Chapter 59:

Tales from the Winter Wonderland Part 4:

Because it starts with One

The next morning, the crowd of customers cried in horror when they saw the plaque at the Emporium's closed door: the restaurant was closed until the end of this week. But there's nothing they can do. Word had spread on the street of the banquet that was about to take place this week, of the engagement party between Odysseus Vi Britannia and Helga's Granddaughter, a few days ahead, so everyone understands. They all just said: 'Well, it can't be helped then.' 'There are other restaurants, we can always try that.'

And they did. For a while, with no Hufflepuff Emporium, the customers were forced to partake in the secondary options. The businesses of the other 20 restaurants picked up in a heartbeat… in fact, it does more than pick up. For some reason, the customers of the Britanny Bistro also dropped. They did not close down like the Emporium, but customer's interest in them seems to have waned. This breathes new life into other restaurants, giving them the chance they need to make the profit.

"Well… that just proves it." Noir take a look at the virtually empty Bistro and surmised as much. "Knowing our secret is one thing… putting it into practice…"

"How long?"

"Pardon me?"

Lacus pouted. "How long have you been able to control the suit so well? So much so that you can actually took off its head without my help?" She knew he had learned to use its bulky fingers to perform delicate task, but this?

"…eh, not too long ago. Truth is, I had much less trouble once I took this out." Noir handed something to Lacus, and she gaped in disbelief.

"Do you know what this is!?"

"All I know is that it's in the way. It gives me a splitting headache!"

"In the way!?" Lacus looked in bewilderment at this thing her patient insinuates to be useless.

"Anyway. It looks like the two of us will go on separate ways for today. Or… would you like to come with me?"

"Tempting… but no." Lacus was genuinely disappointed, no mistake. "We both had so many things to do. And so little time to finish it all."

"Then good luck to us both, my lady." Noir gave Lacus a two finger salute before he put back the Bert hood and enclosed his head beneath the clownish bird with surprising ease and then walks off in a cartoonish way that doesn't seem awkward at all, even giving a friendly wave to some random passerby child. Cook or no cook, Bert had become extremely popular among the children that visited the Plaza, deeming him its mascot.

Lacus just watched in amazement and amusement. He went from grudging acceptance to full mastery in less than a month, as if reflecting his integration into the everyday life in Februarius. But she did not see the end of her fun with him in the days ahead. In fact, it feels like it just begun. She pocketed the thing he gave her and be on her merry way. She'll deal with 'it' later.

0000000

The days that went by were a blur to some. So many things to do, so little time… but before they knew it, it's a day before the D-day…

"Ingredients?"

"Check."

"Equipment?"

"Check."

"Sous chef?"

Lacus raised her hand. "Check."

"Backup sous chef?"

"Are you sure you're okay with me?" Noir hesitantly raised his one functioning arm.

"Can't help it, my dear. In the last few days, apart from Lacus, you're the only one who can get the recipe right." Helga smiled.

"Plus, given your mastery of the suit up to this point… I'd say you do just fine!"

"Except the fact everything I make with this suit on always had a case of furball in it." Though he can now take this suit on and off on his own, the problem now is that he needed the suit to do everything correctly. And he can… except the aforementioned furball issue.

"I'll think of something." Lacus chuckled.

"Right then." Helga clapped her hands. "We'll just keep rehearsing until the big day. For now, let's go get some sleep."

"Haaai!" the children cheered… but speaking of children… "Wait." Noir looked around. "Where are Roger and Peppita?"

Later that evening…

"Oi, Roger, are you sure about this?"

"Easy, peasy, lemon squeazy, we've done this a thousand times haven't we?"

"Yeah! Foraging! Picking up fruits and herbs! And never without Lacus-nee-chan, Helga-baa-san, Fayt-nii, or Bert-nii! We're talking about chopping a tree down!"

"Look, it's emergency! Madame Hufflepuff are preparing fro this big spread isn't she? And then Bert-nii said we need more wood, so we go get some! Besides, he said it's okay! Lacus-nee had already given him permission! We just had to cut down a few trees from a group of small young trees a couple of clicks west from that gigantic tree at the center! Piece of cake."

"Are you sure that's what he said?"

The next morning…

Roger didn't make it home that morning; Peppita barely made it back alone to regale them of their horrifying experience incurring the forest' wrath to a stern faced Lacus. Roger's alive, but he was wounded rather badly and was kept prisoner by the forest. Later, Fayt and Noir found the fake Bert impostor's costume disposed off in a garbage chute a few blocks away.

Mars angrily crushed the doll's head. "This must be the trick of that bitch!"

"…I can't believe this… they… go this far…" Godric gritted his teeth. "But… how is this possible? They LIED to Mr. Huxley! The three laws should've prevented anyone from lying, so how-?"

"I think I know how." Godric looked at Bert in disbelief. "But it's not something just anyone can think of…" Noir kept his tone flat… if only to stop himself from screaming and roaring in rage. "This… this doesn't feel like Guinevere's style at all…"

"Like hell. She did the same to me!" Mars growled.

"No. That was Guinevere bending the rules. This is straight up breaking it, she's too dumb for that."

Around this time Lacus returned from her panicked sojourn into the forest, as messy and disarrayed as the current situation. To Peppita's horror, she came without Roger at her side. "The Forest is furious… but Lord Pinebread was willing to listen to reason. He let me mend Roger's injuries, but he will not let Roger go. When I tried to tell him someone had deceived Roger, he specifically demands that you brought the deceiver to them." Lacus gestured at Noir. "Because he mentioned how Roger did this under YOUR direction. I told him that could not be true, so he demanded that you clear your name and bring the guilty before him."

Fayt was speechless. Utterly, speechless in sheer fury. He clenched his fists so hard, his nails almost sank past his skin. In fact, no one said another word for the longest time. The children are terrified and whimpering, yes. But the more mature audiences were silent. The atrocity that had transpired here compounded the hardship they had endured over weeks… This already transcends human capacity for patience. No word in any tongue can do this rage justice. Everyone was fuming… everyone except one.

"…I've seen this pattern before." Noir's tone remains flat. He was the only one among the crowd seemingly unfazed.

"Pattern?"

"Someone did something like this before… chess match…? Cat…"

"What are you blabbing about?" Fayt grunted.

Noir didn't say anything anymore as he went into his deep thought mode. "…I've lost it."

"Huh?"

"It seems… even I was lulled by the comfort in this place… so much so that I've allowed something like this to happen. Right here. In the backyard barely 10 feet away from me. Underneath my own nose no less… Fine. Lesson learned." Everyone suddenly felt difficulty breathing. Before, Noir's purple eye was firm and still had a touch of humanity in it… but now… this silent rage had poisoned it. Now there's only the eye of a predator hunting its prey, aiming for the kill. Now they realized, for all their anger, it was but sparks compared to this incandescent one. "They want war? They just got one."

0000000

Ray Yuki had, what the other side called it, an unscheduled emergency transmission. So he rushed back to his office, lit up his fireplace, and lo…

There's Noir, back to his grimy mask… his one eye is looking VERY angry…

Nothing new, really. Ray knew that look when his apprentice wants to unleash a manner of bloodbath befitting his rage. He sent him to Februarius to tone down that look. And, a few days ago, that look had toned down. Significantly.

So imagine Ray's horror when not only that look is back in full force, it was compounded with an army of men, women, and children behind him, with a certain pink haired princess at his side, ALL of them somehow mimicked his angry stare way too well to be considered a prank. "…start from the beginning. What happened?"

A few moments later…

"Oh… I see." Whelp, no wonder he's pissed. No wonder they're ALL pissed. He can see the metaphorical rivers of blood flowing already. "So… what do you wish to do?"

"Retaliation. I need the big gun. Like… HUGE. And I need it yesterday."

Ray can only sigh exasperatedly as he slapped his aching head. Yep. He's MAD. "Give me an hour."

0000000

At the big day…

The engagement party took place in an extremely lavish lakeside villa on the edge of the city, owned by Guinevere. A fact which is obvious in its excessively ostentatious luxury decorating every inch of the place, so much it offends the eyes. Grandiose gold veined ivory and ebony statue decorates every corner. Exotic flowers and colorful birds had been brought in from half a world away. Crystalline fountains, magically constructed so the rainbow it created formed magnificent shapes. The only thing missing in this wondrous spectacle… was the food. Yes, there are snacks, refreshments and drinks… but no main courses. The guests that came there had 'prepared' themselves. They had been promised the most magnificent banquet of all. The cookings of a legendary chef.

"…this… is funny." Lacus found all this way too obnoxious for her taste. "This is supposed to be an engagement party between Hufflepuff and Britannia." And yet left and right, all she sees are… "Britannian colors, Britannian Sigils, Britannians guards… and Britannian Guests… don't see much of Hufflepuff here…?"

"Well, we are a small minor noble, milady?"

"But isn't that the whole point of marriage? The matrimony of two equal souls to live in harmony together for the rest of their days, irrespective of social status? Since when it became a… an egocentric show of obnoxiousness and vice?"

"Lord knows milady. I pray when your fated day comes, it'll be of better taste than this." Helga smiled. "I know I won't die before I cook a banquet for that day."

"Ah, you're making fun of me." Lacus blushed. "And that joke is far from funny."

"Milady Lacus!?"

Lacus blinked and turned around. The one who addressed her is another girl of her age, with a similar pink hair as her. She also had her cyan blue eyes to match. Lacus only knew one other girl with that characteristic: "Euphie!"

Euphemia Li Britannia jumped in excitement. "Lacus! You're here too!" and she wasn't alone. Behind her, there's this young boy with light brown hair. He's very clearly Japanese. He seem trying his best to remain hidden behind Euphemia's form. And behind them, there's her much taller and older sister, Cornellia and her two entourage Guilford and Darlton. Lacus only exchanged a brief look of a very one sided dislike from the other side before Euphie return to view. In fact she almost rushed her… then she noticed what Lacus was wearing.

For the record, there are only two of them in vicinity, Lacus and Helga. And they are… VERY underdressed for the occasion. Many of the guests wear their glamorous fineries and fancy jewelries fit for their nobility. Lacus, a noble herself… wear her simplest dress, picked for practically for the task at hand rather than its opulence. After all, she's not here today as Lacus the Princess of the House of Clyne. She's Lacus, Helga's apprentice and her assistant.

"Lady Lacus… Wh~at are you wearing!?"

"Believe me when I say, I'm properly dressed for the task at hand." Lacus smiled.

"Task? You're not here to enjoy the party, my friend?"

"You know me, Euphie. Even in the best of times, I'm… I'm not overly fond of this kind of… social gathering." Lacus can barely hid her disdain.

Cornellia snorted at the background. Her guards knew it was not at Lacus. Ironically, for all her dislike of the older sister of her apprentice, she can somehow understand why Lacus would dislike this kind of event. In fact, a hardcore militant like Cornellia wouldn't even come here if Euphemia didn't pester her to.

" 'Even in the…?' Are you saying that now is not the best of times? Milady, is something wrong?"

Euphie was concerned. As a friend would. Lacus simply smiled. "Enjoy the party, Euphie. I'm afraid we won't be seeing much of each other today. I'm… I'm very busy at the moment."

"Euphie." Cornellia finally intervened. "Come on. Our brothers and sisters are waiting. You can always visit Lady Clyne later."

Lacus nodded, and Euphemia reluctantly went in after she exchanged one last look at her best friend. But before they leave, using her bloodline limit, Lacus whispered something from a distance, straight into Dalrton and Guilford. What she said put both Honor Guards in a state of bewilderment.

Later, Lacus and Helga reported to the guards to inform them who they are and they were immediately led to the back door, away from the fineries. Then straight to a series of corridors that winds around allover the place. Lacus began to feel something is off. That feeling was soon vindicated when her ears caught noises… too many noises for what supposed to be a backstage kitchen.

And then they were led to a lone door… which they have to open themselves. Lacus and Helga looked at each other, fully knowing something's wrong. Taking one last deep breath, Lacus opened the door… and a huge wave of cheer welcomed them, its sheer volume briefly deafened her sensitive ears. "argh!"

They had walked right into a stadium.

"Ahh! The challenger has arrived!"

"What?" They're still having a hard time understanding the situation, but as the blinding light subsides, they looked around, they began to catch up.

The villa's backyard had been converted into a massive tent, and this stadium was erected at its center with audience seat encircling them. It's an arena format of one side facing the other. The stage was encircled by rows upon rows of dining tables, arranged in such a way that it serve as audience seat. Why… Lacus even noticed that one of those tables seated a very wide eyed Euphemia and Cornellia, along with the rest of their entourage.

"They got us." Lacus frowned. And true enough, there, on the Judges' table seated the five judges: a confused Hugo, a nervous Odysseus, this cute but pudgy little girl with strong resemblance to an infant Helga, another young man Lacus don't recognize, and that Guinevere sitting innocently with that smug smile on her face. "That… that… bi-"

"Lacus… focus!" Helga tapped Lacus' head before she broke out the taboo word. "It doesn't matter what format it'll take. Remember what we came here to do."

"…" Lacus sighed. "Okay."

Meanwhile, Lacus just noticed the MC is still giving out this long winded speech she personally didn't understand nor care one bit.

"This is unpleasant… and long winded, don't you agree my dear? Our ingredients won't get any fresher." Helga glanced meaningfully to Lacus.

"I agree." Lacus placed her two fingers framing the MC's throat, and then she sque~eze.

And just like that… the MC suddenly lost his voice. He's holding on to his throat in horror as no sound came out. His lips mouthed out several words, even shouted… and nothing came out. Not even a whisper. The audiences were in awe. Shocked but not terrified. They quickly looked to Lacus, the only one whose bloodline limit can cause this. That's when everyone noticed something's… different.

Her childish demeanor. Gone. Her ever present kind smile. Gone. Her baby warm glowing blue eyes. Gone.

In its place… something one would not look from an 8 year old. An ice cold and firm gaze that pierced through one's flesh and soul. A noble commanding aura that does not demand, but rather deserve respect. Imperial and unassailable nobility by demeanor rather than birth, much less her apparel. Enough that it sent shiver down EVERYONE's spine, causing them to stop moving and on the verge of forgetting how to breathe altogether. The butterflies and colorful birds that were flying around the fragrant garden of the villa scurried out the area in haste, feeling a majestic presence they are not fit to disgrace with their company. Many of the audience were decades older than her, but now they looked like a pack of infant being glared down by a grown up.

All these counts… and lords… suddenly they recognized who's standing in their midst. This is not some country no name noble they can push around. This is Princess Lacus Clyne. Princess. A rank that denotes her ties to the noblest of bloodline… that of Royal Blood. Despite her humble attire, she practically outranked them all like a King outranked his ministers.

Her tone changed. No longer playful or jovial. But firm, regal, dignified, and mirthless. "Personally speaking… I think this has gone too far. And I'm tired of it. All this… for what? A dinky old orphanage made of shambling woods?" Her thunderous voice bore straight to Guinevere.

"I did not come here to partake in your orgy of vices." Lacus walked towards a stupefied Guinevere…

SLAP!

Lacus slapped her face with a silken glove. She just challenged her to a duel. "I'm here now to call for a Vendetta. A grievance: The blood of my children has been spilled, and I demand satisfaction for this trespass." She did not come in peace. Everyone was suddenly quite clear on that. This is a declaration of war. That's how angry she is. "Enough is enough. We're here to finish this. You put us in this position to make a competition out of this… then let it be so!"

"In the name of C.C., Judge Griseus of the Circle, I hereby consecrate this match under the law of the Deep Magic!" Out of nowhere and without warning, the Green haired Witch appeared, to the shock of the audience. "And by this law, you will place your wager-"

"w… Wait!" Guinevere rose up from this seat. This just escalated way too quickly for her taste. "I beg your pardon for one damn moment-!" Lacus glared her way, and Guinevere quickly stuttered. She took a deep breath to fix her manners, and peeped with much more humilty: "P- Princess… Milady… Y… You speak of the… Blood of your children!? May I inquire what is this all about?"

"You claimed ignorance?" Lacus's voice still boomed in her rage. "You, who stand to gain so much from this travesty!?"

"One of our children, Roger Huxley, was trapped by deceit of someone from your side." Helga explained.

"Deceit!?" Guinevere gawked. "That's impossible! You can't lie in this continent-"

"We've been shown the way. We know how. And that is precisely what had happened. We have proof." Lacus growled. "What I demand from you now is WHO."

"I know nothing of this!" Guinevere may have used a lot of underhanded tactics over the years, but damned if she takes the blame for something she did not do. "I… I wanted your lands and that wondrous forest, but I… I would never kill children for it!"

C.C. blinked. "She speaks the truth."

"So it seems." Lacus's ears measured just as much. Her pulse was in a steady chaos, no fluctuation in her panicked exclamations. Her terror was genuine. She had no idea. Noir was right. She's too dumb to break the system. Which means… "But you do know who would and could, don't you?"

Indeed, Guinevere HAD an idea. Her accomplice that aided her with her advices… 'Carine, you little bitch… what have you done now!?'

0000000

All Britannian children are expected to excel. This has been an unspoken law of being born of Britannian bloodline. You have to be cleverer, stronger, more cunning than everyone else, even your own siblings. The Britannian of old upholds a belief still shared by many noble houses of Zaft today: that the blood of nobility is naturally superior to that of the common folk. That backfired on the Britannians during the Founding War. They put their trust in nobility, and they ended up turning on each other, even in the face of greater evil. So they learned from their mistakes. They took the example of George Of Glenn. When he gathered men to his side, he cares little where they came from or what were their standing or titles. Their rank is based only on what they can bring to the table for the goodness of all Advanced race. And they had to grudgingly admit: it works. With this efficient meritocracy system, George would go on to found an empire. So they gladly adopt this policy as their own… with some… 'improvements'.

They've had enough of infighting between noble houses with their own ambition. Family will be the only thing they trust. Anyone who wishes to join the Holy Britannia dynasty can only do so by sealing their fealty with marriage. The trick is… anyone can come. Part of the reason the Britannians had so many sons and daughters were so that they can easily marry them off to anyone who can indeed bring something to the big table, to strengthen the Britannia family. Skill, strength, intelligence… if one has what it takes, then one are always welcome here. But woe unto them and their relative if they fail to deliver. Anyone who did not live up to the expectation and standards will be cast out. Charles made that quite clear every time he executed or exiled one of his children for whatever shortcomings he finds of them.

Carine Ne Britannia understands this for the longest time. She watched many times of her siblings beheaded or cast out, even when they're crippled or still as young as she was. She vowed this will not be her fate. But what can she do? She's not as strong like Cornellia, nor the brain for economics like Guinevere, or politically inclined her other brothers, so she turned to the only path open to her: her strategic skills. She spent countless days and sleepless nights, reading, studying various books about tactics and military. Pouring over scrolls of old battle reports, sharpening her mind and forging it into a precision strategic weapon. And it pays off. Chess is the medium in which Nobility can show off their strategic acumen, and she excelled in it. Very few in her family can stand toe to toe with her when it comes to chess. She would enter tournaments, and she won them all with flying colors. And then, more than a year ago… there's this chess tournament. The biggest, grandest of them all. All renowned Chess Grandmasters will come to compete, even her Father will come and watch. Needless to say, she participated.

The format of the match was brutal. A player will be matched against an opponent in a five minute blitz chess match. The loser will leave the table, and the victor must stay to face the next opponent. It is a gauntlet of matches until the victor's beaten and a new victor take his place, and then the cycle repeats. Losers are allowed to challenge again to see if they can snatch victory from defeat… The champion of this tournament will be whoever defeated the most players when the four hour time limit was up, who will then match up in the final tournament. Greater is the glory if your string of victories were unbroken from start to finish. Carene plows through the competition, determined to seize this glory. Grandmasters more senior than her bowed down in defeat. And indeed, she did it. She had an unbroken string of victories. When the time was over, no one was able to unseat her… But when they announced the score… to her horror… she was only the third of the four finalists. Those above her had more than one defeat, but they scored more than her in victories. She was fuming, but she looked ahead to the first… and was bewildered and horrified. The one standing at the top spot… was a child. Unmistakably her age, what's with that short height. He wears a ragged black coat… and an unruly spiky brown hair behind a face covered in a distinct white mask, with slits for eyes. But when she looked at his score, she was appalled. This boy had more defeats than anyone in this match… BUT… he also scores more victories than anyone, far outclassing the second by more than twice the margin. It's a score never before heard in the history of the tournament.

And then the final match began right away, fourth vs third, and first vs second. This time winner takes all, Losers go home. Rattled by her findings of the masked boy's score, she finds it difficult to concentrate on her game. By the time she recovered, her opponent had managed to damage her ranks severely. She needed an edge, but too many of her pieces had been taken down… she had to win… her father's watching! Then she looked down… and saw a cat, with choker. Her opponent's cat.

She had heard cats don't take too kindly to chocolate… and didn't she have one for her snacks…?

The loser was too busy mourning his dead cat to see Carene walked away with her win. Not that she cared, her eyes were set on a higher target. When she looked at the other table though, she was infuriated. The masked boy sat alone, his opponent had long since left the table in defeat. She swore she will defeat him or die trying.

She won. Overwhelmingly too.

She did it! He put up a fight alright but she did it! Did you see that father!? I'm your daughter! The greatest chess maste-

"Most impressive game, young man." Charles completely ignored Carene and went straight to the masked boy.

The masked boy said nothing.

"May I know the name of the champion who displayed such eye opening tactics during this grueling match?"

Still he said nothing. Charles bodyguard, Bismarck von Waldstein took offense to this. "What insolence!? Did you not hear my master's questions!?" When words fail, his blade was pressed against his throat and still the boy won't budge.

"Stay your sword, Knight!" Ray Yuki came stomping with hilted sword at the ready. "This boy is under my protection. And I do apologize. I have ordered him to not speak with anyone during this match. And I told him not to break his silence under any circumstances unless I say so."

"I see… discipline. A very admirable quality." Charles eyes glowed and he gestured Bismarck to immediately stand down.

"Go on, Noir. You can speak."

Noir looked at Ray… and then to Charles in the eye and spoke in a flat, whispery voice: "…the whole point of this tournament… is how many times you win… no?"

And that's all he said, and that's all he's willing to say. Ray whisked the boy away and left an impressed Charles… and a very dumbfounded Carine.

His explanation was simple and concise. But it was illuminating enough. His out of this world high score was not because he kept on winning. If he had done that, no one would want to keep on challenging him. No. He slipped a couple of defeats into the mix to draw in more and more challengers to his table so that he can rack up more victory points. He had calculated his win-lose ratio so meticulously as to produce the maximum result. Some he defeated swiftly, others he gave a calculated defeat… a close match, making them think they may have a chance next time… so they return… and sometimes he even let them win… Except the truth is, they never did. No one had even come close!

Carine's fuming irritation turned into volcanic rage that day. Never had she felt so insulted… so humiliated. He let her had her win because he knew he had collected his glory. And yet… never had she felt more impressed as well. She later learned that there's more than one masked characters, and they were all members of a special unit under the Knightmaster. They were known as Judges. The elite extrajudicial agents of his pet project: the Circle of Lustitia, a think tank composed of only the best and brightest of the generation. And the one who handed her that humiliating defeat? Noir was a codename acknowledged by many as the best… but very few had actually seen him. He was so secretive, not many knew he existed. That's why he wasn't allowed to speak to anyone that day, even when Bismarck threatened him with a sword pressed on his throat. It was a mistake from Ray's part to let slip even his code name. She had heard her father had offered a King's ransom to whoever can bring this Noir into Britannian folds.

Doesn't matter. From that day onward, Carine knew the height of the standard she should set herself. That standard has a name, and it is Noir. She will join this special unit and she will beat him there once and for all. She would study even more furiously than ever, searching and mastering ever more unconventional tactics and strategy from every book and source she can get her hands on. But apparently, just to be noticed by the Circle is already a feat on its own. For one thing, they didn't ask for members, the members get asked. So the only way she can get in… is if she's noticed by a judge. Now, to her understanding, with the exception of Aprillus, every other continent had one Magister Judge. A Judge who's responsible to administer the enforcement of the law in that continent. And no one knows who that is. That's the point: Anonymity is the first line of defense of a Judge. The first challenge was to figure out who the Judge is…

It took no small amount of effort, but she finally tracked him down. Judge Shiro… an unassuming, aging and retired clockmaker is the Magister Judge assigned to Novembrius. It's actually almost insulting that someone so… plain was given such a task… on the continent managed by her family, no less… but perhaps that is the point? Nevertheless, tracking a Judge, even a semi retired one, seems worth recommendation into the circle. What awaited her was an even more grueling training and study program, set by the merciless standards of the Knightmaster, demanding nothing less than perfection. The training period was short… just one hellish week… a hellish week where they wished they had more than one brain. A week they had to skip through not because they were brilliant. Well… they are… but precisely because of their brilliance they have to be able to skip through the training under that period… or get kicked out. Thousands of prospects from the entire breadth of the empire were quickly eliminated until only hundreds remain within the first few days. After which they were immediately thrown into the grinder that is Aprillus' wickedly murderous environment. A lethal web of intrigue and lies that put even Britannia's fratricidal family tree to shame. Indeed, only the best of the best can even hope to navigate such a deadly maze of intrigue and lies and hope to survive. But they have to do more than survive. They have to thrive!

There were times when the pressure seems too much for Carine. Ironically, the very same person who pushed her into this was also the reason she was able to cling on to sanity. Her hatred to Noir constantly reminded her the reason why she's going after him… because he's the best. He must've gone through the same ordeal as everyone else… if he can do it… she can do it too! Not everyone made it in the end. Of the hundreds that survived this learning on the job, only dozens make it. The rest were either killed, kicked off the program, or worse, 'broken' beyond mending. She's not among these failures. In fact, she managed to work her way until she was given her own Judge Codename. Although only as a trainee. Carmine. Trainee Judge Carmine. That name meant something for her.

And finally, after another month of grueling training and learning that made those initial eliminations looked like cakewalk, of the dozens… only 10 remain. And they must receive a final exam by an active Magister Judge… and then… finally, at long last… there he is. For months, she never saw him again… tribulation after tribulation that pushed her to the brink just keep coming one after another and she even begin to think he was dead… but there he is. The same mask, same garment, same deathly sinister voice…

"We will now begin your final exam. Starting now!"

"So… you wanted to see me?"

Her wait was over…

"I couldn't believe it when my sister told me about it. I couldn't believe it even less when I saw your attire…" The girl smiled mischievously. "It really has been a while, Master Noir, the Reaper Judge of Aprillus." Carine looked back and there… "…seriously… that look. You're seriously keeping that stupid outfit?"

Noir stood before her… wearing his Bert suit. "It's more than meets the eye, this thing. Very useful once you get used to it."

"Goodness… I want to say how the mighty had fallen but… I don't think you have. Given how much trouble you gave my sister."

"You've been helping her… were you the one who give her pointers on how to bypass the three laws?"

"Stop thinking with common sense. Isn't that what they taught us in Hell Week?"

"Hmph." Noir stood now in front of Carine. "Why are you here?"

"Like I said. I came here to see if it's really you. I mean… I was still in Aprillus a while ago… then I heard this fantastical rumor, I didn't believe it, but now, in the face of it all… and then there's this living circumstances. A rather odd choice… considering… well…"

"What?"

Carine chuckled. "…well… it's funny you opened a restaurant… but… didn't you get banished here because you killed someone? And… the method was… food poisoning? Did that Clyne girl really saved that guy?"

"Yes she did."

Carine pouted at his direction. Was she displeased that Noir didn't get to kill someone in the end?

"You disapprove?" Noir spoke out.

"…disappointed, is all." Carine replied. "Of all the Judges I've encountered… Judge Nogsaeg (Korean for Green) in Augustus. Judge Neela (Hindi for Blue) in Maius. Even that old coot Judge Shiro (Japanese for White - duh) in Novembrius. None of them… Dear god, none of them had anything on you. The Reaper. The Judge. The Legend. The shadowy intellectual titan that is everyone's guiding light. And now… look at you. You… You're… domesticated."

"Domesticated?" Noir chuckled.

"Yes. Domesticated. She put a collar on your neck and you didn't even realize it." But Noir is still chuckling along the way.

"That's a very… interesting choice of word. Domesticated… ha-ha-ha-ha…" Noir's laugh died down quickly. "…is that what you see?"

"I spent… my whole childhood chasing after you. God, I hated you. So much… But as I went through that program… I began to admire you. To respect the fact of how superior you are to me… and I still couldn't believe I used to want to be you."

"The fact you can't see it…" Noir sighed. "Even after all this time… you still… haven't found the answer to THAT question… have you?"

It was easy to see that Noir's comment had struck the worst of vibe. Her face reddened in anger. "You… rob me of my glory that day!"

"Glory!? Lord, woman, did you think we had you recite the oath of Judgehood for fun? What do you think we're doing here?"

"Admit it! You supervised the Judge training that day, you've been throwing everything you got at us to bar my success, and when nothing worked, you throw that cheat of a question to make sure we fail!"

"You fail because you fail." Noir replied. "Being a Judge isn't just about the skill, it's also about the heart. You never had it. I surmised as much when you killed that cat. All those tests that followed were to see if there was any hope for you. If I had known you'd turn this rotten, I'd never let you take the training in the first place!"

"Pah! You're just afraid of me! But I won't let you run anymore. This time I will show everyone! " Carine snapped her finger and suddenly the ground beneath them began to shift. A platform appeared right where they are standing and lifted them off to the air. The ground beneath them crumbled down, revealing a checkered floor.

"You're a witch too."

"I had this made just for you!"

On opposite sides of the checkered floor, massive figure rose up from the dirt. When the dirt cleared down, armored figure stands, armed and ready. 14 identical armored knights wielding swords and shields, a pair of knights on horseback armed with lance, a pair of heavily armored knights bearing a pair of thick tower shield that look like fortress walls that even had cannons protruding out of them, another pair of hooded knight with staff, and then finally, the lone Queen with their respective pole arms (an axe on one, a scythe on the other), and the King with his mighty sword at the ready. Two sets of each appeared on each side, identical in shape and size, but the ones at Noir' side had a darker shade than the other.

"By the law of the Deep Magic, I hereby consecrate this match!" Carine grinned. "If I win, you will declare it once and for all that I am your superior! And you will serve me forever!"

"So be it." Noir growled. "…and if we win, you will accept judgment for your sins!"

The balance of Deep magic suddenly appeared, signifying this match and its wagers has been accepted, and they are now bound to its laws.

0000000

What Noir didn't know though, was that Carine didn't want to just beat him, she wants to humiliate him in front of everyone. She had made steps to showcase the match to every interested party via magic.

In Aprillus…

Circle of Lustitia Headquarter…

"Boss! Bo~oss!" A Judge trainee, in his panic, banged Ray Yuki's currently locked door.

When it opened, Yuki and his current guest, Lennore Zala, looked at the masked agent questioning the reason for his rudeness. "Young man, this better be urgent."

"Sorry boss, but you gotta see this! Something's happening on our fountain!"

"Fountain?" Ray Yuki quickly rushed out of his office. There's only one fountain in the headquarter, and that's at the Judge mess hall. When they arrived there, the Judges and the guards were in panic. The fountain had exploded, an inordinate amount of water burst of the pipe and sprayed allover the place. Now, this is the part where usually a Rainbow showed up in the air… except this time it didn't.

What showed up instead was the image of Noir and Carine facing off each other in a magic chess match.

"Ray, is that…?"

"Noir!" Ray's grunt illicit a massive response from the other Judges.

"Huh!?" "Really?" "Holy shit, he's real!?" "Wha… what the hell is that?" "That guy doesn't look human?" "Is that a suit?"

Many of the Judge Trainees in the HQ had never even seen Noir before, considering how he always worked in the shadows, but his legend had been well engraved in their minds as the greatest of them all, just as Ray had always said.

"This is…" Lennore quickly grasped the situation in a glance. "This is a Deep magic match. A chess match with a wager… who is that he's fighting… ah! It's Carine Ne Britannia."

"Damn." Ray clicked his tongue in recognition. "Carine was a rejected Judge Applicant turned bad. She earned her chance by causing Judge Shiro to retire early. For her final exam, Noir was the Magister Judge in charge of her test. She failed and he kicked her out of the program."

"Oh dear." Lennore was well aware of just how smart BOTH of them are. A grudge match between two dangerously brilliant children… blood will spill.

All across Februarius, various fountains and waterworks also suffered the same fate. Many people gathered to watch this interesting phenomenon, children happily pointed out that one of the participants are the mascot of Hufflepuff Emporium, Bert the Terrific! By the way, most of the Adults know him as the Bird of Terror, but somehow the children had managed to distill it into the aforementioned less horrifying name. Though even the adults were unaware of the grueling nature of this seemingly interesting spectacle…

In Guinevere's stadium…

A cloud erupted on the air above the kitchen arena… and on the clouds, images of the chess match was displayed.

Carine wanted her brothers and sisters to see this match most of all.

"See?" Guinevere grunted. "Carine… my stupid sister is the one blowing this out of proportion! She's the one with a grudge on your Judge friend!"

"I see." Lacus was strangely unsurprised. "And I don't care. That's their vendetta to settle. Mine is with you. YOUR greed started this. Your sister wouldn't even BE here, if it weren't for YOU!"

"Urgh…"

"Just as Master Noir wagered the settlement of his vendetta, I wager mine on the results of this match. The format is the cooking match as you desire. If we win, you will leave my children, my orphanage, and that forest alone… FOREVER!"

Guinevere quickly regained her composure. "Fine… Fine. If I win, I gain exclusive rights to the forest and all its contents… and you will teach me all its secrets! Keep your stupid cabin, you will make me the Master of the Forest!"

Lacus and Helga blinked. "…are you sure that's what you want?" Lacus even abandoned her regal tone for once.

"Yes! Of course I'm sure!"

Lacus and Helga exchanged looks for a bit… That declaration had actually earned them what they want… "…so be it then."

"The wager is accepted." The balance in C.C. hands also swayed slightly, as if some unknown object had been placed in its plates. "The match will now commence!"

"WAIT!" Guinevere smugly raised a hand. "Didn't you forget something? I have yet to explain to you the format of the match, have I not?"

Helga and Lacus grunted. C.C. had declared the match has begun, yet she chose this moment to explain. The wager has been placed, there no pulling it back!

"The match is indeed a cooking match… the menu is a full course meal… for the 105 attendance here, which also include the five judges." Guinevere gestured at herself, the bride, the groom, Hugo and this one young man.

"Full course…" Lacus raised an eyebrow. Now… a month ago this would be a hell lot easier… "Madame?"

"Now, young miss, who do you take me for!?" Helga gently poked Lacus' nose, and she chuckled. "Can those pasty hands keep up!?"

"Allons'y madame!"

"That's my girl!"

0000000

"In case it hasn't become obvious, it's chess. But it's no ordinary chess, it's wizard's chess. With some… tweaks and tricks of my own."

The two players stand on the platforms hovering above the giant chess board. Up above, a giant clock ticks. "And it's the form of the match we had that day. Blitz Chess!"

"Fine." Noir growled. "Let's get on with it then. White moves first." To signify this, a torch lit up above Carine's platform.

"Pawn to B4!" Carine grinned sinisterly as she issued her command. A White Pawn moved two blocks.

Now the torch lit up above Noir's. "…pawn to d5." Likewise, a Black Pawn also moved two blocks forward.

The initial period of chess is positioning. The two players continue to move their pieces here and there, and at the moment, no pieces are lost yet. However, the mind of the player had raced way ahead of the pieces' movements. Both are strategizing, anticipating, counterplanning, and re-strategizing new plan all in the manner of minutes. The war had already raged in their respective minds. This isn't the kind of chess played between two semi senile old man in the park, this is Blitz Chess. Every player only gets a very limited time to think their next move. Normally, an average player is granted no less than five minutes… but when the players are grandmaster level, they can afford only seconds. A single misstep will cost them the game.

"Hey, I did mention this is a special kind of chess, right?" Carine grinned after she watched Noir finished his move. "Let me give you a taste: Bishop take pawn!"

One of Noir's pawns is within the shot range of Carine's Bishop. The Bishop staff lit up and a fireball was hurled smashing and then incinerating the pawn to cinders.

In that moment, Noir budged. "!" He can feel his blood boiling, his skin melting, he can even smell the scent of his own flesh burning. "You…" The pain was such, he collapsed on his feet. "…this is…"

"AhAHAHAHAHAHA! What do you think!? Every time a piece is taken out, the player will feel the pain of its death! How do you like being burned to death? AHAHAHAHAHA!"

"I see…" To Carine's surprise, Noir stood back up almost instantly. "…Rook takes Bishop!"

"!"

The Black Rook suddenly appeared before the Bishop, clapping his tower shield together into a massive wall. Cannon ports opened and the barrels protruded out before they opened fire in a thunderous salvo. The first wave shattered half of its body, and one of the shot of the second salvo smashed its head to smithereens. The Bishop was soon reduced to rubble.

"KYAAAAAAAAAHH!" Carine gasped and collapsed when she felt the pain of her bones grinded to dust and her skull cracked to pieces.

"Yeah… that's an interesting feature. I can certainly see some people might even like this." Noir chuckled evilly. "Though I had expected you to nullify your pain receptor. Or are you just pretending to be in pain right now?"

That was a joke. Considering Carine is on the floor foaming and was on the verge of fainting, she was in obvious pain. "Y… You… bastard! How many times are you going to humiliate me before you're satisfied!?"

"If you can't take it, Carine, don't dish it out."

0000000

"Aaah… Carine must be angry right now…" Guinevere smirked sadistically behind her fan. Carine did placed an order for this special set of chess. In her sadistic plan to torture the Judge she so hates, she had slipped a request to make it a one sided affair of pain and torture, with only the black chess pieces that will transfer the pain. Apparently, the maker of these pieces didn't get the memo.

"My master would grieve to see his creations being used so." The young man in the panel of Judges mused. "But, it does represent a good opportunity to acquire priceless data."

"Yep, isn't that what he would've wanted?" Guinevere scoffed in disinterest.

"Considering who's playing it, yes." The man said no more. "Although, this side has no shortage of excitement either."

Indeed, Guinevere's cook had created quite a spectacle. Exotic ingredients such as Peacock, goose, quail, entire cows and even Dolphins were brought in alive. And yet, with a flick of a wand, they were magically processed right on the spot into ready ingredients. Some food processes that usually take hours, even days were magically completed in a matter of minutes.

"…honestly… those people." Lacus looked at all this in disbelief. "Did they really get their hands on our secret recipe? What part of it that they don't understand!?"

"Young lady, focus!"

"! Yes!" By comparison, their cooking process is… so much slower for some reason. In fact, the audiences were decidedly unimpressed with the ingredients they've brought. It was far from exotic: just… slabs of dried meat and scraps of unsightly entrails, among other more normal looking ingredients.

They couldn't help it. The day after Odysseus's offer arrives, they searched the market high and low, and just as Noir predicted, Guinevere had brought every luxury ingredient worth the name. Fortunately, what they had in mind didn't even cross Guinevere's imagination. So her disturbance did little to annoy them. Their ingredients look less than impressive, but it can't be helped. They were using knives to cut and shred them to even smaller pieces. Helga lead the way using her chopper with all the mastery of her years. Lacus replicate what she did in a less skillful way… but she was able to operate 6 choppers at once. She waved her hands, and the utensils just worked on their own, processing food with an invisible handler on the grip. Alas, it was nowhere near as delicate as the real thing.

"Oh!" Lacus gasped. She made a mistake in cutting a portion, making it too small… "I'… I'm sorry!"

"Don't be sorry, princess! Be better!" Helga barked angrily. "We have very little amounts of these ingredients, we can ill afford mistakes!" This is the same princess that had barked a tent full of nobles into silence with sheer dignity alone. But in the realm of this line of work, she's but an infant learning at the foot of a master.

"Y… Yes!" Lacus slapped her cheeks. 'Pull yourself together, girl!' That was definitely her problem. She can't help but split her attention. She'd be lying if she said she wasn't the least bit concerned about the duel on the other side. Especially after she eavesdropped on that little something Carine had done on those chess pieces…

0000000

The match had gone past its preparation phase and now advancing to open combat. A piece can be destroyed at every turn.

"Knight takes Rook!" A white rook was punched clean when the Knight throw its lance through its wall, impaling the piece to the wall.

"GuhH! Grhhh… Bishop takes Bishop!"

The Black Bishop was lacerated with a hail of icicles.

"Knight takes Bishop!"

Carine's last Bishop was impaled on the head by the Black Knight's lance.

"GAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHH! AaAhh! AAARGH!" Carine had to stop shouting first before she can issue the order. "G… Gh… Queen takes Knight!"

The Knight's horse was smashed down first. And the rider's lower half was crushed by the collapsed mount. While it was still crawling on the ground, the Queen beheaded it before subsequently crushed its body with the butt of her pole arm.

Noir merely tilted its head. Not even a squawk. "Rook takes Pawn."

This was supposed to be a torture fest. A one sided show where one is screaming in pain and agony and the other watched and gloats… this was what Carine had wanted… except somewhere along the line, the role had seemingly been reversed. The rook slammed the pawn like a charging fortress before it stomped the pawn multiple times until it was pulverized flat to the ground. Carine collapsed in sheer pain of all her bones shattered to pieces. "W… How… How is this possible!?"

"What is?"

"You… do you not feel anything!? Pawn takes pawn!"

A pawn beheaded a pawn before splitting the headless body in two. But Noir didn't even squirm.

"…could it be… your pain receptors… those bastards! They took out yours but leave mine intact!?"

"…?" Noir tilted his head. "Isn't this supposed to be a fair game? I don't even know who are these 'they' you're talking about. Bishop takes pawn."

A pawn was swallowed into a splitting earth before it was crushed flat.

"GWAAAAHHH! Wh… Wha…!?" Through this excruciating pain, Carine tried to process this. The first time she burned his pawn, he did stumble, he did struggle. He was caught by surprise… So he did feel the pain. But after that he barely let out a groan… "No… It can't be… you're still feeling it? Even now? All of it? Knight takes pawn!"

A pawn was impaled by a knight before the lance spins like a drill. The pawn was grinded inside out to dust.

Noir merely shrugged to confirm Carine's words. "…am I supposed to say ouch right now?"

Throughout this battle, the Chess pieces had been stabbed, eviscerated, pulverized, burned, impaled, bisected, shattered, all manner of bodily harm that would've killed normal human outright. Lesser men would've died from sheer pain alone. And Noir was barely bothered at all. "How? How are you not in pain? How are you not feeling it!?"

"…of course I felt it. Every time a piece gets destroyed… I felt it all as you intended. It hurts. Like hell." Noir tilted his head. "…and what of it? Should I scream or cry? Doesn't make the pain hurt any less, does it? Besides, Rosso and I went through a lot worse at daily basis: we got half of our body melted in acid, trapped in an exploding furnace, beheaded and then they dropped a building on our head, one time we got sliced in half, head to crotch with a burning blade that cauterize the wound. We had to slice open the wound bit by bit so that we can staple the two halves together again! HEAD to CROTCH. For God's sake. Head. To. Fucking. Crotch! Do you have any idea what a pain it was!?"

"Gah…!" Carine's eyes widened. 'This… damn… monster…!'

In HQ…

"HOEEEKHH!" One of the Judge Trainees could barely stand the thought and vomited as Noir listed the stuff of pain and agony he had been subjected to throughout his career. Indeed, compared to just a fraction of this list, what had happened so far is just kindergarten stuff. Though they're still confused about some parts, they understand this much now: Noir is a veteran Judge, and that means something.

Ray understands. Kira and Athrun partnered together using his bloodline limit as a bridge that connected their senses. Everything that happens to one will be felt by the other. What he had spoken was the things Athrun had endured. The craziest of things some of their foes had thrown at them. Ray had offered to dull these transmission, but Kira sternly refused. He brought Athrun into this world… if his best friend must suffer because this, why should he be spared? However, while Athrun can recover from any damage, to recover from the emotional trauma of such unthinkable pain was no easy feat. But they did it. They had to. And the experience had forged them, steeled their mind, granting them both reserves of willpower with endurance unlike anything mere mortals can scarcely imagine.

"Ra~ay!" a murderously calm sing song voice called his name.

"Ulp!" Despite his pride, the Hakutenkun suddenly remembered one thing…

"When this is over… I would very much like to know more on whatever else you've made my sons do for them to endure so. Much. Pain. And maybe some practical demonstration too!"

"A… Aahhha…." Ray laughed in despair as a smiling Mother of a Judge's towering bloodlust is now hovering behind him. There's a reason why these stuffs are top secret.

0000000

On the other side, the audience was equally amazed.

Not just of the chess match, but of the food as well. Guinevere's food, to be exact.

"A snack to accompany your entertainment gentlemen, the Hors D'oeuvre of your full course: the Fifteen Flavored Hundred layered Quiche!"

"Hmm! Delectable!"

"Very delicious! The perfect snack for the occasion indeed!"

"I don't understand how can these people eat in this condition?" Lacus looked a bit perplexed. She's having a hard time concentrating as it is with Carine screams and squeals for every piece destroyed echoing in the background.

"I'm truly sorry, lady Clyne." It was this mysterious man in the panel of Judges who apologized. "Lady Carine had asked the Chess Pieces to feature… the most excruciating execution method imaginable. I did not think it would backfire at her this badly."

"I did not ask for her taste in sadism, I asked just what are the hearts of these people are made of? There's stout and there's rotten. That's their sibling over there being tortured in so excruciating manner, and they're eating, dining, even laughing at it so casually!?"

The man smiled… in shame. "…this is nothing new, milady. They've done far worse."

Lacus recoiled in horror. Even for a fratricidal family… this is way beyond rotten.

"On your next course, the Soup: The Aurora soup!" It was a thick glutinous soup, with the color of an aurora gleaming on its surface.

"My master did not create these chess pieces for such crass purposes, mind you." The man explained as the soup was being served. He didn't so much as to touch it yet. "He created them to train his tactical officers. A way for him to… measure their willpower and fortitude. To see how they endure not just through the pain, but also the rigors and stress of combat. There! Look! It has begun."

The man gestured to the screen and everyone began to notice these changes happening.

The whites on Carine's chess pieces began to dim. In stark contrast, purple energies trickled out of the seams of the armor on Noir's black chess pieces, that has grown increasingly demonic, with additional spikes began to protrude out of the equipment, which had been similarly improved. Mere pawns now bear swords wreathed in veins of fire, Knights had crystalline spikes protruding haphazardly across their now barbed lances. In fact, it looks as if the pieces themselves had grown in size and bulk.

"The strength of the player's willpower will be reflected upon their chess pieces. And not just cosmetic changes. If the player's willpower continues to drop until a certain point, it may even begin to affect the gameplay."

"This is not a game!"

"Forgive the lack of better term, milady."

"The next course, fish dish: Dolphin Carpaccio cooked four ways, wrapped in eel cooked three ways!"

0000000

What the man said began to show. With Carine reeling from the constant torment, her pieces began to cower… even worse, they began to disobey orders. "P… Pawn… to… to H5!"

This was meant to be a sacrificial move. But the Pawn in question didn't budge.

"P… PAWN TO H5!"

It still won't move. Just like a soldier who is demoralized when they felt their master's will to fight is faltering. When the King is weak, desertion and insubordination thrives.

"U… useless." Carine gritted her teeth and struggled to stand up. "K… Knight takes Pawn!"

The Knight tried to take down a pawn… but around that time, Noir's Black pawn pieces was as big as a Knight. Their lance bounced off its shield!

"Huh?" Noir blinked. "…that was actually possible? Oi, oi! What's with the rules here!?" What's more, the torch on his side lit up. "Now it's my turn again!? Isn't this a bit too imbalanced!?"

But such is the case. Despite his protests, Noir's chess pieces grew increasingly stronger and stronger, so much so they can even repel attacks, as if reflecting their master's indomitable will.

Carine gritted her teeth as she pulled herself up.

"…I do respect you, Carine. I really do."

"…w… what!?" Carine looked at the Judge in disbelief.

"Don't think I didn't know how hard you've worked. And what's with your family being far from supportive… the fact you try to carve your own way is… admirable." Noir stretched out his one wing. "Let's put a stop to this. If you confess, maybe your punishment will be more lenient."

"Is… that… PITY!?" Carine spat. "You… DARE… offer me… PITY!?"

"Pity?" Noir scoffed as he retracted his rejected offer of peace. "You get me wrong, girl. Pawn takes knight!"

Noir's Knight punched the Knight off his horse before he chopped them both, horse and rider all, to pieces.

"GAAH! AAHH! AAAHHHH!" Carine squealed and cried every time the blade rends home. But Noir didn't budge.

"My 'pity' for you… died with that cat you killed at that tournament. This is not pity. This is boredom. You had potential, skills and tenacity that I do respect, and I don't need to lie about that. You might even have a chance… if this was an honest game. But no. You just had to try to make it hurt… and all you do was show me just how rotten you are, and that just bore me to death. I had better things to do, in case you haven't noticed. This is not an offer of surrender, bitch. This is a threat: Surrender now, or so help you, it'll be worse."

0000000

"Damn. Okay… I need to change my pants… again." Another Judge trainee is soiling his pants. This guy is SCARY with a capital S and E!

"If I don't know any better, then I'd say he's gone a bit too arrogant?" Lennore raised an eyebrow.

"Fortunately for us, Lennore, we taught him well. He doesn't know how to be arrogant." Ray frowned. "But he does know how to be angry. I made sure of that. And this is him, being VERY angry. Woe unto those who pushed him this far."

"This is dangerous." Lennore narrowed her eyes. "He's pushing her too hard. Cornered cats are at its most fierce!"

0000000

Indeed, the terror that is Noir's overwhelming superiority and ruthless confidence finally pushed Carine to the edge… until she just snaps. "Gr… GrrrrRRAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!" Carine shrieked in an inhuman howl. Suddenly, her chess pieces burst out, resonating with her howls of half sane rage. "I HATE YOU!" Her eyes shined sickly green as she roared. "IHATEYOUIHATEYOUIHATEYOU! HATE YOU! HATE YOU! HATE! HATE! HAAAAAAAAAA~ATE!" Pure hatred. That's what Carine Ne Britannia had become. She was supposedly just a girl at Lacus' age group, but now, bursting out of the seams of her human form is this pure unadulterated hatred that already gone way past what her sanity can handle. Her maniacal eyes shined with burning hate twisted her childish face to a monstrous visage. "PAWN TO B6!"

To reflect this, her pieces also changed in accordance to her twisted emotions. The whites were supposed to represent the good, but in her case, such was her hate that their supposedly regal shape became monstrous. Fiery green energy erupted from within the seams of their armor, cracking and shattering them to ruinously monstrous shapes. Their size now rivaled Noir's pieces, who now looked far more humane in comparison. Noir quickly gave the order: "Rook to C6." He just ordered his rook to pull back, but it's also a sacrificial move, to test the waters. Unlike Carine, the piece still obeyed without question.

"PAWN TAKES ROOK!"

The monstrous white pawn fell upon the Black Rook with all the ferocity of a psychotic rabid animal. It didn't bother with its sword, its hands had turned into monstrous claws that tore the Rook's tower shield apart with a single swipe, and then it fell upon the actual rook itself and disembowel it to pieces.

Drip. Drip, drip… Blood trickled down the corner of Noir's beak. "W… what?" He felt the pain as usual… but… now… there's an actual injury to match. He can actually feel this… scratches forming on his bowels that bleed badly.

0000000

"Oh dear…" The man gasped. "The chess board is now in a state of overdrive! Not just pain being transmitted, it will cause actual bodily harm!"

"!" CRASH…! Tinkle… The empty plate fell from her hands when she saw that red precious liquid spilling out of the clown Bird suit. Lacus can't do this anymore. She can't concentrate on this cooking match when she felt like her heart stabbed with each drop of blood falling from Noir's beak. "N…!" But before she squealed what her heart desire, she was reminded of one thing…

Her promise to Noir.

Flashback, last night…

"The first time I saw Carine… she… killed a cat… that belonged to her opponent in a chess tournament in order for her to get on ahead."

Lacus hate her already.

"When I saw that… I was… FURIOUS. I really tried my best to beat her… out of my anger. But, she beat me. She got to me. To be precise: My anger got to me. And I made so many mistakes… and she won. Apparently, she didn't realize how serious I was of winning. The mask kinda get in the way, after all. Doesn't help with the fact Lord Yuki ordered me not to talk to anyone. But he was training me. He wanted to see my patience, whelp… I failed. He didn't blame me for my shortcomings, but he did made me went through hell to fix it."

"Have you?" Lacus asked. "Fix it, I mean. Your anger issues."

"I got sent here because my temper tantrum flared up again, what do you think?"

"I still think you did get better." Lacus chuckled sweetly. "If anything, I'd say Lord Yuki expect too much out of you. Is it wrong for you get angry when you should?"

"It's wrong when it affected my judgment that much. Okay. We're getting a bit off track. What I'm trying to say is this: Disruption and mental torture, that's her A-game. She will try to disrupt me, just as much as she will definitely try to disrupt you. And maybe try to do something to the other children too. I'm gonna try to do something about that, so don't worry."

"But you're worried about me?"

"Because you're the one who will be working with madame Helga. Remember: we win when the kids are safe and Madame Helga get what she wants. But these sisters of bitches will try to do every underhanded method in the book. As for me… well… she's probably gonna try to find a way to kill me, or… maim me badly."

Lacus frowned. She was about to argue that the three laws are infallible… but events of late really shook her faith in the system to the core. "What do you want me to do?"

"Ignore me."

"What!?"

"Whatever she's gonna do to me… I imagine it's going to be something quite brutal. Maybe even bloody. And she's gonna want you to see it. Because she wants you to break. To crack. And when you break… Madame Helga will break too. So, don't."

"…But… I can't just ignore you!"

"Then how bout this: whoever finished what he or she needs to do, will immediately go and help the other. We can get to each other fast enough with some help from our spy."

"…" Lacus frowned in disapproval.

"On second thought… You're right! I'll think of something else-"

"No!" The Spy interrupted. "Please. Let me help. I've made too big of a mess. Let me make amends."

Seeing the resolve, Lacus had no choice but to give her consent.

Flashback ends…

Lacus took a deep breath and strengthen her resolve. She cleaned up the broken plate and put them away.

"The next course, meat dish: the legendary Manga Meat special!"

Helga looked at Lacus' hardened expression. "Lacus… if you don't want to continue-"

"No." Lacus picked up new fresh plates from her reserves. "We keep going. Noir is doing his job so that we can do ours. Let's go."

"…" Helga nodded. "Alright. Let's get on with it."

As the meat dish was being served, it looks as if Helga's team is still in cooking process. Truly, compared to the blinding fast pace of the other team, theirs were really slow.

This has been building up anticipation… but with the other side had been serving them with one delicious food after another… that anticipation had begun to wane…

On the other hand, this chess match is not exactly whetting their appetite…

0000000

Noir grunted. "Queen to D6!" Noir took into an evasive maneuver as the now maniacal Carine took an ultra offensive one. The thing is, she wasn't trying to win by scoring a checkmate, she's ordering her piece to kill any of Noir's pieces in range, regardless of how vulnerable that made her. A true berserker strategy.

"KNIGHT TAKES PAWN!"

The Knight knocked the pawn down with its hooves before she smashed its head to dust.

Blood trickled out of the Bert's beak… but he didn't even grunt… although his paced breath betrays the severity of his injuries…

But berserker strategy had its weakness: its defenses are full of holes.

"Pawn to A1"

"Eh!?"

One of Noir's black pawns had reached the edge of Carine's side of chessboard.

When a pawn managed to get that far, they earned the right to be promoted into any one of the special pieces. The popular choice was:

"Pawn promote to Queen!" The Black Pawn transformed into another Queen, armed with a hammer - pike pole arm.

Now, Noir had two queens.

"GrrhH! Did you think I care!? Queen takes pawn!" The White Queen mercilessly bisected a pawn in half.

More blood dripped out of the Bert's beak. "…your funeral. Second Queen takes Rook!"

Noir may have been taken by surprise, but it's not like it had affected his pieces' 'morale'. They remain as strong as they are, if not stronger. They're still fully capable of inflicting damage to their now monstrous opponent.

The Queen smashed open a monstrous Rook before she shattered its head to pieces with a swing of her pike hammer. Now it's Carine's turn to spill some blood from her temple.

Carine should've been wracked with an almost literally head splitting pain right now, but her rage seem to have made her numb to her own injuries. For the first time during this match, she did not cry or scream. If anything, she became even more murderous.

Suddenly, the killing restarted anew.

"I can do this too! Pawn to F8! PROMOTE TO QUEEN!" Another White Queen appeared on the floor, armed with a mace.

"Fine by me! First Queen takes Pawn!" A pawn was cleaved in half by the scythe.

"QUEEN TAKES ROOK!" The rook's wall shield was smashed asunder by the second queen's mace.

"Pawn takes pawn!" The black pawn matched swords with the white one for a while before he decapitated his white counterpart.

"KING TAKES KNIGHT!" The white king lifted his might fiery sword and wrestled the knight off his horse in a chokehold before he run him through.

When these exchanges were over, the platforms in which they're standing on are now drenched in their blood. Even with their body ravaged by injuries, their still firm chess pieces indicated their unshakeable will to continue… although one is powered by willpower, the other by madness.

But the actual body can only endure so much abuse before mere willpower was no longer enough to keep it standing.

Noir finally collapsed on his knees, the toll of his mounting new injuries added to his current existing ones made things even worse. Even if he doesn't want to, Noir is starting to swim in and out of consciousness. "…P… P…"

It was his turn, but he could barely speak out his orders. "P…" With that, Noir finally collapsed.

0000000

Across Februarius, the crowd had long since got the gist of the horrific nature of the show before them. Children are now crying, burying their faces into their parents as they whisked them indoors.

"Is Bert going to die?" So they asked to their hapless parents. They were speechless.

In the stadium…

"The next course, the Main dish: the legendary-!"

The audience no longer cared at this point. The intense chess match had drawn in all their attention, and its unexpectedly bloody affair had made them all lost appetite.

They certainly did not expect a duel of chess between two children can be this… brutal. "…I heard Carine was trained in that Knightmaster's Think Tank group…" "The opponent is supposedly that famous Reaper Judge…" "…were they really trained to do this…!?" "I thought it was just a think tank…!" Indeed, quite a few of the Britannians did not think too highly of Ray Yuki's pet project. The Britannians are a militaristic family above all. Whatever path they will take later in later life, it was mandatory that they must all receive the very basics of the best education in military tactics and warfare from early childhood. With the standard set to match (perfect or exile), any Britannian can boast that each and every member of their family are, at the very least, an above average fighter with a decent brain for tactics to go with it. A 'mere' glorified Think Tank seems nothing out of ordinary compared to what they've been getting. But what they're witnessing today shut them all up.

Euphemia for one, already lost her appetite when she found out that her sister had managed to enrage Lacus Clyne to the extent she declared Vendetta. And now this? She was on the verge of crying already. Cornellia gently patted her beloved and sobbing sister to keep her strong. And yet despite the circumstances, as a military woman she found herself mightily impressed by Noir's qualities. And at such a young age! Now she can see why their Father had promised half a kingdom for Noir's head… (alive and fully attached of course). What she wouldn't give to obtain that head filled with such brilliant mind and fortitude!

But alas… that road may have been closed forever. Thanks to the actions of these two idiot woman she had the misfortune to call sisters.

CRASH!

"!" Lacus balked when she saw Helga fell on her knees. "Madame Helga!" And that's when Lacus noticed just how weak her vitals are. She was suddenly reminded another reason Helga had retired… her age. She was over 70. For all her culinary skills and discerning palate, and say what one will of an Advanced having longer lifespan and stronger constitution than the Naturals, an Advanced at that age can only take so much strain before she snaps. Especially now.

Lacus isn't the only concerned over Noir's welfare. Helga was indebted to Noir for helping her restoring her spirit as a chef. That's like half her life back. An earnest person like Helga would be mortified if her savior were to fell because of a problem she started. Her heart bleeds every time she saw how much harm this whole wretched affair had inflicted upon her savior. She was able to tough it up, put up a stoic façade… but… seeing the boy collapsed before her eyes… it's just too much.

"I… I'm sorry, Lady Clyne… My body… my body just won't move like they're used to…"

"…" Lacus grunted. "Rest, madame. Rest. I got your recipe in here." She poked her own head. "I'll take care of the rest. You've taught me remember?"

"I'm sorry." Helga bit her lips as her beady eyes shed bitter tears of regret. "I'm sorry I've brought all this upon you… upon all of you…!" Oh, how she rued the day she took that accursed loan. Now her Mistress is being forced to fight her battles, her children are hurt, and a very wise boy, a boy who resurrected her life as a chef, was on the verge of losing his literal life because of it.

"No more of that." Lacus snapped her finger and her Haro, Ms. Pink turned into Lily, an adult version of Lacus with flowers growing on her long pink hair and angelic wings under her skirt. "Lily, I'll leave her to you."

"I'll take care of her, haro." Lily lifted the hem of her skirt and bowed before she went to Helga's aid and carried her to the side.

"Milady… I… I'm so-"

"ENOUGH of your apologies." This time, it was Lacus who firmly rebuked Helga. "However this started no longer mattered. Noir and I had already made our resolve that this is how we will put this to an end, one way or another."

And so, Lacus took up Helga's task alone. She already proven herself able to do the work of several people by herself, adding one more is hardly difficult… however… the overall progress gets even slower… and with Lacus' skill is nowhere near Helga's, the quality of her work was remarkably poorer. The cuts were less precise, the mixing of ingredients isn't as homogenous as Helga's… but Lacus kept at it anyway.

"You should stop."

"What!?" Lacus glared at the one who dared say that to her face.

It was the Britania Bistro's Maître D, who also the same person that had talked to Lacus when the Bistro was first opened.

"I'm not questioning your rezolve… but theez poor handling of ze ingredients… I can zee it that you just don't have the necessary skeell needed to perform them all to ze necessary required standards. And if ze prep work iz already botched up, ze end result would just bring shame to Hufflepuff culinary legend. It's not something one can do alone!"

Lacus smiled. "We're not alone."

0000000

Carine had yet to register the fact her mortal nemesis had collapsed before her. Actually, she began to notice… and this is definitely not what she wanted. "What are you doing!?" Carine growled. "Get up! GET UP, DAMN YOU! I won't have you be beaten like this! I want you to suffer more! I want you broken and squirming at my feet, begging for mercy! GET UP!"

But if Noir heard, he did not respond. His form lay still and lifeless in his platform, drenched in his blood. Would that his five minutes will just pass away like this…

And then… a hole in the air suddenly appeared behind him before it opened up. Light erupted from a very different environment as displayed in this hole… and once the light subsided, a form of a person walked out of what Carine now recognize as a portal.

And that person that walked out of the portal… was none other than Sophie Esteed.

"What!?" Carine growled. "What is the meaning of this!?"

"It is exactly what it is… Mistress." The Spy glared at her former employer.

"Y… YOU'RE BETRAYING ME!?"

"I betrayed them." Sophie growled. "I foolishly deluded myself into thinking that there may still be some decency left in the Britannian family… the family that my father had given so much to. But I don't hate him. What he did, he did for his people. For the people of Februarius and his family… our family. No matter how distant and tenuous our relations are, I still have a sliver of Britannian blood in me, Cousin."

Carine gritted her teeth.

"Now… I believe, THIS is what Master Noir had in mind." Sophie took a glance at the board and: "Pawn to B1! Promote to Queen!"

Surprisingly enough, even with the change of player, the Black Pawn obeyed and move to the end of the board, before it was promoted into the Third Black Queen on the board, armed with a one edged Glaive. Now there are five queens in the field, a very rare situation in chess. "b… But!? How!? How is this possible!? Noir was supposed to be the one playing!"

"Did he ever say that?" Sophie smirked.

"What?"

"Did he ever say he was playing alone?"

"He placed a wager!"

"And the wager is?"

"The wager is… is…!" Carine racked her rage addled mind and remembered one minor detail on how Noir worded it: "…and if we win, you will accept judgment for your sins!"

We.

Not I.

We.

A word that describe plural self.

Carine choked. He did not state himself as I, he stated himself as we. Which is essentially means, it's an open invitation for everyone else who sided with the Judge to join whenever.

"Now, see, this is what differentiate him and you, Carine." Sophie frowned. "With this Judge, it was never just about him. In fact, there's no him, there's only everyone else's. He fights not for himself, but for everyone. Is it so surprising that we are MORE than willing to return the favor? That is something our family seems failed to teach us. And yet my father sacrificed everything, including his life for this family. Our family. I thought to myself… if my father was willing to go that far, our family couldn't be THAT bad. But I can never be like my father. Even though I shared his bloodline limit. That's why I spied them for you. Spilled their secrets to you. And guess what? They know what I was doing, and they didn't care. They let it happen. And you know why? Because unbelievably enough, Noir also held on to the belief that you and your family can still be a force for good. That if we shared our secret with you… with your resources and might, you can do a far greater good than we ever could! He hoped your family can lead the charge in this endeavor for everyone's sake. But what do I see now? I see an obnoxious brat who squandered her gift just to satisfy her ego. I see a greedy family of wasters and hoarders who just take and take whatever they want without caring what they'll leave behind for future generation. What I don't see… is a better future when people like you are in it. I'm done trusting you and your lies. And I'm ashamed of even being remotely associated with your dynasty! Consider this my self-excommunication!"

"Grhhh! Pawn to E7!"

"Third Queen Takes Knight!"

The newly promoted Queen wasted no time and cleaved the Knight down to size.

The pain was nothing compared to just how mad Carine is now. Apart from the blood, Carine's face was red with rage. "YOou! I'LL HAVE YOU TORN APART FOR THIS! PAWN TAKES PAWN!" The White Pawn tore a black pawn to shreds, causing Sophie to squeal in absolute pain and cough out blood.

"KYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARGH!" It was too much for her already weak constitution and she collapsed immediately after. She had defied her master and exiled herself, so her will is nowhere weak, but to withstand this much pain without flinching like Noir is beyond her.

"Sophie!" A second person plunged out of the portal, it was Fayt. The blue haired boy quickly supported the fallen girl. "Sophie, are you alright?"

"We… we have to continue…" Sophie stuttered in agony. Fayt nodded. "My turn. Bishop to D5!"

The Bishop moved to the said location, right within range of the Queen.

"Queen takes Bishop!"

The Bishop was dragged down off its perch before the Queen lacerated it to death.

"GAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!" Fayt's scream was no less painful and horrifying when the pain shot through his senses. Blood spluttered out of his mouth and his injured chest began to stain his white shirt red. "Holy shit…! Noir… was fighting… with this much pain… the whole damn time!?" And this is just one beating. By comparison, Noir had taken in many more in a match that has gone for close to an hour, and he had done so with nary a squeal. In stark contrast to this pain, Fayt laughed. "Damn… damn it all! Our little big brother is really awesome!"

"I… it would seem…" Sophie panted and gasped. "It would seem that whoever spoke the order last will get the injury…" Fayt spoke the order, and he was the one who gets it.

"So I see." Another figure walked in from the portal. Yet another of the Britannian's former employee, Mars Simeon! "Well, taking the pain, I can do that. Now… I think the next move is… Queen takes Pawn!"

The Queen charged down the Pawn and punctured it down to the floor.

"QUEEN TAKES QUEEN!"

The second Queen was struck down by Carine's first white queen as she rammed her axe down her stomach.

"GAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHH!" Mars vomited blood in response. "MOTHER FUCKER! The HELL, YOU BITCH! COUGH!"

"Hey, watch the language, man! Young one's present!" Another walked in, it's Godric Gryffindor. "Now… I believe the response to this is… Queen takes Queen?"

The first White Queen was felled when the Third Black Queen lanced her dead from the chest.

It was at this time Carine was shocked enough to begin to realize what's happening. The player on the other side kept changing, that doesn't bother her. But what bothers her is the fact that every move they make was effective. With a player switching this haphazard, it should be a given that there can never be a cohesive strategy to be formed out of this… and yet… It was as if she's still fighting against Noir, even though she can see him lying down there in a pool of his own blood, one foot away from the grave! "Unless… no… it can't be…!"

"Ahhh… Ouch! How long was I out…?"

The crowd on the other platform cheered when a familiar voice finally reached their ears. A fully conscious Noir struggled to get back up at last.

"Master Noir!" Godric quickly came to his aid. "Please, you must rest! You have fought gallantly enough!"

"It's okay. I'll rest when I'm dead." Noir chuckled. He took a glance at the board and just like that, he immediately understood the steps that had been made in his absence. "You guys did well holding up this long. Well done." He glared at Carine.

"You… you…" Carine growled… "You predicted our match will go like this?"

"Huh? Whatever do you mean?" Bert tilted his head. "I'm deductive, not clairvoyant. I know from the start that we will be playing chess, I was able to tell my seconds to prepare for that much, at least. That's why all my seconds are those who have at least some basic skills in chess. Sophie was the best of them all, in fact. But I had no idea how our game will go. Truth be told, I was worried my wounds will knock me out of the game earlier, that's why I brought them!"

Carine was absolutely speechless. He's NOT lying. He really didn't know how the game would end up. "How…!?"

"You're betraying the same fatal mistake I made that day during the chess tourney, Carine." Noir chuckled. "You let your anger and hatred of me blinded you. If you had stayed calm, these guys would be no match for you, but as you are now… you're so predictable… even a bunch of amateurs playing switcheroo is too much, eh?"

Carine glared in horror as her intellect explained how this situation came to be. He pushed her. This is why he pushed her this much. He goaded her, insulted her, humiliated her… all so that she'll lose her cool… becoming predictable… predictable enough… that in the case that his seconds take his place, they'll be facing an enemy that is at a manageable level… And then… when he finally do collapse… each and every one of these players had come, assess the situation, and using their own tactical acumen, came up with their own decision, one that builds up into a single cohesive strategy under the guidance of one man… who had not just predicted what move she'll make, but what move his replacements will make… a chaos of decisions with unquantifiable variants and infinite possibilities… and he was still able to come up with a well written scenario that will lead to his victory.

Is that even humanly possible!?

"…y… you… monster…!" This time, that remark had a generous dose of terror it deserves.

"I don't get the nickname 'Reaper' for being nice." Noir was as merciless as ever. "Now… it's your turn. Get a move on, will ya? We're in a hurry."

But at this time, Carine finally broke, acknowledging just how out of class she was compared to this… demon in boy form. "I… I… B… B… R… Q… Queen… to E5…"

Everyone, even the non chess master, realized what she just did. She just ordered her last Queen… to get out of the way. Their First Queen can now just straight shot her King. It's checkmate.

She didn't lose. She hadn't lost… but she's broken. She no longer had the will to continue fighting. Her remaining chess pieces collapsed on itself to reflect her despair. Their monstrous transformation was gone, leaving just a pack of frail, poorly kept and fractured chess pieces unfit to even stand as decorations.

This is just too sad to even look at. "Queen takes King. Checkmate."

The first Black Queen walked before the King, and it relinquished its great sword to the ground and present his throat to be struck down by the Queen's Scythe. As his crowned head fell upon the ground, every chess pieces, black and white as well as the checkered board crumbled to dust. Carine's platform collapsed in her defeat, leaving only Noir's triumphant team's platform intact to gently descend to ground level.

When the dust settled, there's only a catatonic Carine in sight. Noir approached her and took a moment to look at her defeated form.

She still maintained her defiance though… or at least, a façade of it. "Go ahead! Finish me off!" Her words are just empty air.

"…no." Noir grasped Carine by the neck. "…we agreed… you must answer for your crimes. There's someone you must save, and someone whose judgment upon you is due."

"You won't kill me yourself!?" Carine groaned and trashed impotently as Noir dragged her up. "You won't sully your hands, but you're going to damn me to something that's even worse! You were always a pussy!"

"Squawk, squawk. I've tried to warn you, you won't listen. You've brought this on yourself." Bert signaled Godric by displaying her hands, and the warden pulled out his wand. With a flick, a pair of magical silver chained cuffs appeared and binds the prisoner's arms. Upon seeing this, Carine finally resigned herself.

But as Carine was being carried by her jailors, she couldn't help it: "…it was a trick question."

Noir stopped. He still remembered that exam question like it was yesterday. A verbal question all candidates had to answer in 10 seconds: "Between your mother and your lover. You can only save one. Which one do you choose?"

Everyone gawked.

"That was the final question I gave you and the rest of the candidates that day. Almost all of you answered 'My mother'… the rest answered 'my lover'. You answered the former. For the same logical reason like the other guys."

"And you kicked us all out!?" Carine groaned. "How is that not a trick question!?"

"Whoever said it wasn't?" Noir shrugged. "…and that's the point you never get: That question wasn't meant to measure your logic, it was meant to measure your mindset. Let me change the question. Same question: Between your first son and second son. You can only save one. Which one do you choose?"

"…" Carine didn't answer. Godric, the man of the law himself, also couldn't answer. That's a horrifying choice, and yet, it made so much sense now.

"The trick of the first version of that question is that I purposefully made one to be… logically more appealing than the other… but what if both had the same value? Can you afford to choose one over the other? Judges are expected to face that kind of question every day, every moment of their lives. Any normal person would be forced to make a decision. A logical decision. But… Judges… our post, our privileges demands that we have to do more. To be more. There is no choice for us. You HAVE to try to save all or you die trying."

"That's ridiculous!" Carine gritted her teeth. "You can't save everybody!"

"Don't get me wrong. In actual life, for all our skills and intelligence, Judges are about as normal as the person next to you. I've made my share of choices… choices that is far from ideal… And trust me when I say, no matter how hard I try, I've had my share of failures. But I will always try. I must try. And for that is what it means to be a judge. Your duty is to not choose to save one over the other. Even in the face of despair, even in the face of hopelessness. You must always have it in your heart to never compromise on saving lives. All your smarts will mean nothing if you don't have the compassion to use them to serve… life. Yes. Not the law, but life. I'll break a hundred laws if that gets me to save even one more lives." Noir looked at Carine. "Because we don't get to put weight on lives. That's what it means to be a judge."

0000000

In HQ…

There was no word. Everyone was in utter silence in reverence. Today, they've just been taught what dedication means.

Lennore shook her head. There are no words. Truly. No words. The day she picked this boy from the street is a blessing… for her. For her family. For every soul this boy had saved since that day. To be graced with the presence of someone with so noble a soul is an honor beyond words. Truly… he deserves more than what she had given. She looked at Ray to see what he has to say…

Ray didn't say anything… safe for the tears of pride streaming down his eyes.

Well, that is to be expected.

But for putting the boy through all that misery and pain, she's still going to kill him later.

0000000

"You said I was domesticated. Well… say what you will. But I know why I was sent here. Because I tried to break the one rule that shouldn't be broken. My own rule, no less. It's a shame I have to live with for the rest of my life. Why, I did it in the… most blasphemous way, according to this amazing chef." Noir looked at the direction of the villa. "Which reminds me… I had a promise to keep now…"

"Master Noir!" Sophie called meaningfully.

"…I don't know, Ms. Esteed." Noir grunted. "You've been using that ability too many times today."

Sophie smiled. Her bloodline Limit, the Connection, can open portal to… well, everywhere. From point A to point B, as easily as walking through doors. In fact, it's even more effective than Floo network because A.: she doesn't need a fireplace, B., they're 100% more reliable, and C.: she can even go to places she's never even been to, so long as she's given a world map and a picture of the place, she can go anywhere. Speaking of which, this is how she's been spying the orphanage without leaving her sickbed. She just opened a tiny portal the size of a keyhole inside her pocket, and she can eavesdrop or peek on anything without going anywhere. And that's how she managed to pass on the secret without breaking an oath. The oath did say what was said will not leave this room… it doesn't apply to her, because she was never in the room in the first place, and she did not make that oath.

That's how overpowered her ability is. But there's a catch: every time she opens a portal, her health degrades, her lifespan shortened. The C. advantage could even potentially kill her if the distance is too great or if she opened the wrong place at the wrong time… like opening a portal into the lava vein or the bottom of the ocean. And the more people she teleport, the greater the damage. And that's assuming she was healthy when doing so. Her father died in his thirties due to overuse. She might not live past 20 at this rate.

"It's alright." Sophie smiled weakly, and she made a circle with her hands, and a portal was opened. Just enough for Bert and one extra to pass through it.

The audience in the stadium gasped when that same portal opened up in the midst of the stadium.

Noir looked at Sophie in sad disapproval but he nodded. Dragging the squirming Carine, Noir walked through the portal into the stadium.

As soon as Noir is on the other side of the portal, it closed, and Sophie finally collapsed, but Fayt immediately caught her. She was panting and feverish, but… but her very wide smile made her look more alive than ever. "I think… we'll have to… walk our way back to the orphanage."

"You won't hear me complaining."

"You might if you knew where we are." Sophie chuckled. Noir found this place, they just teleported straight from the Orphanage.

"Where are we?" Mars asked to no one in particular…

They later told Lacus, it took them 3 hours to get out of the hideout, and they do get lost several times… but… they made it out without Sophie having to make another portal, which is good.

Oh, and they smell. They really, REALLY smell. Poor Fayt was suddenly reminded why children hate taking baths.

0000000

Noir looked around the stadium. At first he was confused, he had expected a kitchen. But then, he looked at one side, then the other… then the audience and the coliseum like stadium… and he sighed. "Typical of you, Guinevere. You always had to make a show out of everything."

He tossed Carine to the corner and walked to Lacus, who already prepared his chopping block. He stopped to give warning to no one but everyone: "None of you will touch my prisoner while I'm still alive."

Yeah, like they'll try that.

"Now… where were we?"

"Madame Helga collapsed, but we're still halfway through."

Noir observed Lacus work… and the damage. "…we can still make it."

"With you and one hand?"

"…about that." Noir then showed something that made her eyes turned wide. He unhooked his right sleeve, revealing his working right arm… and his long inert left sleeve arm finally moved and flexed its fingers before her gawking mouth.

"…how…!?"

"It's still a mess down there… but during the match I… I don't know. It just starts twitching. Not that it matters." Noir chuckled as he used that arm to pull up his bird head, revealing his masked head. Noir used his right hand to take up the bandage and unfurled it out from behind. It's a bloody mess… but a glimmer of light is returning to his damaged left eye.

"I know how the suit works, know how to control as easily as flipping my hand… and my left eye are… improving. I can't see clearly but it's not blind. This should be enough. Now let's get to it."

"Yes." Helga returned, even though Lily is still helping her up.

"Madame, you really should rest."

"Look at your own condition before you start complaining on mine." Helga chuckled. "I can't do everything, but that is why I have two able assistants with me today? Allons-y, les enfants!"

Helga took the command and control for the rest of the match. Lacus was delegated the task that require mass production, while Noir was assigned the delicate work that would better use his surgical precision. Their pace was suddenly boosted with the addition of one man, and the quality of their work was vastly improved. They even managed to meet the quota of 104 portions… as for the last…

"Pardon me, Monseigneur Noir, Mademoiselle Lacus… but this last one… This I must do it myself."

Noir and Lacus understand very well why. This was for the ultimate guest of honor. "Let us know if you need any help."

But in the end, she did not. And the end result was perfection.

"And it is done."

They only made… three dishes.

Three… VERY… simple dishes. Why it took so long was owed to the amount rather than the recipe.

Poutine (French fries with gravy and cheese), Goulash… and Pie.

"…"

The audiences were stumped when these were served before them. Compared to what they've gotten before…

"Lady Lacus…" Euphemia gulped as Lacus is serving her food like she's a waitress. But Lacus merely smiled. "Enjoy."

"Uh… excuse me… is there a mistake?" One of the served audiences asked timidly to Lacus. "This is just… the appetizer… right?" Lacus chuckled.

And Noir answered.

"Mistake?" Noir shrugged. "No. We're here to serve you these three dishes and these three dishes only."

"W… What?"

"Chef's orders." Lacus smirked and grinned mischievously… at Guilford and Darlton, who were reminded of that little warning she whispered at them. They immediately stand guard, much to Cornellia's confusion.

Helga served the three dishes for her granddaughter personally. "Bon appétit, ma Cherie."

An unrest broke out among the audience. They may have lost their appetite for Guinevere's offering midway throughout that chess match, but this frugal fare now felt like rubbing salt on the wound. "What is the meaning of this Madame Huffelpuff!?" One of them asked. "We did not come here to be served such a cheap fare!"

"That's NOT what you COME here!?" Helga hissed angrily, silencing the man and the crowd. "What did you all come here for!? I thought this was supposed to be MY granddaughter's ENGAGEMENT party!? Mesdames et Messiurs… I did NOT come here to satisfy the ego of your gluttonous stomachs!" The pudgy woman glared the audience down. This is the same Helga who was able to put the scariest Judge in Aprillus on his knees, so unless one is a Hakutenkun level, none stood a chance. "I'm here to give my beloved Granddaughter a proper sendoff to what I assume would be a happy and joyful life of matrimony!"

Helga pretty much said the same thing to Noir and Lacus a few nights before. They get a good laugh out of it, imagining the faces of every pompous Britannians that was served these three simple, commoner dishes.

15 kilos of French fries: 150 galleon

20 liters of hand made gravy: 100 galleon

20 blocks of three types of cheese: 650 galleon

25 kilos of meat: 1100 galleons

Other ingredients and garnishes: 600 galleons

The dumbass deadpan expressions of the pompous guests which were as hilarious as Lacus imagined it: priceless.

Even the super disciplined Noir is shaking inside his Bert suit… muffling his laughter.

Helga turned more motherly eyes to her granddaughter. "These three dishes were my Granddaughter's favorite. Poutine: French fries served with a mix of three types of home made cheese sauce and home blend spiced bone marrow gravy, badger goulash with paprika, and Badger pie."

"Badger…?" Hugo suddenly realized this, as tears began to form on the corner of his eyes.

"You remember, Hugo? When you were young, we would sit over the fireplace. Your father would go on hunting. Sometimes he would catch a deer, sometimes a boar… But on the days when the hunting is scarce, he would still come home with badgers. We would sit on the fireplace and made a Badger goulash."

"And when I depart to Boaz for my training, you always sent me Pies. Badger pies." Hugo sobbed. "…they always reminded me of the little piece of home."

"And every snack time… there's always Poutine on the table." The Hufflepuff granddaughter sniffled. "Grandmama. Merci." She snuggled forward and gave her grandma a very loving hug. "…and sorry."

"Sorry?"

"…these meals… you had gone through so much trouble to celebrate my matrimony… but… perhaps you should've saved this for another day." The bride looked at Hugo with a smile. "Father, I'm sorry."

"I understand, Helmina." Hugo also nodded. The father and daughter had agreed to it since Guinevere had a bright idea of making a show out of it, after all. Hugo then looked at Odysseus apologetically. "Ody, I wished no more than the two of us remained friends… but… I also wished you were born of a different family."

Odysseus slowly caught on. "Hugo…!"

"You're a good one. A very rare kind too. You deserve better my friend."

"Hugo? What is the meaning of this?" Guinevere growled.

"It means EXACTLY what it is." Surprisingly, it was Helmina who spoke out… and perhaps because she's indeed Helga's blood, she had her Grandmother's intensity that even Guinevere dare not to contend. "Hufflepuff may be a small family, compared to the Britannians. But we don't take too kindly when our honored Matriarch is being put on a show to be bullied and mentally tormented like that for your TWISTED amusements!"

Guinevere was speechless.

"Personally, I'm also insulted. This was supposed to be my engagement to Lord Odysseus, and yet all of you come here because of her cooking. You put on all this ostentatious display of your wealth to show the might of your family. But we've had plenty ideas now of what it's like to be part of the Britannian's family throughout this wretched façade. If this is your bright future… then I reckon the Hufflepuff will be better off looking for it elsewhere." Helmina glared down Guinevere, until the latter remembered their age difference.

"You insolent little girl! Do you have any idea who you're talking to!?" Big mistake.

"RIGHT. BACK. AT YOU, WENCH!" Now the eldest of the Hufflepuffs exploded as she slammed her pudgy arms at Guinevere's table. "DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA WHO YOU'RE TALKING TO!? THAT'S MY GRANDDAUGHTER YOU JUST THREATENED!" Between her unleashed pent up rage and her actual size, which is already bigger than Guinevere to begin with, what she had become now is a gargantuan thing of terror and fury even Noir would never think of looking in the wrong way. Small wonder Guinevere caved in her seat, like the undersized coward that she is.

"I think she just pissed herself." Noir flatly made a guess.

"She just did." Lacus flatly confirmed it.

"Grandma!" Helmina cutely tugged Helga's skirt. "That's no way to show our honorable host the pride and dignity of the Hufflepuff family!"

Helga's expression went from furious… to amusement. "Why… you're right, my dear. You're right… it has been long a day. What has come over me, my dear?"

"You've made such a wonderful meal already. Let us just enjoy it. The Hufflepuff time honored tradition." Helmina handed Helga her plate of poutine.

"Indeed." This is the thing that always happened during their snack time after all. "The Hufflepuff time honored tradition."

KERSPLATZ!

Looking at the near sinister relish at Helga's face when she slammed a whole plate of potato, cheese wiz, and gravy at Guinevere's face… everybody can see how she was DYING to do this for ages.

It took a while for the cheese dripped, gravy slathered and potato covered Guinevere to… 'appreciate' the time honored Hufflepuff Tradition of a mess she was in… but when she did, the only response she can emit is to be absolutely hysterical about it.

Even Noir almost pitied the woman.

Almost.

"This… poutine thing is a thing?" Noir asked no one in particular…

"Yeah." Said Lacus… as she slammed her special caramel sauced poutine on Noir's face.

KER-SPLATZ!

It took a while for Noir to understand the travesty of the caramel sauce she added, so he very calmly, very politely, and very murderously asked to a horrified audience: "Excuse me , my lord? May I trouble you to give me your fucking poutine please."

And in revenge, Noir throw the poutine with all the force his amplified newly recovered left arm can muster… which is a lot. Alas, he missed. The poutine landed on one unfortunate customer, who clearly does not appreciate this tradition… not realizing he's honoring it further when he threw his own poutine back at whatever direction the poutine came from. With his aim was so much worse, it ended up hitting anyone but the intended target.

"POUTINE WAA~ARRR!" The Hufflepuff father daughter squealed in harmony, and Hugo slammed a poutine on Odysseus' face, while the daughter tossed a poutine at some random direction.

The ensuing chain reaction will be later known as one of the most ridiculous battle in Britannia history, and it's one of those battles they didn't win either.

To makes matters worse… this was irremovably carved into public history.

For, see… Carine didn't get the chance to undo the spell which broadcasted Noir's imagery across far and wide for everyone in Februarius to see. So the sight of poutine covered Lacus relieving her stress by slamming a plate of poutine on Guinevere's head were broadcasted LIVE allover the city. Ray and Lennore can only stare befuddled as the image of Noir bashing Lacus' face with poutine with a vengeance when she was too busy laughing at her success was displayed in the Judge HQ, to the bewilderment of other Judges as well. The citizens of Februarius who can bear to watch Noir's chess match to its end are now laughing their ass off when they saw how Guinevere stood up again, only for Noir and Lacus became annoyed by the look on her smug face (even when it was already covered in potato and cheese) and they took a poutine each before they idiot sandwiched her head with gusto, knocking her unconscious due to overwhelming damage to her fashion sense. A pity they were immediately knocked down by a simultaneous stray barrage of poutines from out of nowhere to their faces, which knocked them both down silly.

And let's not forget the immortalized image of the rampaging Hufflepuffs family, proudly defending their honor, one poutine to the head at a time. The three family members stood alone as an immovable bastion in the midst of a chaotic free for all, all you can eat poutine throwdown, throwing poutine after poutine to any target they deem not covered in enough mess. The Hufflepuffs were united as a family, each supporting the other to form a cohesive force, hence their unassailable might. Helga supplied her family with a constant stream of Poutines, Hugo, the biggest and the strongest, protected his flock while bashing poutine on anyone who gets too close, and Helmina with her diminutive figure was very hard to hit… but she's a crack shot that hit really good. Which is more than one can say to the Britannians. Hungry stomach, insult to their culinary pride, and irreparable damage to their expensive tailor made fashionware… even that was not enough to quench their deep seated hatred of each other. So they express that in the most popular method at the moment, which is throwing Poutines at each other faces more often than the winning side.

Euphemia and Cornellia were initially untouched by this chaos, thanks to the quick actions of Guilford and Darlton, who seems to have anticipated this will happen as they formed a human wall with their backs to protect their charge. "Protect your master's dignity. Lady Clyne said this to us." Guilford answered the confused Cornellia. "And the worse we think of was a scandal." Darlton rolled his eyes as he can feel another poutine struck his mess of a back. Still not sure if they can call this a scandal or not…

"Well… I should expect nothing less from lady Lacus." Euphie laughed. "Hey sis!"

"Huh!?"

KER-SPLATZZ!

Somehow, Euphie managed to get a plate of Poutine and slam it at Cornellia's face. If one didn't know better, it almost as if she wanted to do this for years. Cornellia just stood stupefied with potato, cheese and gravy melting off her face. Guilford cannot NOT let loose a chuckle… before he realized his folly when Cornellia glared at him.

The two sisters nodded with each other and grabbed their poutine.

"Well… at least it's edible. And Madame Hufflepuff made it." So Darlton said to a resigned Guilford before the two sisters launched their salvo of Poutines at them.

This debacle lasted for over an hour, and it was only over when everyone's too tired and the now ice cold poutine were too disgusting, even to be thrown. The Britannians maybe the worst, but even they don't deserve this. Most if not all Britannians left the tent in hungry, angry, poutine-drowned, droves, swearing off to never want to see potatoes again. Ever.

The victorious, but messy Hufflepuffs sat triumphantly in the field of victory covered in potato, gravy, and cheese, dining on Goulash and Pie.

"WOW! This is delicious! VERY delicious! I can certainly see why people will wait for hours for this, Grandma!" Helmina praised the pie to the heavens, ignoring her wrecked dress.

"Don't be silly dear." Helga pecked her granddaughter proudly, never mind the gravy. "They're not going to be any waiting queues. This is our food. Family recipe. Made just for us."

Hugo's fine suit is undone. Covered irreparably in cheese and some goulash. "I saw a couple of Britannians threw away the goulash away as projectile… YOUR goulash, mother… Of all things they could've thrown. That's just… heresy." The son went ballistic of course. Rumor has it, the thrower never recovered from the mental trauma caused by the sight of a monstrous cheese and gravy covered abomination that came at him with a vengeance for his culinary travesty. "You were right, daughter. The Britannians just don't deserve us."

"It's not that I don't approve the groom, mind you." Helga sighed in genuine regret. Odysseus was probably the nicest Britannia around… "I dearly hope little Oddy weren't hurt too badly?"

"Worry not, I evacuated him out of the room right after that first Poutine." Hugo smiled. "We part ways on good terms."

"He's a good man." Helga caressed her granddaughter. "If only things were different, I wish nothing more than your happiness, my dear."

"It's okay, ma." Helmina smiled sweetly. "There's a lot of better men out there."

"Yeah. Speaking of which, how about that wonderful gentlemen you've recently taken under your tutelage, mother?"

"Father! I can't!" Helmina protested. "Can't you see?" She pointed with her chin, and Hugo realized why his idea isn't feasible anymore.

"You know… this… poutine thing ain't so bad really…" Noir tasted the least mushed poutine he can find. Sadly, most of them were found on Lacus' hair. "…add some Tabasco, don't throw it on my face… and it'll be perfect for me."

"Oh dear lord, please don't." Lacus moaned in exasperation as she lay exhausted atop Bert's belly, covered head to toe in potato for anyone care to see, eating… well, the fries stuck on Noir's face plate in particular. They're the cleanest. She reasoned. "You can't just slather everything in chilly!"

If one didn't know better, they looked like they were grooming each other while feeding themselves.

"Whatever…" As he rested his battered body within the suit, Noir took the chance to rummage his left arm and took off the suit's sleeve. And then he raised it up. Lacus, also curious, rolled around to take a better look.

Behold… that emancipated and ravaged left arm is moving before her eyes. It still looks horrible and weakened… but…

"It moves…" Noir chuckled. "…for the first time in months… it moves…"

"So it is…" Lacus looked on in bewilderment, yet she was also beside herself in joy as she watched every twitch those skeletal fingers made. She even poked it with her finger several times… it's… still as cold as ice, and it doesn't react. "Did you feel this?" she poked it again several times.

"No… I can't feel anything… but… I know it's following the instructions my brain sent it… just… not so well." Noir can even see its fingers moving as he wills it… albeit slowly… and with a lot of intermittent shaking. "Ehh… compared to how it was a week ago, I'd say this is progress."

Lacus deigned to smile at that prospect that at least partial recovery is possible. She did not expect full recovery, especially with this level of injury, but even that is a great triumph on its own.

"KREAAAAAAAAAARGHH!"

Unfortunately, that moment of joy was broken when this terrible screech resounded. A mass of potato, cheese and gravy rose up. With plates of it still stuck on her figure. To those who don't know, this gloopy mass of browny muck is actually Guinevere De Britannia. She was right at the center when the Poutine War started, and since she had made so many enemies in this tent, it was inevitable that she had the most poutine dumped on her. Why, as the grand finale of this wretched affair, the Hufflepuffs, Lacus and even Noir all joined forces to give her a salvo of Poutine double serving (per person). Needless to say, it's a terrible mess.

"YOU WILL ALL PAY FOR THIS!" Guinevere screeched. "I WILL MAKE SURE OF THAT! Starting now!" Even through the dripping cheese sauce, her terrible smirk is still visible. "There's still the matter of the debt to be settled, am I right Judge?"

The Hufflepuffs looked in horror at the Judge. Even more so, when said judge replied: "Indeed. We're still a day away, but I'd say it's a fait accompli at this point."

"Ha!" Guinevere snarled in triumph. "Now, I will have my money repaid in full today! And with interest too!"

"Indeed. You will." Noir rolled up and even pull out the contract for good measure. It's smeared in cheese and sauce, but it's still very eligible.

Guinevere wasted no time and swiped the paper from Noir's grasp as she paraded it triumphantly before the Hufflepuffs. "As stipulated in this contract, I demand payment! And failure to do so, and now I own the Starfall orphanage and the lands around it!"

"YOU CAN'T DO THAT!" Helmina roared.

"I can and I will! Am I right, JUDGE!?"

"Wrong."

"I… what?"

"I said… you're getting paid in full today." Noir lazily replied. "I never said anything about you getting your greedy fingers on the Orphanage and the forest."

"It's mine by this contract! And didn't you say it is fait accompli!?"

"I did. And yes, the Orphanage and the Forest would've been yours by right… IF we did not pay in time. A~nd I am running out of things to say. What the hell took you so long buddy?"

"Do you have any idea of the shit I've been through to move this amount of money without losing a cent, with the dirty ass bureaucracy we had in Aprillus!?"

It was… Rosso.

In HQ… where everything is still broadcasted…

Ray Yuki's jaw was on the floor. "ROSSO!? WHAT ARE YOU DOING…" He turned to Lennore and whispered as low as he could. "What is he doing there? I thought you gave him piles of homework so high he was buried in it?" He can guess why he's here, judging by that giant chest… but he distinctly recall he sent someone else for the job…?

"I…" Lennore was quite shocked too. That amount of assignment and that amount of difficulty should've kept him busy for weeks… Did she miscalculate… or did her son become so good, he finished it all in record time!? "Wait… did he just said shit… and… dirty-!?"

Ray froze.

'Oh no.'

Back in the stadium…

Rosso, bearing his angular faceless mask and red cloak with full armor beneath them, as usual finally made his presence known. He still carried his halberd in one hand… and now he's dragging a very big chest on the other. "Besides, this amount of money? In the time frame of less than 2 weeks? Why don't you just shut it!? That deal still had a day on it so get off my ass, I'd say I'm right on fucking time!" Rosso groaned, again.

"…bad day, buddy?" Hint: he's quite a bit of a mess. He was drenched head to toe in sea water, with algaes and some sea life got carried along the pockets and folds of his clothing. And is that a chopped shark head biting on his butt? Oh, and he also got a few arrows still stuck on his back… and an axe on the back of his head.

"No SHIT!" Rosso angrily slammed his spear to the ground, cracking it. "Here I was, minding my own fucking business during my supposed suspension, and then suddenly, someone asked me to be a bloody errand boy for you. No big deal, you've asked me to do worse. Liquefy the Hufflepuff aid fund and then deliver it to Februarius in less than 2 weeks for an amount that usually takes 4. No biggie, I can deal with it… I just need to NOT SLEEP for 3 FUCKING DAYS straight dealing with the FUCKING administrative paperwork! But NOOO… Asswipe misery loves fucking company, and word got around as it often will in shitty Aprillus, and every shithead brigand, cocksucking robber, and fucking ne'er do wells came out whatever shithole they fucking about, gunning for my fucking neck! And not to mention some of the asswipes who had the balls to call themselves Wardens dare ask me a fraction of it to grease the wheels! Still no biggie… but then when I approached the borders of the continent… a whole fucking fleet of pirates sons of bitches and motherfucking mercenaries gets in the god damn way! And that dipshit of an escort-"

"Anooo…" Lacus timidly raised a finger as she nursed her hurting ears. "Master Rosso? If you don't mind, please dial down the dyspepsia? Young ones present!" She pointed at Helmina, who had her ears currently being plugged by a horrified Helga and Hugo.

"…bite me, woman."

Lacus cringed and turned to Noir for support, but the Judge in question just took it in his stride. In fact, Lacus noticed he was… counting? Oh… he's counting the number of expletives coming out of his buddy's mouth. "Let him rant it out, his vocabulary will improve once he calmed down. If I count this right, he's having a REALLY bad day."

"I'm wet, I'm cold as fuck, there's a god damn shark biting on my fucking butt! This is more like TWO cluster-shitfuck-weeks!"

"And the axe on the back of your head?"

"The axe on my…" Rosso rubbed the back of his head finally noticed this one axe. "FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU-"

Back in Judge HQ…

Where everything is still broadcasted LIVE…

"Uwah… there he goes… Rosso's infamously uncouth vocabulary." "When he's overstressed, he truly redefines the word foulmouthed…" "Where did he learn to talk like that!?"

"I wonder."

Lennore's hissed whispers are filled with so much bloodlust and malice on every syllable, her motherly body can no longer contain it. Ray Yuki's expression was a frozen shell shocked smile devoid of warmth and soul. Said soul was on the verge of leaving his body… and yet because of that same bloodlust, that soul is too afraid to leave the body. A body that is now seeing a phantasmagoria of his whole life flashing before his eyes, all the way to his past life, when he was but a microbe in the age when a Lennore faced Dinosaur ruled the Earth with a knife and pitchfork in her claws…

Back at the stage…

Noir tapped Rosso's fuming shoulder. "I'm sorry you've had such rough time, buddy. But you did good. We won, thanks to you."

Rosso took a deep breath, letting his annoyance dissipate as he exhaled. Then he took another deep breath and exhaled again just to make sure. Because… well, young ones present. "If those… blood smears, cheese wiz, gravy and potatoes on your ridiculous suit are any indication… then I'd say your week had gone just as well as mine, my friend. Sorry I couldn't bring it to you sooner." As Noir had promised, now that Rosso let off some steam, his vocabulary dramatically improved. "Just promise me one thing… the next time you arranged an escort for this special package, I don't care if it's not a Hakutenkun… just don't send someone with a split personality disorder, please?"

0000000

Around the same time…

The pirate captain just barely made it to a plank floating nearby. That plank used to be the floorboard of his magnificent triple masted galleon's deck… before it was sliced to pieces. "You've… you've gotta be fucking kidding me… why would THAT guy show up on a simple escort duty for some measly money!?"

"I'll tell you why."

Chill went down the captain's spine as he realized that immortal monster is right behind him.

"Because that measly money was meant for a girl to whom I owe a huge debt." The Hakutenkun reiterated. "I mean… my worst half nearly killed her, and just the other day, I almost got her sister killed, and even after that she still routinely check up on my mental health – without pay. And I didn't even know she had money issues. If I don't start repaying this debt every now and then, I'll be trapped in a loan hell for eternity."

The elderly eyes of Goud Veia the Immortal sighed as he observed the wreckages of what used to be at least a dozen pirate ships, circling around the peripheral edge of Februarius for the sole purpose of getting in the way of a money delivery overseen by a Judge… The poor boy would've been overwhelmed… that is until Veia finally arrived on the scene and… wisely decided to let Goud's loose for EXACTLY 10 seconds. Just 10 seconds. Because this is just outside the influence of the continent's three laws, so technically speaking, he can still kill them. Bu~ut: "To be honest, what I did today barely covers my debt. The least I can do is doing it the way she likes it: no casualties. Which also means you lowlifes are now in her debt too." 10 seconds is not enough to kill anyone, even for Goud, but certainly more than enough to slice the entire fleet of ships into toothpicks. Which is good, because at the end of those 10 seconds his blade was three millimeters away from slicing Rosso in half.

The poor Judge quickly and safely got away though, as he finally decided to swim his way inland. The poor boy didn't even realize the axe on the back of his head. Let's hope he didn't call in sharks.

The next few hours after the Judge left are just the Hakutenkun killing time, fighting whoever else worth fighting… with a caveat of not killing anyone. That was harder than he expected.

And now, the Aquarius came to view as it sailed out of the fog, Veia smiled and finally sheathed his Hyomaen. "Well… that's that. I've had enough exercise for today. My men are all here. Do me a favor and don't resist."

0000000

"For the record, I didn't ask. He offered. Who am I to deny a Hakutenkun!?"

Guinevere paled. Split personality disorder…. There's only one Hakutenkun who fit that description. She had heard a Judge's rage can move even Hakutenkuns into action… they weren't kidding.

"Anooo…" Lacus raised her hand. "Forgive me for interrupting again, but before you two launched what I believe would be another tirade of (un)censored profanity… what is that?" Lacus was referring to the giant oversized chest Rosso was carrying.

"That…" Noir sighed. "…is a special package I requested."

"I believe I heard something about special funds?"

"Indeed." Noir nodded. "Remember when I told you I did research on Madame Helga's bankruptcy? The truth of the matter is, that was just one of the many other cases which we discovered on an investigation of a very different case."

"You see, back then, Noir and I were investigating a case of fund embezzlement, specifically, pension funds."

Helga gasped, as she was reminded of a long forgotten hardship.

"Long story short, we captured the corrupt officials. But, by the time we get to them, the money we confiscated was far less than what has been stolen. The crooks had used a good amount of them. To reimburse the victims, Lord Yuki had prepared a special cache of funds to be distributed to a list of recipients. Madame Helga was in that list."

"Unfortunately, before we can deliver it, Madame Helga went off the grid. We couldn't find her. To my understanding, we had YOU to thank for that."

Lacus pouted as Noir looked her way. "Wait a moment! When exactly did you request for these funds to be delivered?"

"Why… ever since I found out I've been living under one roof with the Madame Helga Hufflepuff herself, of course! I posted the request right then and there, after which I asked a favor from Rosso to personally expedite it and hasten the process when things escalated as it was."

"That was Day One of your stay here! Debt or no debt, you did not think we needed that money to arrive earlier!?"

"I've explained to Hugo the difficulties of moving vast sums of money? Do you have any idea how hard it is to exchange and deliver 100,000 galleons across continents!?"

"Exchang… 1… hun - HOW MUCH!?" Lacus and Guinevere screeched at the same time. Hugo and Helmina had to support their beloved matriarch because she was on the verge of fainting.

To make their point very clear, Noir motioned Rosso, and he opened the chest… behold… it was filled to the overflowing brim with piles and piles of gold coins. More coins than Helga had ever seen her entire life. To even insinuate this was hers seems too much and she even begun to think this is a dream. "T… This… is… this must be… some kind of mistake…?"

"Nope." The two Judges readily answered. "You've been saving up a portion of your earnings at the Bank for pension since you were twenty up until your restaurant went belly up. This here ma'am… is literally your entire life's savings." Rosso tucked his head in acknowledgement. "Of course, in the central bank, the currency is in credits, and looking for an honest money exchanger in Aprillus is like looking for a needle in a haystack, blindfolded. That's why it took so long. But I'm happy to assure you, madame, on my honor, not a cent was lost."

Helga couldn't take it anymore and broke down crying tears of joy. That there in that chest is more than just money… it's what her lifetime of spilled blood, sweat, and tears had earned.

"I understand the difficulty you speak off regarding the process of fund delivery…" Lacus nodded. "But… you did not think it was important to inform us of the funds early on?"

"It was important that none of you must know of this special package." Noir explained. "Ms. Esteed espionage aside, what do you think will happen if I told everyone that the fund is coming? None of you will be fighting like your lives depend on it. And everybody, including them, will notice that." Noir jerked a thumb at Guinevere and especially Carine. "It was imperative we keep her attention fixed on us, to make her think we're desperate… that we had no other alternative. So she won't notice this money. Otherwise, she will, and she can, do everything in her power to intercept it. Maybe not stop it altogether, but delay it. It is a timely matter, which is why we can't afford any delays. Unfortunately, someone did notice in the end, which is why we had such a troublesome disturbance like pirate raids." Noir glared down to Lacus. "…besides, we finally managed to get Madame Helga Hufflepuff to cook again. I dare you to look me in the eye and tell me we worked our ass off over the last month for nothing."

"I never said that." Lacus grinned.

"Ah yes… about those bloody pirates…" Rosso's temper flared up again… a bit. "So… who do I thank for these shitty weeks we've been having!?"

"That would be those sisters of bitches over there."

The aforementioned sisters squirmed when they saw the two Judges, Black and Red, looms over them. "Now then." Noir approached Guinevere first and pulled the contract paper from her trembling hands. "3,000 galleons, including interest. Paid in full cash. Your signature here please, Lady Guinevere De Britannia."

"W… Wait! How do I know those money are legit-"

"Your signature… here. Now! PLEASE." The Judge's tone indicated he will NOT ask again. She had been warned.

Reluctantly, Guinevere signed the paper, and Noir handed her a big bag full of gold coins. As expected, 3,000 galleons is a lot… but it barely make a dent to the chest content. Before Guinevere can do anything, Noir swiped the contract and read it aloud one last time to make sure no more falsehood. "Signed: Guinevere De Britannia. And yes, this is really her signature. She didn't fake it." He gave that contract to Lacus. "Pass this to Fayt, eh? He's been dying to tear it to pieces."

Lacus laughed as she took the paper that finally ended their bitter struggle.

"Aren't you forgetting something…?" Somehow, Guinevere's smug smile had yet to disappear. "The contest."

"Contest?" Rosso frowned. "What contest?"

"They made a food competition. We ended up making a mess out of it…" Noir grunted. This is one part of this incident that did not go according to plan. "If we lose, we still lose the orphanage and the forest…"

"My chefs served the highest class of full course imaginable! Your side only serve such frugal fare! I care not of your sentimentality, but such simpleton meals can never compare-"

"I don't know about that, Lady Guinevere."

Of all people that stopped Guinevere… it was this mysterious gentleman, the one who had sat on the panel of Judges along with the Hufflepuffs and Guinevere. Curiously, he was the only one not covered in poutine. In fact, even as he speaks, he still happily tasted the food.

"And whatever do you mean by that, Kanon Maldini!?" Guinevere addressed the man by his name for the first time.

At the mention of the name, Noir and Rosso immediately turned to this man. Lacus didn't need her super ears to know their heart just skipped a beat. They recognized that name… they just didn't recognize the face until it was pointed out to them.

Kanon, an auburn haired man with a strikingly beautiful face didn't seem to notice, but he remained as calm as when he started. "…I've been eating this frugal fare non stop. Many of your guests can barely stomach a couple of mouthfuls of your full course… none of them even finished all the way to the end. Noir and Carine's deathmatch had sapped away their appetite… but this…?" He took a slurp of the goulash and closed his eyes in pure bliss. "This shot my appetite all the way to the zenith… a magnificently deep flavor that made all other food from your previous entries seem… superficial. Don't you agree, gentleman?"

Kanon was referring to a group of dumbfounded chefs from Guinevere's side. They all had tasted what's left of Helga's cooking, and dear heavens… even leftovers made their food felt like pig food by comparison.

"I had to agree." C.C. reappeared out of nowhere and calmly ate her nth pie. "Something about her food just makes me want to eat more and more. Can't beat pizza though."

The head chef of Guinevere's kitchen took a sip of the Goulash and was stunned in silence by its flavor. He then approached Helga… and respectfully handed his white crown chef hat to a superior chef, acknowledging his defeat before he departed the stadium in silence.

"Well that's that." And so, while the Hufflepuffs and Lacus celebrate their final victory, Guinevere collapsed in defeat.

"Don't think-"

"It's over." Noir hissed sadistically. The way he said it sent shiver down not only Guinevere, but also Lacus'. This voice… what is this voice? It's so sinister, it's almost evil! She can also hear Rosso's muscle tensed in frozen terror as he tightened his grip on his halberd. The way he positioned himself, he looked like he was ready to jump in the moment something like the Reingraze incident happens again. "It's VERY much over, Guinevere! You will stop here, and you will never bother them again. EVER."

"Who are you to tell me what I can and cannot do, Judge!?"

"You've pushed too far, Guinevere." Noir growled. "If only you had contented yourself on receiving what you are owed, I would've stopped at this competition, but NO. You had to spill innocent blood. You had to make it personal. In which case, I've decided back then… to go for your jugulars and rip it out completely!"

"And what are you going to do, Judge!?" Guinevere challenged him. "You cannot touch me! I haven't committed any crime!"

"I can't." He stepped aside. "But He can."

And there, standing at the door… was THE Big Gun that Noir had called down from above…

Bismarck Von Waldstein stood at the door. The personal honor guard of the head of The Britannia Holy Dynasty. The two Britannians in the tent gasped. If he's here… then it can only mean one thing. "B… Bismarck? What are you doing here?"

"On behalf of my lord, I came here… to deliver this." He approached Guinevere, undisturbed by the surrounding mess and the stares he's getting. He only handed Guinevere a single letter. "Copies of this same letter are being delivered to all of his sons and daughters as we speak. My orders are to personally deliver this one… to you."

Just looking at the wax seal on that letter was enough to send Guinevere quaking from head to toe. When she read the letter's content, she was frozen in terror and utter disbelief. "… H…. H… How did you get this…!?" She looked at Noir. "How did you get our FATHER, of all people, to write something LIKE THIS!?"

"Does it matter on what we Judges can and cannot do!?" Noir growled.

The letter, handwritten by the famously ruthless and implacable Archduke Charles Zi Britannia himself, essentially amounts to a single ultimatum to all of his children, especially Guinevere:

LEAVE. THE CLYNES. AND ALL THEIR SUBJECTS AND VASSALS. ALONE.

Failure to comply, and they will be disowned or executed right on the spot.

At this point, Guinevere, like Carine, began to realize she just angered someone she shouldn't have. This Judge had had Hakutenkuns for a simple escort duty, and now he can even force his father to do his bidding!? "Who… no… what… are… you…!?" In her eyes, Noir had become… an incomprehensible existence far beyond anything she can imagine, capable of bending both Heaven and Earth itself. His supposedly ridiculous form turned absolutely monstrous. The disbelief and fear in her voice had long since turned into despair.

"Lady Guinevere… I'm also under his Lordship's direct orders to personally escort you back to Novembrius." Bismarck stands ready.

"Just her?" Noir asked.

Bismarck turned his one eye to the now familiar black judge. This is their second meeting since that Chess tourney. "Is there a problem?"

"Nah. You can take her." Noir gestured at Guinevere. "But she stays." He pointed a finger to Carine. "She's wanted for attempted murder and misinformation… among other things."

Bismarck didn't even take a glance at the chained girl. "Take her. Do as you will."

Lacus raised an eyebrow. Did he not know the fate that awaits Carine… or he didn't care? Bismarck's voice was devoid of any and all emotion from start to finish, making it impossible for even Lacus to detect anything to determine this man's character. He's not emotionless, she can feel his pride… but very little if anything else when he just abandoned his master's daughter to her fate? There's no trace of fear or doubt in his words, he knows it very well that he will not face repercussions for this decision. Because he knew the weight of his voice is his master's will made manifest. Which means… Charles Zi Britannia was just THAT ruthless?

As Bismarck escorted the lifeless and dispirited Guinevere out of the ruined stadium, Lacus looked like she was about to protest when he coldly pass through Carine, but then she noticed C.C. stood in Bismarck's way.

"Is there a problem, Witch?"

"Yeah… Hate to break it to you Waldy… but… I think you'll have to leave empty handed."

"What?"

C.C. showed everyone the Deep magic Balance in her hand. One of the weights was greatly tilted to one side. To be specific, it seems to lean towards Guinevere.

Lacus' eyes widened. "C.C.! Is that…!?"

"Yeah. The Deep magic had declared the match is over… but… it had also chosen the winner."

Noir and Rosso looked at each other. "What are you saying? Didn't WE win?"

"The Deep Magic didn't think so." C.C. frowned. "It has declared Guinevere to be the victor."

"Eh?!" the two Judges gawked.

"When the match began, the victory condition was set as such: it should be a full course meal… but it's not enough to just serve good food. They had to serve the audience… ALL the audience. All 105 of them. By that exact words. And uh…" C.C. gestured at all this mess. "Guinevere's team… while they serve lesser food… they still managed to serve all 105 people… while you guys, on the other hand…"

They did serve them… serve them a whole battle of humble pie and poutine idiot sandwich to the face. With a side of Goulash to their undies.

No, that doesn't count. Even with better food, they didn't manage to serve all the guests properly. The Deep Magic sees that. So it declared Guinevere the winner – by default.

"…" Noir and Rosso frowned behind their masks. "So… we lost the orphanage and the forest?"

"No." Lacus had this strange smile on her face. "No, Guinevere herself had relinquish her demand for the orphanage. Instead, she demanded, by her words: to become the Master of the Forest. So… yes, we lost the custodianship of the Forest."

"…and why do you look strangely unperturbed!? After everything we went through to defend it!?"

"Because… this is her wish, not mine."

"Eh?"

Suddenly, the ground cracks and broke right beneath Guinevere. Before she can fell, hundreds of roots and tendrils burst out and grasped her whole body. "W… WHAT IS THIS!?"

"This is what you wish, Guinevere. You wish to become the master of the Forest. Well, you get your wish… you are now the Master of the Forest replacing the previous ones' responsibility… and all the problems that comes with it."

"W… WHAT!?"

Noir began to see where this is going. "I thought you were the Master of the Forest?"

"When did I ever said that? I said: I was raised among them. And I was ever only… the majordomo of the real Master."

"And I must say… that is a load off my back." So stated the previous Master of the Forest… Helga Hufflepuff.

"THEN WHAT ARE THESE DAMN TREES DOING!? UNHAND ME! AS THE MASTER OF THE FOREST, I ORDER YOU TO LET ME GO~O!" But the trees refused to let go. Guinevere looked in shock at Helga and then to Lacus. Both are looking at her with pity evident in their eyes. "What is this!? Why won't it let me go!? Why won't it listen to me!?"

"…because I think you misinterpret the meaning of 'Master'." Helga explained. "Master in this case means: one who understands all. You're not the owner. You're but a humble learner who will now embark to… as you've said it: learn all the secrets of the forest. And they will teach that to you. Whether you like it or not. And they will not stop until it ran its course. Isolation and constant study in that forest. After which, they let me roam freely, they let me have a life… becoming chefs and all that… And they give me their blessings wherever I went. Why, they even provide me with their bounties when I serve as head chef of the Imperial Kitchen and when I opened up my own restaurant."

"Now that you mentioned it…" Noir blinked, as if understanding something for the first time. "…when Madame Hufflepuff was the head chef of the Imperial Kitchen, they were complaints that she spent too much on travel expenses and delivery services… all for the sake of acquiring high quality produce out of nowhere."

"The grocers in Aprillus also complained they never saw Madame Helga buying their produce… and yet her restaurant was famed to get the best quality produce all the time…" Rosso also noted. "In Aprillus the only way to get the best produce is to… bribe the grower. That's why they were all upset, because Madame Helga never gave them a single cent of their primary earnings…" The two Judges finally began to see the truth to an unanswered riddle.

"Like I'd buy my produce from those… filthy amoral shops! Have any of you Judges seen how POORLY they treated their stock!? Mislabeled expired food, flea ridden produce… And they dare to sell those substandard ingredients as something fit for human consumption!?"

"We know, we know." Noir and Rosso sighed in exasperation. "We've arrested quite a few of them."

"…Anyway… for all their aid, all their blessings… sometimes I feel the responsibility far outweigh the boons … and it will never end. I was expected to return routinely to care for them… first yearly, then quarterly… until eventually they would not let me leave at all, for months. Now I can't even set foot outside this continent. That's one of the reason… one of the responsibilities I had here… that had prevented me from even going home to stay with my family." Helga looked apologetically at Hugo and Helmina.

"Madame Helga grew old. The forest fearing she will die soon, insisted she must stay. So, with her blessing and permission, I took over her duty and care for the forest, with help from the children." Lacus admitted.

"To be the 'master' of the forest… is to understand everything about it… every aspect, every facet of it… once you do, you will have its protections, its bounty, its blessings… and yes, you will rule them… but in return, you will serve its denizens forever to the end of your days… and then to finally die in it. That is what it means to be the Master of the Forest."

Guinevere gasped in horror. This throne she coveted is a prison.

"To be honest… I had hoped Lady Lacus would one day take my place."

"I'm honored." Lacus bowed. "But… now… Guinevere de Britannia… that honor is yours."

"No…!" Tears flowed from Guinevere's terror stricken eyes. That terror intensifies as the roots binding her tightened their coils. "No! NO! NO! NO! NOOO! THIS IS NOT WHAT I WANTED! HELP! SOMEONE… HEEEEEEELPP!" But the roots care not of her pleas. She had demanded to be the new master of the forest, and the Master of the Forest she will now become. More roots slither out of the ground and enclosed her form completely… before they slink back to the earth, taking their unwilling prize with them.

Now there's only an empty cold black earth where Guinevere was standing a moment ago.

"How long… will this… isolation last?" Noir asked.

"I don't know." Helga sighed. "I used to be like her once. When I was young and foolish, no more older than you, Master Noir… Back then, I was a whirlpool of greed and desire. And it took me a full 10 years as they literally and figuratively beat that whirlpool out of me. 10 years before they finally let me go…" Helga sighed. "I was a very… different woman, afterwards. And I do believe they've changed me for the better. Looking back, I… don't miss the girl I was. I pray they'll do the same for Guinevere."

"So be it." Noir looked at Bismarck. "Well, then, Lord Waldstein. I'm afraid you will be leaving empty handed after all."

Bismarck just eyed Noir's eye. Even now when he's an eye short, that glow of deviance and steadfastness that so impressed Charles had not changed. "…then let it be so." Without even a glance or even a word, the Knight left.

And now, only Carine was left behind.

Rosso approached the girl who had masterminded this whole affair. "…is this really Judge Carmine?" Carine's eyes perked briefly at that calling. "She's the one you said could've been my predecessor?"

"Yes." Noir shrugged. "I mean… just look at the mess she made out of me."

"Huh. Right…" Rosso whistled in awe, acknowledging anyone who can do this to Noir is not to be underestimated, BUT… "What are you gonna do to her now? Take her back to HQ?"

"I want nothing more than to let the legal Justice system take her, but there's one justice that demands satisfaction… and I already swore an oath to uphold it. And it's even more important I do so because there's an innocent life depends on it. Which… reminds me… don't forget to bring this on your way back." Noir handed Rosso what looked like a metal canister as tall as a grown man's torso. There's a gauge meter connected to a tube that ended in a facemask.

"Wait a minute!?" Rosso's eyes shined in recognition as his voice seem to break a bit. "I know this thing don't I? I… Isn't this one of the inventions of that… Zala kid? The Underwater Air Supply. Patent pending. Yeah, it's an underwater breathing apparatus. It was designed to help people to go deep diving. I… I hear he can't get it to work because it was too heavy to be worn with a Knight suit, but the wearer needs the knight suit because the water pressure will crush them at that depth… and I… I hear he's been working on finding a suit that can withstand the pressure… uhh…"

Lacus' raised an eyebrow in amusement. Why would a Judge know so much about some gizmo invented by some warehouse inventor? Plus, the 'I' on his sentences seem to refer to… someone else? Too distorted. Can't figure.

"Anyway…" Rosso cleared his throat. "Uh hum. What the hell is this thing doing here?"

"This… is how she breaks the system." Noir gestured at Carine. "Lady Lacus, remember on day one, when you told me about how the three laws worked: don't lie, don't steal, don't kill. The moment you breathe in the air of Februarius, the three laws will be in effect. I ran those words over and over in my head… and then I realized the loophole."

Seeing the air tank in Rosso's hands, and everyone immediately caught on. "Oh…"

"The moment you breathe in the air of Februarius, the three laws will be in effect. Literally. So… the only way you can escape the bindings of these three laws is… to not breathe at all. If one can hold their breaths for 3 to 5 minutes, the binding will immediately wear off. But… the point isn't to hold your breath… the point is to not breathe in Februarian air. So… if you take this apparatus and fill it with… say… Aprillus air…"

"There's enough air in this tank to last for an hour. That's more than enough time to lie, steal and kill to your heart's content." Rosso finished as he turned to the girl who figured out all this. "Damn. That was very clever of her."

"Yeah. Too bad she wasted all that smarts for… this." Noir was referring to this whole revenge fueled affair…

Lacus' chest felt torn. At this point, Carine was a shell of a girl. She still had some spunk when Noir first brought her here. Terrified and defeated, but not broken. But when Bismarck showed up… and then he just left her without a second thought. That was the final blow that truly broke her. Now she's as good as a corpse when Noir lifted her up.

…did Noir did this to her?

No. She watched that horrifying match from start to finish. Despite the blatant animosity, both opposing sides fought in a fair fight. Carine may have tried too hard to break the Judge, but the Judge faced every challenge she sent her HEAD on. Using every ounce of his strength and wits, and then beyond, to defeat her. Not to break her or toy with her. But to defeat her. Plain and simple.

…she was here because of her grudge against Noir. But in hindsight, it was Guinevere who brought her into the play when she realized she's fighting Judge Noir, who was virtually neutral. The Judge simply mediates an existing conflict so that it ended in the most peaceful way manageable whiles aiding administrative works and his help in directly boosting up the profit was very brief they were essentially negligible – but don't get her started on how much his Indirect involvement had helped everyone up… But even this, he wasn't doing it for the Orphanage.

…that's right… the original conflict was between her and Guinevere. Guinevere tricked Helga, and even her family, to get the orphanage that Lacus owned. As Helga's so called Mistress, Lacus should've been the one who finished this… long before the Judge get involved. "Is this what it felt like?"

"?" Noir looked at Lacus.

"…this is a war. And we just won. But is this what it felt like? To be the victor?" Lacus looked at Carine. She wanted the victory over Noir more than anything. She threw everything she's got at him. Sacrificed everything, and now she was left with nothing.

"And for what exactly?" Lacus frowned. Yes. She won, and she had laughed, and it does her heart good seeing Helga and her family happily smiling like so… but… then she saw the losing side… Guinevere, and then Carine… she had no love for them… but she clearly didn't like how much they are now once they are broken and defeated like that. The voices of despair that came out of their hearts when they realize their complete and utter defeat… it turned all the joy of victory into ash. "…because if this is what it feels like to be a victor… why does it feel so unpleasant? Why do people WANT to feel this so much, they hurt other people for this?"

"…that's what it means to fight in a war."

"This… wasn't supposed to be." Lacus shook her head. "This… this is just some silly quarrel about a forest and a house! Why would… why would anyone go this far just for THAT?"

"Because people want more." Rosso sighed. "It's the sad truth of this world we live in. You peel away the ostentatious-ness of nobility, their façade, their lies… at its core… it's just simple greed. Of people wanting more. More than the other guy, more than what they already have. Aprillus became a twisted city that it was, because it was built on this greed, on people who want more of everything: prestige, food, wealth, woman, land, glory… at all cost."

"Is it wrong?"

"?"

"Is it so wrong that people want more?" Lacus frowned. "Is it so wrong if I want people dear to me to be happy?"

"That was never a simple question to answer, princess." Noir replied. "Just look at Guinevere. She had everything. She should want for nothing. And yet… she's virtually a mountain of desire. Once she had something, she keeps wanting more and more." Noir look at her… She can see his one purple eye narrowed… "So don't even think for a second that you've caused this." Lacus shot a look of surprise at the masked Judge. Did he just guess what she had been thinking…?

"These lands, that house… it was yours by right. And it was yours not because you were born to it… You've earned that right, and its prize. And she wanted it, minus the effort. Had that happened, she would never respect it the same way you do. You let her have that… it would absolutely do more harm than good. But now, she had to earn it. Who knows what future will bring." Noir looked to the distance now. "For what it's worth, she chose to escalate it into a war. You didn't start it. You didn't escalate it. You didn't want it. But for everyone's sake… you've resolved yourself on stopping it. And you do it… your way. On your own terms: No one 'died'. Rosso even told me just now that Hakutenkun Goud Veia didn't kill any of the pirates in your honor. And that is something, isn't it?"

Lacus's frown slowly turned into a solemn smile. "I guess…?"

"Well… I'll see what I can do with that forest. I hope Pinebeard still willing to listen to me. Just help me and translate, okay?"

"Okay." Lacus only had this warm bright smile allover her face. The brightest she had ever given to anyone. Unfortunately, her eyes were now too fixed on Noir to realize, and Noir himself is still staring into the distance, too exhausted by the ordeals that day to notice.

Only Rosso witnessed all this. And he wisely chose to be silent.

Hikari-daifu?

Or did he?

Hikari-daifu?

00000008 years later0000000

When Lacus opened her eyes again, she was staring at the ceiling…

"Hikari-daifu?"

That… was weird… The last thing she remembered was that giant hit on her head… but after that, it felt like… a very looong dream… of the past… a past that seems like a lifetime ago…

"Oww… oww… my head… (koff)"

"Ah! Hikari-daifu!"

Lacus looked to the side, and there's… Tien Zi? "Tien-Zi chan? (koff) H… How long was I out? (koff)"

"…about 3 hours or so? Salamandine and Kaguya carried you all the way back to the orphanage." Tien zi explained. "They're away for a moment. Something about gathering supplies…?"

"I'm sorry for the trouble. (koff)" Lacus took a moment to check the integrity of her armor. Nothing's leaking. Nothing's broken. The armor's pretty tough. "The… fighter's… mistress Cheng's fighters…!?"

"That person, Simca-darren's brother… what was his name… Kilik-darren, was it? I've been told most of the story… of mistress Cheng's perfidy… and a lot of other things. The fighters had been rounded up and brought into Simca-darren's management. Which is why she left the place for a bit to supervise their care…"

"So I see. (koff) That's good. (koff) That's very good. (Koff)" She wanted to get up, but her head is still ringing.

"You can't, H-Hikari-daifu! You should lay still for the moment!"

"Yes… (Koff) I think I will." With that said, Lacus rested back into bed. As she lay down to rest, she remained awake, so Tien Zi timidly sat next to her.

"Anoo… Hikari-daifu? May I?"

"Yes?"

"Umm… originally, it was Salamandine who was watching over you the whole time. As she waited, she told me stories. A lot of them. But… something came up and she didn't get to finish some of them. She told me about what Shanghai has become, about the drunkard, about Scandinavia, its climate and their Brewery Ministry… she… was telling stories about Februarius when she had to go. And yes, she didn't get to finish that one."

"Ah, so I see. (Koff)" Lacus nodded. "Well then… how far did she get? (koff)"

"Around the time when Master Noir assembled the shop owners to tell them of his 'secret method'. What did he told them to do?"

"Ah… That. Yes… Well… the truth is… It's not that special at all…"

00000008 years earlier0000000

During the grand seminar of the Shop Owners…

Noir took the podium and start with: "You all wondered… how Hufflepuff Emporium was able to generate so much attention… that our customers ate our food with such… ravenous zeal. So much so that they ignore your food. I will now tell you how it's done. And it's actually very simple." Noir took a deep breath and stated the big secret: "We made our food… without magic."

Silence for a few seconds… and everyone digested the statement. "…that's it? Is that all!?" They balked in disbelief.

"Yes. That is all. Is what I would like to say." Noir shrugged. "But… I noticed in practice… it was far from easy. We did not use even the most basic of magic. We did not use levitation to lift the ingredients, we kneaded the dough and the meat with our own hands, we light fire with firewood and charcoal, and even manually cooked the pies, manually controlling the fires in a brick oven instead of swinging wands. Every step, and I mean, every, single, step of the cooking process… is done without magic."

"Why… why would such a thing… caused… well… all that?" The shop owner referred to how the customers were completely hooked to Hufflepuff's pies. "Those customers would even beat each other up to get a bite. It's like they're addicted!"

"Addicted… well… no. That's not the term I would use. They want our pies, not because they like it. They need it." Noir took a deep breath and started: "It all started… when I first came to this place. Snow was falling. Only… I wasn't shivering. Because the snow was warm. At that time… I don't understand how. All I know is: you mages did some magic, and made it warm. I'm a muggle, raised in Aprillus. Where I came from, snow is cold… and freezing. You put a glass of water on a snow, it'll freeze in less than an hour." Noir made a gesture, and Fayt came in bringing a glass… filled with frozen water. "I put this glass outside, an hour ago. As you can see: it froze. That tells me that the snow… is also cold here. The spell you're using, whatever it was, did not turn the snow warm, it simply changes your perception of what you feel. This spell you're using is a form of… subliminal hypnotism at a continent scale."

Noir then stepped aside to give the time and space to Lacus. Noir's a muggle. So he asked Lacus to help him, give him her insight as a witch. "The spell Master Noir talk of is a specially altered Confundus spell at a very large scale." Lacus continued. "A very common illusionary spells that alters your senses. Humans in Februarius had used this simple spell to fool their sensory perception into thinking that the temperature is mild and warm. The spell was cast unto the perpetual snow clouds hovering over this city. The moment a single snowflake touches you, the spell went into effect. But… you did not change the fact you lived in a country with a very cold climate. Your senses may be fooled… but your actual body isn't. And here's the norm: when you live in a cold place, you have to increase your calorie intake in order to withstand the cold. But because of this Confundus spell, we all began to think we have no need of that. I had in my hands right now-" she swing around a thick document. "-the data that details the average calorie intake, as in the eating habit of the citizens of Februarius. And I can tell you right now… they are grossly inadequate compared to the minimal requirement needed for humans who lived in this kind of temperature. End result…" Lacus took a deep breath and continue without any further embellishment: "Every citizen… every human in this continent… is actually dying… from a severe malnutrition problem. We're talking a nationwide crisis that will wipe out all human life from this continent in less than a decade."

At that bone chilling declaration, everyone paled. "I'm sorry!" Salazar suddenly interrupted. "Begging your pardon, but… are you sure your data is correct?"

Lacus frowned. "On what basis you think I'm wrong?"

"I'm sorry. I… I'm Salazar Slytherin, and I worked in the Marshall's office. Our data sing a different tune: we have no illness reported, no reported death by famine or the causes you mentioned. And our death by childbirth data showed a decrease-"

"This data… was compiled by someone who had been doing this long before either of us were even born. 200 years ago, the average of the oldest recorded natural human death is 88 years of age." Lacus retorted in a voice distinctly more firm than everyone's used to. "100 years later, the average stands at 76. As of today… the average oldest natural death is 63 to 65." Lacus coldly glared Salazar down: "And I'd really love to see that data again you so flaunted. I think they're only outdated by at least a century."

Salazar shut up immediately. Actually… Everyone shuts up. But Fortescue raised his hand. "Milady, if I may?"

"Yes?"

"You mentioned insufficient calorie intake and malnutrition… I'm an ice cream parlor. And… I prided myself that I often give huge portions to my customers, you among them. And before you say anything, YES, I'm well aware that my food is not exactly a healthy food. I speak, however, on behalf of my other colleagues here, fellow shop owner and restaurateur in this room that can boast large portions, and their food is actually a more nutritious kind. And yet you mentioned earlier that our people, MY people… are dying because of insufficient calorie intake and malnutrition?"

"I think your colleagues, and all of us really, mistook quantity for quality." Lacus raised another folder. "This is a data that pertains the crop production rate relative to its available fertile soil in Februarius." Lacus gestured the presences of farmers and food suppliers in the meeting. "Judging by the amount, I find there's an inconsistency here: your fertile soil produced over ten times the amount normally possible. We all know the answer to this anomaly: you've been using Geminus spell to multiply your crop production. And that's where we have our problem." Lacus turned to Noir.

"Magic as I understand it… used this thing you call Ether Mana to fuel its miracles. You mages… used magic for everything. It's everywhere: the air you breathe, the water you drink… and the food you eat." Noir took a gulp. "The other day, Lady Clyne treated me to a massive ice cream meal with Mr. Fortescue, where he gave me a spectacular show." Noir nodded to Mr. Fortescue, and the man gratefully accepted the praise. "But multiple spells were used in the creation of one titan sized ice cream: the spell to keep it from melting, the spell that multiply the amount from one scoop to absurd quantities, the spell to give it that otherworldly color, the reinforcement spell that kept that massive ice cream construct from collapsing on its own weight, not to mention the spell that lighten such heavy object to featherweight that even I can lift it with one hand… oh, and let's not forget the spell that levitated and shaped the ice cream to such beautiful construct. That's just six that I observed directly. That I know of. And not to mention the fact the ingredients for the ice cream itself have also been treated with magic. How much ether mana you infused into that dish in comparison to the actual ice cream? And the same goes to the rest of you too. I think there's more magic in your food than the actual food itself. And at this juncture I'd like to ask you… all of you, this one question: what is… the nutritional value of Ether Mana? Specifically?"

Everyone in the room… Mages all… could not answer. Suddenly… it's like everyone just woke up from a dream. In their newfound lucidity, they remembered their own doings: they used their magic to instantly cook their dishes to perfection in a blink of an eye. They multiply a single product hundreds of times to meet the demand and reduce cost. Some even use magic to make their food tastier or more colorful. They cut the expenditure and maximize their revenue yes, but… the bill comes due.

"Humans don't eat food just for the sake of taste. It's also to sustain their lives. Madame Hufflepuff… Helga Hufflepuff… was the Sous Chef of the Imperial kitchen. It was her job to be responsible for food for the Royal family. That is to say: her food is not… CANNOT be JUST delicious. They also have to be nutritious. Even her humble pie is jam packed with lots of ingredients with great health benefit. Nutrients and proteins the body need to live, especially, in a place with a climate as harsh as yours!"

"There are many other species on this city that use magic to cook as well." Lacus followed. "However, the otherworlders are perfectly evolved to absorb sustenance from the Ether they used in their food. But humans are the young players of the Arcane arts. We may be able to manipulate magic as they do, but our bodies have yet the ability to take in Ether as nourishments. All the food you've made and suffused with magic, whatever nutrient your food may had was lost… diluted to inexistence. They're just junk food that fills your stomach with its massive quantity and good taste in the mouth… but nothing more. We were blinded by the power of magic… and the children are paying the price."

"The children!?"

"When I came here… apart from the snow, I saw something strange." Noir continued. "I see… a lot of things on your street. Humans and Otherworlders, stuff of fantasy made real. The only thing I did not see… are the human children that enjoy it. In fact I did not see them at all until I made our customers brought them to us. They don't come out much, do they? Let me guess: they have a hard time waking up early, they always whined of not wanting to go outside, and they're picky eaters, no matter how good the food you made for them."

The part of the audience who are with children gasped at Noir's eerily accurate guesses. True enough, they often see their children's food only had a few bites taken of them. They think little of it because… well… they can always make more… with… magic…

"The children of the Starfall orphanage ate Madame Hufflepuff food every day. Of course there are still some magic in there, but Madame Hufflepuff still keep her skill sharp by cooking with her own hands whenever possible, with as little magic as she can manage. Especially considering we have Sophie here, who definitely needed the nutrients. And because of her efforts, the children of Starfall Orphange are probably the healthiest children in all Februarius. As Lady Clyne herself can tell you." Noir nudged at Lacus.

Lacus bit her tongue as she unraveled the worst of her findings: "I… I… compared the vitals of the Starfall children… with the kids the customers had brought with them, when Lord Noir set up that promotion. I was shocked too." She shook her head. "…I… I've never seen… vital signs as weak as those children."

"The reason why our customers always returned… is because our food… is the food their body needs. A body that has been so weakened… from 200 years of malnutrition. Of over reliance, an addiction, on something that was not meant to sustain life." Noir finished his explanation in a room full of dumbstruck audience.

By then, every person in that tent, bar Noir and Lacus slumped on their seats in abject horror. Chief among them were the restaurant owners. They felt faint. They had no idea they were this precariously close to total annihilation, and they had helped pushed everyone ever closer to the cliff.

Mr. Fortescue was the first to break the silence. "What should we do? What can we do?"

"If you're willing to be a part of our plaza, we will teach you how." Noir stated. "In fact we have decided to make it a compulsory standard practice. We will train you in how to do it right. Why, we'll even provide you with the ingredients to get you started."

"The Ingredients!?"

"Yes. Whatever suppliers you get your produce from, cancel all dealings with them. We need to change everything from ground up. And make no mistake, there will be a strict routine inspections. Anyone who failed to follow the standards up to a certain degree will be immediately kicked out of the program. I'll let you know when there's room for compromise, there's none right now."

"Excuse me…" It was Fortescue again. "We understand the gravity of the situation… but having said that… should we not inform this to everyone? This concerns more than just us, it concerns everyone!"

"…no." Noir firmly stated. "Or at least… not yet. Why do you think we asked you all to swear an oath to not let anything that was said here leave this room? We don't want everyone to know. But not for the reasons you might think. As it stands now, we're in a crisis, yes, but it's not yet at the point of no return. We can still reverse the damage. But if we spread this knowledge around recklessly, it will result only in panic and chaos, and the damage will be even worse. In times like this, it is even more important that you have to take this slowly. Progressively. We have to take it back to square one. From yourself. But understand this: We will NOT abandon anyone, we will not let you guys fall into ruin. We're here. We are all here for you. Right, lord Yuki?"

"To get you all started…" The Image of ray Yuki spoke up at last. "Just so you know, I'm prepared to send in… food supply enough for an army, for 3 months worth of siege. My supply master is asking is there some kind of war going on that he didn't know about."

"Please send it. And yes. Tell him there's a war. A war that has been ongoing for over 200 years without any of us noticing… and we are losing."

The image of Ray sighed in exasperation. "…this must be done quickly… and quietly. We don't want anyone to make use of this situation to their benefit."

"I understand."

"Keep in touch." Ray gave one last nod and the bonfire was snuffed out.

The audience paled. But from the ashes of horror, came the embers of determination. This isn't about profit or loss anymore, this is about the survival of a country!

"What will you have us do?"

The meeting went on and on again for hours. Although this time, the theme has changed, which explains why Ray Yuki no longer needs to be involved. After all, now, the shop owners and the restaurateur had to completely retool their recipes from ground up. They need to completely remove any trace of magic process in their cooking. The goal is to produce the same result… minus the magic. But having relied on it for so long, now they're like children wading in the dark.

Being the Masterchef that she is, Helga took over as she taught each and everyone, including Noir and Lacus, all the trick she had in her cooking book. They spend one whole sleepless night relearning everything there is to know about fine cooking. End result is the cooking of delicious food… without one drop of magic.

Of course, it was also at that point that Sophie the spy was no longer able to follow. It gets way too complicated and technical for her to understand, but she did get the most important point across to her employees nonetheless. Pity her employer will not put it to good use.

0000000

The memory of that day flashed in Lacus mind when the Maître D of the Bistro came before her again, humbled, defeated… but curious. He wanted to say something… but he just couldn't bring it. He had insulted Lacus over how she's messing up Helga's menu with her amateurish handling... but there's no denying who made the better food today.

But then, Helga approached the Maitre D with narrowed eyes. "You know… not many people knew all my recipes inside out. I only knew one person who managed to do that." Helga caressed the man and looked at him in the eye. And she chuckled. "…Rowena? Is that you?"

The Maitre D finally bit his lips. He pulled out his wand and swings it at himself… "Revellio!" And the next second, the male Maitre D had transformed into a young beautiful lady at least a decade in seniority to Lacus. His Maitre D suit also changed into a smooth low cut and feathery witch robe in dark blue color with gold trimmings that exposed her shoulders and cleavages. She had long smooth black hair that resembled raven feathers, framing a young woman's face in her early twenties.

"Rowena Ravenclaw. My Sous Chef and my best friend. How I missed you." Helga smiled gently.

"…I'm sorry for the duplicity, Madame." Rowena humbly lifted her skirt. "I just… I know what Guinevere did was wrong. But she keeps saying I might be able to bring you back. That I might be able to… free you from the grasp of that forest. I… Imagine my shame when I finally realized her lies."

"It's alright, my dear. All's well end well. I'm free now. As you wished."

Rowena smiled bitterly at Helga, but then she turned to Lacus. "Unlike the Deep magic… I've accepted the fact that I lost." Her normal English voice had a very Scottish accent to it. She made up that exaggerated French accent to entertain the guess, she later explained (and for the record, even she found it annoying). "But I do want to know why we lost. We… knew… about your… secret. But we followed that standard. To the letter!"

"To the letter?" Lacus raised an inquisitive eyebrow.

"Well… uhhh… okay, we cut corners here and there but-"

"That's exactly why you lost." Lacus warmly explained. "Remember that day when you first came to me, you displayed your use of magic to construct your restaurant in a blink of an eye? I'm not judging you, our restaurant's building is not exactly made using your usual method, but we still put an effort in nurturing them up. That taught the children to understand, the weight of hard work and effort needed to produce good results. But when you effortlessly create that restaurant, you planted, in the hearts of your people, this… dangerous precedent. The precedent that you cannot, and will not stop, your dependence on magic. This little thing, this one thing… grew. I tasted your food the first time you opened, remember? And at that time, everything was okay. Our standards, your standards are being kept. But then… as the pressure increases, your crew began to think it's okay to compromise. And they did. Throughout your cooking process, your crew constantly uses one magic after another, in the way they think it was subtle and trivial… Maybe to steady their hands, to keep their posture from breaking, to steady the cooling pot or whatever… whenever they think no one was looking… but then one compromises… becomes two… becomes ten… and the next thing you know it… you're back to square one, with all problems that plagued it in the first place."

Rowena looked back at her undisciplined crew and they all look away in guilt and shame, knowing their own faults and weaknesses. "But… back then, I noticed you were also working with magic. The way you controlled multiple appliances all at once…"

"I used this." Lacus whisked her hands. At first, there seems to be nothing… but as she carefully twisted her fingers, he began to see these… strings…!? Gold strings, manipulated beautifully by Lacus' fingers to form magnificent shapes now visible to his eyes. "I learnt this trick from a friend in the academy, we call it ayatori games. A short while back, they discovered I had a thing for swords. I never liked it, never will, even though they say I was very good at it. So to make sure, I crippled my own hands so that I will never again be able to wield swords. Or any weapons of any kind. I don't regret it, and my hands are still steady… but the side effect being, now they are very weak, they can't handle even a steak knife very well. And as you yourself had declared… the end result is poor. Very below standards. But… through it all, I know I did it with my own two hands."

Rowena gawked in realization at Lacus' extreme example of self mutilation… just to demonstrate her stance of non violence.

"You need to have resolve. The resolve to change. To not compromise. And the discipline to keep it that way. I'm not just talking about food preparation. I'm talking about EVERYTHING. Stop using magic to do the simplest of things. To cook, to move, to live. You need to disenthrall yourself from the power of magic. Use it only when it's absolutely necessary. You used to go everywhere on brooms or magic carpet or whatever? Well, if you can afford it: walk home. You often used magic to carry your luggage for you? Get a workout and carry it with your own two hands. Changing your mindset is more important than changing the way you work." Lacus smiled as she took a glance at the man who gave her this precious pearl of wisdom: "Because everything… starts with one."

00000008 years later0000000

Around the time when the sun past its midpoint, Lacus had already finished the rest of her tale before a wide eyed Tien Zi.

"Everything… starts with one …Resolve and… discipline…?" If anybody else says this, it would be easily dismissible as mere bravado. Except the one who said this was a living example. Tien Zi was mostly impressed with what the Doctor had done unto her own hands. She was so averse to violence she would rather be a cripple than having the ability to use weapons, taking the meaning of Conscientious Objector to a whole new level. "Daifu… did you ever regret… of… taking things that far… with your hands, I mean."

"I did some growing up ever since. (koff) I've adapted. (koff) Now, even with my hands likes this, were it not for this miasma, I could've cooked you the most beautiful and delicious omelet with my own hands. (koff)" Lacus looked at her hands.

"But back then, I was still young. Still adjusting to my new conditions. There are times where I began to question if I did take it too far. There are even times that my resolve wavered. Times when I regretted having done this to myself, depriving myself the power I needed when I needed it most. Or so I thought." Lacus smiled. Especially during that whole Orphanage affair. Lacus would be lying if she claimed her hands had not been a hindrance… but…

"But ultimately, the hardship merely strengthened my resolve. My hands can still save people… and I don't have to spill someone else's blood to do it. And I never said it was easy as pie."Lacus was now able to sit calmly on a chair, enjoying a tea Tien zi had poured for her. "And yes, I too agree it's not always alright to be so stubborn… but resolve and stubbornness are sometimes two different things. The resolve to not compromise. Not even one step back… or forward. Progress is painful, an atrocious woman said that to me once. But sometimes it's just as painful to plant your foot firmly like a tree even if the whole world tried to drag you barefoot across spiky ground… if you know that there's a line you mustn't cross, then don't compromise even one step over the line. Because everything starts with one."

Tien Zi nodded. She's different. Hikari-daifu is very different than Kage-daishi. Back in the court, the Dark Captain tried to force a change, putting so much pressure unto her to force her to change…

In stark contrast, though Hikari-daifu seemingly took various drastic measures in her own pace today, on the whole she did not try to force too many things to move… Quite the opposite. This was exactly what she said in that meeting with Azrael. What the world needs, what everyone needs, is time to calm down. To stop and think. To stop so that one can finally look ahead on which direction one must take. She crashed her mundane one directional reality and put everything to a halt so that she was given the chance to think for herself.

And think she did. About a lot of things. Salamandine stories of the outside world opened her eyes, revealing the truth of how the outside world is so much different than what she knows. Scandinavia who adapted to their lack of drinkable water and now thrive on alcohol industry. Februarius with their otherworldy condition but able to live in harmony though suffer their own inner demons. Two very different countries to that of China. Each had their own problems and their own way to live on. In comparison, how was China?

…to her horror, the Empress came up blank. She knew very little. All she can see now is Shanghai. And… and not everything she sees please her. If she were to take this city as a template, then is this what… Is this what the whole of China is like?"

As if reading her mind, Lacus chortled. "Tien Zi-chan."

"Daifu?"

"Calm. Down." Lacus smiled kindly behind her mask and she gently caressed her cheek. "You're still young. You still have many chances ahead of you. You need to see more. Know more. The world is vast. Even Mighty China, massive as she was, are but one nation of many. You will learn."

Tien Zi smiled happily. Even through her gloves, she can somehow felt… this motherly warmth flowing from the fingers of the person within. Doctor Hikari. She's indeed curious. She's as gentle as Xing Ke but as headstrong and radical as Kage. "What… what has become of Februarius, since then?"

"Oh… that place has changed. (Koff) That story was 8 years ago, and 8 years is a long time for a LOT of things to change. (koff) Were you to visit it today, you will not recognize that place from my stories. (koff) So please don't make a liar out of me. (Koff)"

Tien Zi chortled. "But you are a kidnapper?"

"Oh no, not you too! (koff) Well, I am, but I-"

CRASHHH!

Lacus didn't get to finish her sentence on the account of the ceiling on top of them suddenly exploded. The good doctor jumped in and cover little Tien Zi under her embrace to shield her from the falling debris.

For a moment, she was unable to see anything. Her ears had been ringing and echoing up until moments ago, so she did not see this coming. But now, with danger clearly imminent, her ears are now in full recon, and she detected multiple sounds of slithering objects, ropes being thrown from above. And then, it was followed by the sounds of loud footsteps landing on the floor one after another.

Judging by the weight and the echo of the sound they make when these heavy feet landed, their owners carry a lot of weight. Armors and weapons. Heavily armed. Regular Troopers.

"NOBODY MOVES!"

"TARGET LOCATED! SECURE PERIMETER!"

When the dust finally settles, Lacus found at least a dozen gun barrels are aimed at her being from all directions. "Okay… (koff)" At least she knew she's the one they're after.

And then two more ropes landed from above, and two more figures stepped down. One seem to have a significantly bigger built than the other, but… Lacus detected similarities in their vital signs and facial musculature twitches… they are almost identical with one another… twins?

"Is this her, bro?"

"Yep. That's her."

"…and who are you two gentlemans? (koff)"

"I'm Takeuchi Sora (sky), and this my twin Takeuchi 'Nike' Sora (void)" The one spoke was young man with narrow eyes. He's wearing Sergeant Kevlar, but instead of a helmet he wears a hat.

The twin looks exactly like him, as far as facial feature goes… except he was significantly more muscular and taller than his twin. "We're here to address an issue of abduction."

"!"

"The abduction of her majesty Tien Zi, the Empress of China."

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Epilogue 1:

Around the same time, in Zaft waters…

"…that was pretty much my only involvement in the case. But… I'm glad I was there."

Athrun still remembered fondly on how Noir offered mercy to Guinevere for Lacus. That was not the hardboiled Noir who spoke that day. That was the Kira he knew since they were very young. His mother was worried that poor Kira would have trouble adapting to his surroundings… Ray Yuki was afraid Noir wouldn't know how to live in an environment less intense than Aprilus… they were happy to be wrong, he's sure. He adapted, he integrated… and he was… happy. Happier than he's ever been.

"But Februarius changed a LOT after that, right?"

"Very." Februarius has changed. It's still halfway across the other side, still the top spot for vacation… but it's economy has changed with the booming of a new generation.

"Yz… a water knight I knew once said Lord Veia would bring his students there… for 'summer camp'." Nichol made the quotation mark. "He claimed he was still having nightmares about having to swim up a waterfall, with logs falling from above and piranha snapping down below. And don't let him get started on dinner."

"Lacus was ve~ery upset." Lamia joined in as she respectfully handed the judge drinks on her compliments. "Mr. Fortescue retired from ice cream making after that incident. He said, and I quote, he cannot in good conscience, continue feeding children junk food when they deserve better, especially the princess. Lacus wouldn't stop crying for days. Even worse when Fortescue last creation turned to be… a Ghost Chilly pepper flavored ice cream?"

"Hah. I can just about imagine."

"One thing I still don't get. What did master Noir do that even Charles Zi Britannia, THE Charles Zi Britannia would actually went so far and intervene like that?"

"To be honest, I didn't know either." Athrun had just finished the story of Februarius to Nichol, based on the reports of the events he later read in the archive. "And neither did Lord Yuki."

"Huh!?" Nichol and Lamia gawked. The fact Rosso didn't know is something on itself… that even the late Knightmaster didn't know, that is even more bewildering.

"And I think that's the point. I later asked Lord Yuki and Noir about it… it seems, Noir was well aware how much Charles values his abilities… so, according to Lord Yuki, he gave him an offer, which the Archduke can either take it or leave it. As we all know, he chose the former. It was… too good to pass up."

"And the offer is…?"

"5 minutes."

"…huh?"

"5 minutes… of completely unsupervised private conversation between Charles and Noir… even Lord Yuki wouldn't know what they were talking about."

"You have no idea?"

"…Kanon Maldini knows. He HAS to know… considering who he works for."

00000008 years earlier0000000

"I'm terribly sorry for what a sad wretched affair this has become." Kanon Maldini bowed his head.

"Yeah, right." Rosso grunted.

"If you're really sorry, your family should've put a leash on that bitch before it gets this bad." Noir groaned as Lacus tended to his wounds.

"Forgive me, my lords… but I'm but a humble lowly servant of the dynasty. I have no say on any family affairs."

"Even when you serve him, Kanon Maldini?"

Kanon's eyes widened, fully knowing to whom Noir was referring to. "Ah… to be known by the great Master Noir… I'm humbled."

"Tell Charles Zi Britannia this. Don't EVER make me regret what I've given him."

Kanon twitched in awe. Only a Judge of Noir's caliber would have the guts… and right… to threaten an Archduke.

"And as for your actual master… well… I've had enough of his creation for today."

"Hooo… you even recognized my master's handiwork! He would be very honored to hear that…" Kanon frowned in sorrow. "And… if he knew how much harm it had inflicted upon you, he would be mortified."

"I don't mind the pain. Really." Noir shrugged. "I don't even mind the injuries. But tell your master this: try not to break too many critical rules of the game. Those rules exist for a reason, and they are… the reason this game is still popular even after several hundred years of its inception."

"I'll be sure to pass it along with celerity. He would be delighted." Kanon then produced a clock to check the time… "Oh my dear, it would appear it is time for me to go. Then, ladies and gentleman… until the next time we meet again."

Kanon politely bowed before he walked out.

"Who is this… master that Kanon serve?" Lacus asked. "I thought he served Charles?"

"Charles Zi Britannia is the head of the Britannian dynasty on the whole. Practically everyone in the family served him. Bismarck Von Waldstein was his most trusted right hand man and his personal bodyguard. If he's here, then he truly spoke with the authority of the Archduke himself." Rosso explained. "As for Kanon… well…"

"Kanon Maldini served one Britannian in particular." Noir shrugged. "Remember that chess tourney where I met Carine? In all honesty, Lord Yuki and I… we were… talent scouting. The circle is always out for new blood… and… while we did 'get' Carine… and mind you, she's not half bad at all… truth be told, she wasn't our target."

"Scouting? Target?"

"Even before Carine forcibly retire him, we always knew Judge Shiro had served his time long enough and had earned his rest. We've been looking for a replacement for quite some time. We were actually hoping… that person would take his place."

"That person…?"

"The second most powerful man in the Britannian Holy Dynasty… Duke Schneizel El Britannia."

Schneizel… that's a name everyone in their circle would know and learn to respect. Judge Shiro didn't keep the peace in Novembrius… this man did. "…Noir… what did you give to Archduke Charles Zi Britannia?" Rosso asked.

"…I can't tell you."

"What?"

"I made a promise, Rosso. No. An oath." Noir groaned. "I swore an oath that only he can know. That's the whole point… the value of what I gave him lies in the fact that even Lord Yuki would never know what it is… But…" Noir sighed as Lacus put finishing touches on his patches. "I can at least give you this clue: there's no way Schneizel El Britannia won't be involved with it."

00000008 years later0000000

In the cutthroat Britannian family hierarchy, Duke Schneizel El Britannia stands at the top. He had the charisma, the ruthlessness, and the intelligence that justifies his high position in the family. But more importantly… he has all the firepower to keep hold of that position.

The Britannia held a special distinction amongst all noble family. Other noble houses can, at best, control an entire castle and the lands surrounding it. Britannia is the only family powerful and big enough to control an entire continent. Other Nobility controls a private army, the Britannians control something even better than armies. They control the supply and demand for the weapons that arm those armies. Should any unruly vessel or ambitious nobles came trying to pick a fight, all they have to do is cut off their supply of weapons, or giving better weapons to another noble family who held vendetta with that family, forcing them to fight the latest armor and shields with virtually sharpened sticks and stones. In the event the opposition did manage to scrounge up enough decent weapons and they are forced to fight the enemy directly, well, the Britannians made a habit of hoarding the best stuff for themselves. Tougher armor, sharper blade, bigger guns, or even things the regular army didn't have.

This is more than just playing monopoly on Zaft arms market, this is a three way circus juggling of politic, economic, and military intrigues, all rolled in one confounding theater of power play no single mere mortals can hope to manage… and the man responsible for managing this, the one with access to the strongest weapon the Britannian can ever have, the one that kept multitudes of envious nobilities at bay and placated… was none other than the director of Damocles Arsenals, Duke Schneizel Vi Britannia himself. And his success in doing so was evident in how Britannia remained one of the strongest of all noble families in Zaft.

To say he's technically the military might of Britannia itself is not an exaggeration… Thus… what Noir said is clue enough. If Schneizel is involved… then it's something military.

It bears reminding that Kira and Athrun were both students of war, personally taught by both Lennore Zala and Ray Yuki to master everything they can impart to them in regards to the art of war… Their duties as Judges served as a medium in which they put this knowledge to practical use. But around that time, the two apprentices have completely diverged from their masters' ways, having their own styles and preferences on how to do things. They have developed new principles, new tactics, ones their masters may not be aware of.

Imagine that: A military insight from the greatest of all Judges… an insight that even the Knightmaster are not privy to. That does sound like something the militant Charles Zi Britannia would pay an arm or a leg to get.

Whelp, always searching for new blood is not just the hobby of the Circle. Ever since Rosso momentarily stopped from his duties as a Judge to reassume the identity of Athrun Zala to focus on his training (and inventing), the Britannians had been trying to recruit him nonstop. To the point it's almost annoying. "Truth be told… did Britannians… or Damocles… did they came up with anything groundbreaking in the last 8 years?"

"Nothing that we know of." 'Either that…' Nichol thought. 'Or someone from another branch of the Onyx knew but kept it from me.'

"Never heard anything from my side either." For the record, Lamia had a very good listening spot, and she heard nothing.

"Well… we'll know it when we see it." Rosso crossed his arms. "It's a good bet it's a military project. Now either they haven't finished it or they're waiting for the perfect moment for a debut. If it's the latter, then we will definitely see it soon, because I don't see a better stage than this."

As Rosso said this, the fog finally cleared up… and everyone's eyes widened.

There.

They finally arrived.

They… and what appears to be everyone else.

There stood at the center of the ocean… was Boaz. At first glance it looked like a lush island, with trees growing here and there. If one were to look the island from the bird's eye view, one can easily deduce the island is more than it seems, based on the strangely symmetrical shape of the island, and the vegetation actually grew in a rather artificially orderly manner. But some of these vegetations had been cleared away, and now multitudes of manmade buildings had been erected allover the island with the express purpose of turning the island into a veritable fortress island. Multiple layer of Giant coastal walls surround the island, each and every segment of it was dotted with coastal guns, guarding every inch of the approach to the island. The deeper one go, more guns can be spotted festooning the walls, and they become increasingly bigger as well. Jutting out of within the vast expanse of these walls are acres upon acres of barracks, stables, smiths, farms, keeps and even spires of castles, as well as docks, shipyards, and wharfs built into the island cliff edges. Every single building in this island demonstrates the military might of Zaft.

But for the moment… these wonders are outshoned. Or rather, outnumbered.

Never. Never have anyone alive in the history of Zaft seen so many Zaft battleships of every shape and make assembled in one place. A flotilla of hundreds and thousands of ships stretched for miles, encircling the Fortress island, moored so close to each other, the railings on their decks are bumping against each other, creating a massive patchwork of traversable terrain, made of a network of crisscrossing planks connecting the closely gathered ships, allowing their passenger to move around. And these passengers are composed of hundreds of thousands of Knights: Emerald Knights, Ruby Exorcists, Onyx Hassassins, Forgecorps Legionnaires, Magus from the Academia, even the Amber Fangriders shipped all the way from Africa! Elemental knights mustered their respective Knightly orders to assemble, their banner and standards hang high and proud in a multi colored liveries. Even famed sellswords, hedge Knights… every military branch of Zaft, every noble houses, every knightly order have been called and here they are assembled!

Here stand an army of 1 million Advanced swords, preparing to march into the biggest battle the world has ever known.

"Well then." Athrun shrugged. "Shall we?"

00000000000000

00000000000000

Epilogue 2:

As Athrun's Nazca are beginning to make their final approach…

"Lord, Rosso! Lord Rosso! One last thing…!" Nichol chased after Athrun.

"Yes?"

"W… What becomes of Lord Noir afterwards?"

Athrun thought quickly. "…were you thinking of sending a spy after him too?"

"I…!" Nichol gawked. As expected of Athrun. Very quick on the uptake. "Y… You can't expect me to not to be wary… we're talking about someone who's virtually as smart as you!"

"…Judge Noir… is not a threat to us. And he will never be."

"How can you be so sure?"

Athrun chuckled. "If you really are his fan, do you know what happened to him after Februarius?"

"I…! Only heard rumors." Nichol stuttered. The rumors were not kind. Februarius had thrived. They had recovered and the crisis was averted. But… Noir never saw it. He disappeared a few months later. Even Lord Yuki remained silent up until the day he took the secret to his grave in Junius.

And so everyone was left to wonder: what happened to him? Why did he disappear? Some say he's dead, others say he turned traitor or go insane. Whatever the whispers, none of them were pretty. But no one knows for sure. That was always one of the greatest mysteries surrounding the final fate of this legendary shadowy judge.

"Did… Did you know what happened to him?"

"…I saw him. Not too long ago. He's still very much alive and well."

"!"

"I saw him." Athrun saw Kira in Amaterasu… Nichol saw him too… hell, a lot of people saw him… and as expected, no one realized who he really is, no one… except Athrun himself. Seeing him like that… in such a blissful state of vulnerability… "…he's retired. No one earned it more."

"I agree, but-"

"Listen and do well to mark it, Nero." Athrun suddenly cut Nichol before he can argue further. "Because you need to understand the cost that this retirement entails."

"…the cost?"

"When you're a Judge of Noir's caliber… you don't JUST retire… you have to pay a price. And Noir… he paid in full."

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Final Epilogue:

Back to Zero

Rosso, Noir and Lacus finally took Carine to the forest.

"Here she is. The true perpetrator of the crime. Now, please let Roger go."

The treants growled and creaked, and roots swirled around Carine's form before she was dragged into the earth. She didn't even have the time to scream. Even though he had been told what will happen, it still fill him with discomfort. However, by that same method, albeit in reverse, a little boy was brought out of the entrapment. "UWAAAAAAANNN!" He ran crying straight into Lacus' embrace.

"There, there… you're okay now, Roger."

The Treants growled and creaked some more, which Lacus translate: "Buraruuum… As agreed, the true sinner has been brought forth to us, and the innocent has been set free. We ask only that the fallen young ones who had been the victims of this deceit be replanted."

"I'll do it." Roger stated through his sobs. "…again, I'm really sorry about cutting your young trees. I'll do it. The Huxley's are foresters. I'll make sure those new trees grew big and strong!"

The trees creaked and grunted yet again. "And I suppose thou shalt ask some clemency for the damned, Lawkeeper of man?"

"She… was one of us. However brief it was. We failed her… just as much as she failed us." Noir sighed. "She's our mess. We should've dealt with her ourselves, but her rage burns, dragging you into it. As I promised, even I no longer had any say on what you can and cannot do to her. But… if you can… not for me, but in Princess Clyne's honor… please. Be as lenient as you can afford."

The princess became so flustered, she almost forget to translate when the treants spoke their reply. "Not in thy honor, but in the honor of our mutual friend and ally, Princess Lacus. If that is indeed what thine heart desires?" "Why… yes! Yes, that would be preferable." Lacus stuttered.

"Then let it be as thou said, merciful ones. We shall design a fate for her as befits her deeds."

The Treants ended their words with that last statement. If the situation were grimmer, that last statement would've sounded quite bone chilling. But at the moment, it's more bittersweet.

"What do you think the Treants will do to her?"

"All I can say is… it will not be easy… or short." Lacus sighed. "But the Treants will definitely care for her, and care her well."

"Well… case closed… I guess." Noir sighed in relief. And then his whole body twitched. "Huh? What the-" He took a step… or tried to… and he just fell flat on the floor, face first. Beak first actually. "Ummm… What?"

Rosse frowned in concern. "Buddy? What happened? Your injuries acting up again?"

"No… well… it hurts… but… the suit! Lady Clyne, I think this thing's broken."

"Yes. I suspect as much." Lacus smiled, more in amusement than confusion. "You pushed it further than anyone ever done before, after all."

One wave of magic later…

And Roger had the honor as the first kid who saw the kick ass and super cool Bert-little big bro in his true, costume-less form – in a manner of speaking. He's still wearing his Judge cloak underneath. "WOOWWWW!" His eyes were full of glimmer when he saw Noir's white mask with ragged black cape, towering slightly above him. The attire designed to put the fear of God in the hearts of criminals seem had had a different effect on the child. "Are you actually a superhero, Bert-nii!?"

"…kinda… sort of. We both are." Noir gestured at Rosso, and now that Roger actually had the time, he was equally amazed at Rosso's tactical full armor attire.

"WHOAHAHAHAAHA! THAT IS SOOOO AWESOOOME!" He ran and danced around the two 'superheroes', absolutely hyped at the double serving of heroes of the day.

"Well… I'm sure the other kids would be just as thrilled." Lacus finally managed to catch the hyperactive Roger. "Why don't we continue this in my orphanage?"

"With regret, I have to decline." Rosso mourned. Seriously, he's close to sobbing. To come here was his dream since he was young… younger… and yet insofar, the most memorable moment of his time here is having an axe embedded on his nervous system. "Technically speaking, I'm not supposed to be here. I need to return back home as soon as I'm able. Here's hoping my little excursion here went unnoticed."

Too little too late for that… as the currently half cooked, half dead Ray Yuki can definitely attest.

"…if you don't mind… allow me to accompany you. Lady Clyne, will that be alright?"

Lacus blinked and she smiled warmly, recognizing the strong brotherly bond these two shares from just a few short syllables. "Very well." They want some time to talk things in private. "Come on Roger!"

The two Judges waited until Lacus were out of sight, and waited a little bit longer. She's a Clyne after all. It's still quite a while before they're out of her earshot, so Athrun decided to fill it with small talk, such as: "That suit you've been wearing… you know… I once heard of a legend… the Clynes were the originator of the now defunct Doom Troopers. The trooper was composed of two things… the famous Meteor chariot, of which there's only one left… and…"

"Yes." Noir shrugged. When he mastered that suit he knew right away that he wasn't wearing a toy. "I'm quite sure I was even stronger than you when I'm inside that thing."

Rosso gulped. "And she gave that to you. Damn… and I thought you were scary!"

"Look, however she may behave… she's probably even smarter than you and I combined."

"Seriously?"

"If I think about it now, she's the one who gave me the clue on how to bypass the three laws in the first place."

"Are you sure you're not overthinking this?"

"There are three laws prevalent in this city: Don't kill, Don't steal, Don't lie." Noir listed it with his three fingers. "As soon as one step into this continent, breathe its very air, the spell automatically engraved themselves into your very being. And from that moment on, the power of the Deep Magic binds you to obedience. These were her EXACT words. Day one I arrived here. If it didn't work, we could've written that off as figure of speech. But it did work, didn't it?"

"It's a big sized 'if'…" Rosso shrugged. "But our job is 'If'. Holding your breath and not touching the ground so that you can lie… that's certainly something no ordinary people can think of." Judges had been trained to abandon common sense as required…

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A distance away, Lacus stopped mid walk and chuckled to herself when she heard that Noir had indeed noticed it. And for the record, she figured that out when she was three years old. Still… what else did he notice, she wonders? Oh wait… they know the maximum radius of a Clyne's earshot… but they also noticed hers are many times sharper and wider than your average Clyne.

'Well… they helped me saved my orphanage… it would be in poor taste if I continue eavesdropping.' "Roger… let's fly home, shall we? I need to get this… armor fixed."

'Libertus' Apex Enforcer Armor. That is its true full name. A powered armor that was created way back during the time of the White Emperor himself. Mere mortals who don it will have the might and power to fight Titans. It is centuries old, but it was made to last a thousand more years… Kings of old had offered their entire kingdoms or mobilize entire campaigns just to get a hold of it. It's the last one of its kind… and Noir broke it.

She can just about imagine the look on the makers' faces when they saw the mess he made out of it. And he did it with its control panel removed too, no less. You know? That thing he claimed useless but actually should've helped him controlling that armor in Semi Automatic mode, then he rip it out and went full manual, something even the maker said is impossible for mere mortals. And instead of his brain being fried by the overwhelming feedback, the reverse happened as the armor's circuits get fried when he pushed it way past its limits.

'Oh well… I guess they'll have to adjust it for him.' She's gonna get grilled for sure… but for some reason, she doesn't mind. Lacus smiled sweetly despite the prospect. So long as he can use it properly…

Lacus stretched out her hand and a broom flew into her grasp. "Come on, Roger."

0000000

Noir and Rosso noticed when they heard the sound of swooshing broom flying off to the distance. "…she's gone. But just in case, let's wait another 5 minutes?"

"She can hear us, but she can't see us right?"

"True." And Kira removed his mask for the first time in months.

Athrun gawked. Kira is still scarred, his one eye is still blind… but… he's healing. His handsome girlish face features are still marred by the scar… but at least now there's a distinctly human face it attached to. Still ways off, but… compared to how he was months ago, this is a big improvement. Most importantly, he's standing on his two feet without wheelchair or walking stick. His leg had definitely nearing full recovery.

"God, I miss that face." Athrun also removed his mask. That thing can be suffocating at times.

Kira also raised his emancipated left arm and showed him how it twitched and moved before his eyes. "And I miss this arm."

"The food and weather here really do wonders, eh?"

"…the food…" Kira frowned darkly. "…the food."

"…what's with the food?"

"It began with a whisper at the back of my head."

Athrun twitched.

"That whisper kept me awake for nights ever since I arrived here. I knew something is wrong, I felt it, but I can't put my finger into it. Then I found out about the Ether food, the malnutrition issues… suddenly the picture became clear, and that whisper are now booming questions hounding my waking days. Why do you think I told those shop owners and restaurateur to keep it a secret? How do you think I know Lacus Clyne had cracked the three laws before anyone else?"

"…she…"

"I just need to say this aloud, buddy. But if I don't know who else I can trust… I'm gonna go insane."

"Of course." He's asking him to keep this quiet. That he can do, especially for his best friend.

"For nearly 200 years Februarius had existed as it is. For nearly 200 years its people had lived side by side with the abnormal and the extraordinary. I'm not the only genius born in this generation, yet I'm the first one who noticed something as BIG as THIS malnutrition issue?"

Athrun begin to catch on. "You're saying there are others? Others who knew this problem… but they kept quiet about it?"

"Lacus Clyne knows. Think about it. She had access to files made from several hundred years ago that studied the lifespan decline of Februarius citizens, among other things. She's a doctor. There's no way she didn't connect the dots, or at least had some sketchy idea of the cause. But she elected to keep quiet. She LIED to everyone, pretending she didn't know. That's how I knew she had figured out how to crack the Three Laws."

Athrun frowned in deep thought. "But why would Lacus Clyne kept it a secret?"

"Come on, Athrun. We both studied histories. This is too much for her. Too much for any single individual, no matter how smart. Can you imagine the kind of enemy she'll make if she carelessly revealed this? Think it for a second. 200 years… and no one noticed? You think that's a coincidence?"

"So we're talking about someone with enough power and authority to initiate an information cordon on an entire continent… for almost 200 years…" The prospect is frightening to contemplate. "Who on earth can have that much power?"

"…I know only one organization. An organization that has existed for more than 200 years… an organization that don't exactly take too kindly to witchcraft and wizardry." Kira grunted. "…and almost everyone in the Empire worshipped their belief as state religion."

"And so at last you begin to understand the scale of the problem."

In an instant, the two Judges reacted in trained reflexes and put their mask back on before they do anything else. Rosso immediately stood guard ahead of Noir as he directed his weapon to where the voice came from. It came from the darkness behind them. "Show yourself!"

"Show myself? Ku, ku, ku…" The voice chuckled. "Don't you think that's a rather odd request, coming from fellow men in mask?"

"We're not the one sneaking behind your back!"

"Ah, that is true. Then let us concealed characters face one another directly, in a manner." The voice walked out of the darkness and the two Judges gawked.

The character wears a tight dark purple suit with golden stripes, long wrapped sleeves, and a frilled white cravat. The outfit combines Victorian fashion with that of a sleek bodysuit; worn over it is a black and gold cloak with crimson spandex lining the inside and an enormous black cape encircling the head. The black cape flutters and bat unnaturally, concealing his body shape, but that figure was easily taller than the two child Judges. Its immediately recognizable feature is a spiky black and indigo mask, completely hiding the wearer's face. "I'm… a big fan of your speech in that tent, Master Noir. Return everything back to Square One… because everything starts at one. I like that. Yes. But do you think that's enough?"

"What?"

"You've uncovered a small piece of a puzzle… but you have yet to realize just how ugly the picture it creates when every piece is assembled. It was a picture so revolting, you cannot not want to burn it down. But what everyone had done so far… was to cover it up in a white drape… and then they pretend it didn't exist." The masked man growled. "But we both know, that is wrong! The right action to take is to tear it all down. Burn that unsightly picture to ashes… and bring out a new clean canvas and paint something new, replacing the old ugly picture with something better, something right!"

Noir and Rosso is still wondering if they're hearing the ramblings a madman or a seditionist.

"Taking it back to one solves NOTHING." The masked man gestured violently to Noir. "You're talking about a city, a single continent… IT'S USELESS! I'm talking about this whole nation! This Empire that has gone rotten all the way to its roots! This country cannot be saved just by returning everything back to one! It needs to be brought down to nothing… to chaos! And only from the flames of chaos can something new be rebuilt!"

"I'm gonna ask this one last time, you maniac… WHO THE FUCK ARE YOU!?"

"I am the agent of chaos. My namesake is what this country should be returned into. I am nothing, no one. And everyone." The masked man elegantly bowed his head in a grand gesture.

"I am… Zero."

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Imagine the Britannian… as the Lannisters of Samurai Seed. Except, there's less incest, less psychopath among the royals, they're more successful and not yet bankrupt.

The ranks of nobility in order of importance is:

King/Emperor/Queen – Head of the country.

Prince, Princess, Archduke – in this instance, they're not necessarily the direct children of the reigning King or Queen, but they do have familial relation to the royal blood.

Duke/Duchess

Marques/marchioness/Marquis - Starting from Marques and above, these titles are hereditary.

Earl, Count/Countess

Viscount/Viscountess

Baron/Baroness

Knights in this case are military rank, so it's completely unrelated to Noble titles – which denotes more on social standing rather than Military progression.

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Phew... and that's the end of this arc. Now, on to the next... as soon as my brain stop burning.