man." Serge snorted at the sheer audacity of the guy to just fake his sincerity. From how Loic acted, he was sure that there wasn't a humble bone on the man's body. "For I have the privilege of announcing my son's engagement to a very special young woman. Loic, Noelle, please step forward."

Serge saw Loic take Noelle's hand and pull her along with him to the front of the stage. She squinted against the bright lights and didn't look happy at all. Seeing her like this was torture for him. He couldn't even imagine what she felt.

"This is Noelle Beltre." Bellange stated while placing a hand on Noelle's shoulder, making her flinch in fear. Serge could feel his teeth grind as Noelle was being shown off like prized livestock. "She and Loic met at the academy and quickly formed a bond of friendship that developed into love. When he passionately spoke to me about taking her as his wife, I could do nothing but agree."

Serge looked around and saw that none of his friends were buying the bullshit that Bellange was selling. There were those in the crowd who seemed taken by the narrative that he was spinning, but a bunch of people from the other great houses didn't look very happy at all. They must have thought that Noelle was just some nobody from a common household. Marrying non-members of the great houses was very frowned upon. Hypocritically, being adopted into them wasn't seen as taboo considering that was what happened with him.

"My son's engagement may seem unorthodox to most, but rest assured that there is a special reason why." He saw Noelle wince when Loic roughly raised her arm to show off the crest on the back of her hand. Several people in the front of the crowd pointed and gasped. "Behold! The crest of the Sacred Tree Priestess!"

The second he said that, the entire hall suddenly erupted in shock. Everyone was moving forward to take a closer look at Noelle and her hand. Serge was seeing red until he felt a firm grip on his elbow. He turned and saw that Greg had grabbed him to keep him from running up to the stage. His other friends were looking at him with grim expressions. He also noticed Louise and Marie whispering to each other at the side but they were too far for him to hear. Serge growled and looked back at the stage, knowing that he couldn't even go up to help Noelle.

"This young woman is none other than Noelle Zel Lespinasse, a survivor of the Lespinasse line we all once thought extinguished." Serge narrowed his eyes at Bellange's words. Why wasn't he mentioning Lelia? Was that part of her deal with Loic for selling out her sister? "She has become the priestess of the Sacred Tree after her love for my son bloomed and he became her guardian."

It was also rich that Loic didn't bother to show that he had the Sacred Tree Guardian crest, because he obviously didn't have it. It pissed him off that no one called them out on that, probably because everyone was too focused on Noelle and her crest.

"Can we go up there and show everyone our crest fragments?" Chris whispered to them.

"No!" Both Louise and Marie hissed at him, to all their surprise.

"There will be a time and place, but not here or now." Louise continued, her face serious.

"We are in the Barielle's seat of power. It would be suicidal to do that." Marie pointed out with a similarly serious expression.

"Accursed politics." Julius spat out in anger.

"With this, I would like to ask for your support and well wishes for their union!" Bellange happily continued his theatrics. Both he and Louise suddenly stiffened at his next words. "As well as support for house Barielle's future endeavors."

Serge wasn't as keen on politics as his sister, but even he recognized the veiled threat in that statement. So he was gunning for house Rault's position at the top of the great houses, huh? Serge was sure that his father wouldn't let that happen without a fight. Not after everything he had sacrificed for his position. The thought of people like Loic and his dad being in charge of the Republic was sickening in a lot of ways on its own anyway.

"We will announce the date of their wedding and the Sacred Tree Priestess ceremony within the next few days!" They all looked at each other in alarm at that announcement. He could only imagine the shitshow that would occur if Noelle was forced to try to control the Alzer Sacred Tree only for nothing to happen because it was the wrong damn tree.

"Is this bad? This sounds bad." Greg voiced what everyone was thinking. They all started talking to each other, but Serge kept his eyes on the stage.

He caught Noelle's gaze and the two of them could somehow tell what the other was thinking.

I'll save you.

I know.

…