'Judge Gabranth, you are not going anywhere. We are talking about the strongest man on the continent. And second person, only to his noble Lady Mother, until Victoria masters all of her abilities – which will take several years given her choice to study the honorable way. I know of no one in all of our divisions – Zecht included – who is able to vanquish him today. I, Zargabaath, with all the protective magic, defensive technicks and piercing blows that took all my career to perfect, owing me His Excellency's admiration in the process, would fall to him in less than a minute.'

He likely assumed I would hold back… and he was right.

Tears were filling my eyes and my fist was clenched to pain.

Why did so cruel people exist? Killing us in our homes because we had qualities they didn't? Paying "attracting attention" with blood? Having fun raping virgins in the countryside, and terrorizing a region of peaceful farmers?

And most importantly… Why did they natively hold such power that we could not dream to get close to after a lifetime of training?

Wasn't Lord Vayne supervising some research to increase the army's offensive abilities? I promised myself to ask about it. For the time being, Judge Zargabaath was right. There was nothing I could do. The only sword I agreed to hold was Vicky's, and her brother would have probably killed me even faster once he saw it.

'Now', he said, 'tell me, Gabranth. Will you go on exchanging letters with Victoria?'

My mind wanted to think, to answer much later, to process all this information first. But my heart was already set:

'I will, if Your Honor allows me to. Because Vicky is my friend. At least I think so. I am certain she has nothing in common with her brother. She may have the potential of an insanely powerful warrior, but her heart harbors no place for wasteful destruction. She was not a conscious child by the time Waldgott was sacked, and her responsibility is null. Today she strives only for justice, be it in books or swords. Her eyes did not lie. And my wish is to help her on the academic side, as well as support her.'

'And she will help you in swordsmanship in turn, heh?' mocked Zargabaath. 'Very well. I personally am not taking risks either way. It is, to speak the truth, the most unusual situation that could happen, and it amuses me a lot. I am curious to know where this leads. To think the TM heir could direct her heavy interest to the likes of you… Truly, it spares us a great deal of trouble. Lord Vayne will be able to sleep soundly. Were the Murenas any… fitting for your standards, and would you be as proficient in magic barriers as Drace, I would send you to the two other Mighty houses, to double the fun. If your exchanges with your princess stay as you say, you can keep them going for as long as you want, and use this place as an address. That letter was the first and the last that I read.'

I bowed down:

'Thank you, my Lord.'

'One last thing.'

I turned back and frowned. By the look of his face, he didn't seem to be done with mocking.

'Mighty heirs are the only members of their family to be free to choose their spouse. Depending on the nobility degree difference with the chosen one, and especially if the heir in question is a woman… the marriage material does not have the possibility to refuse, and could be well executed should he decide to do them this outrage. The Mighty Four have the best ways to hide corpses, I can assure you.'

'What is the purpose of your speech, Your Honor? Our epistolary discussion is built on friendship. Should you have the slightest doubt; by all means, please continue to read the letters I send her – and only them.'

And, since his silence was eloquent:

'I am a Judge of the Order, and dömavän to Judge Magister Drace. I shall not disobey the Family Code subpart related to minors' marriage and harassment, which has been rewritten in 669 following the precedent judged in the same year under Your Honor's command, and that put in jail for a duration of 30 years the leading couple of the noble House Feynis.'

Lord Zargabaath took some time to blink in awe at this display of knowledge. Eventually, he looked down, sighed, and dismissed me with a sign of his gauntlet:

'You may leave. I doubt Victoria will be let into these secrets, but please warn me personally if you learn of any move of Maximiliano's. Have a nice day.'

I had begun to understand the best ways to bring an interview with Judge Zargabaath to a close.

The first semester of year 698 was calm. As the potential soon-to-be Feynis leader had said, I got appointed to the position of Chief Justice of the Archadian Supreme Court. I had a say in the final decision concerning all other courts of the Empire, in addition to laws and imperial decrees, the latter being scarce. Emperor Gramis seemed to be in a slow, lethargic phase of his life where he delegated as much as he could – only the Landis invasion had seemed natural for him to instruct. Most of the time, I was facing no contestation from the other judges. However, because the required law level to sit there was higher than anything I had known earlier, there were a few members who had viable arguments to confront mine, and sometimes make me see things differently. As an Archadian who neither was born nor grew up in the country, I was lacking some of its unwritten specificities. As it happened, a significant part of the old men forming the court was greatly annoyed to be led by a foreign-voiced member of the military in his twenties, who was not even known for his prowess in combat. It was hard to believe Judge Magister Drace did not intervene at all in this nomination – which proved that the Emperor had heard of me –, but she was still the person I trusted the most in the Order.

Lord Larsa was becoming a young boy of three years and a half. It was almost possible for me to have real conversations with him – almost. Unlike his brother, he had no issue making contact with anyone, and jumped like a flea whenever he saw me coming. He visibly desperately needed other young children to interact with, but that involved letting him out in the Archades wilderness, or allowing external groups in the Palace; and both scenarios, from what I had heard, were ruled out by the Emperor, his old father who appeared to develop a gradual fondness for his last child. The disaster of Eder-Cilt and Phonmat's death, the same day his beloved wife disappeared, would probably remain his worst nightmare.

'Hi, Gabranth!' the boy joyfully said, as I was visiting his apartments once.

'Good morning, Lord Larsa.'

'Why does everyone call me "Lord Larsa"? My father is the Emperor, not me.'

'Because you belong to the imperial family, just like your Basket cousins.'

'Oh, right! The Basket cousins! When can I go play with them?'

'Not now, Lord Larsa. I believe you will meet them more often starting next year.'

'That is boring, Gabranth.'

Whenever he was disappointed with something and squatted down, his big blue eyes facing his tiny feet, I could barely prevent myself from laughing.

'You will grow, Lord Larsa. And you will be able to do and understand more things.'

'Will you be here with me "next year", Gabranth?' he asked, his round face full of worry.

'Of course, my Lord', I smiled.

And, since he was still grumpy:

'In a few years, you will be allowed to House Solidor's corner of the hovercraft station.'

His face immediately lightened up:

'Hovercraft? Wonderful! If I can ride a hovercraft, then I will fly an airship next! Do you know about hovercrafts and airships, Gabranth?'

'I'm afraid I am not a specialist.'

'Who knows, then? Who?'

The answer, as for many other topics, was quite obvious:

'Judge Zargabaath does.'

Larsa squinted, put a hand over his little chin, raised his eyes and eventually snapped his fingers.

'Oh, yes, I remember. He comes here all the time to talk about Mother.'

All the time?

'What does he say about her?' I asked, curious.

'He says she was beautiful, brilliant, and the sweetest person that there was!'

'Does he come every day to tell you that?'

'Oh, not every day. But every time he comes, he says that. Over and over again!'

I thought for a minute.

Zargabaath was the man who rebuilt the Thirteenth with all its configurations, some of which only he and I were aware of. He had been in charge of protecting someone for a long time, after having known her for an even longer time. That person had died in undefined circumstances. The Fall of the Black Rose was something he could never truly get over from, and the only remains it left him were two sons, one of whom was born four days before the tragedy.

My mind briefly led me somewhere else, but I abandoned this track immediately. It was Judge Zargabaath, after all, and not one to fall so shamelessly from the laws' path.

'Does he say these things because he thinks you remind him of her, Lord Larsa?'

He was playing with a plush airship, making it turn around a horizontal "8"-shaped path, his back turned to me. I thought it prevented him from paying attention to my question and I was about to repeat it, when he replied:

'Yes, that's it. He says: "You have grown even more resembling your mother, Lord Larsa."'

His Zargabaath imitation, with shifty eyes and slight chin movement, was so good that this time, I could not help myself laughing out loud.

He took the time to land his plush next to him, facing the wall as he did previously, then he turned to me and laughed in turn.

That vision engraved in my mind that the boy, no matter how noble he was, needed me by his side.

I tousled his hair and got up, but he immediately reacted:

'Where are you going, Gabranth? Nastia said she'll be here soon.'

That was even more reason for me to leave. I tried to explain I was busy, but Larsa added:

'Do you not like Nastia anymore? I thought you did.'

I promised myself to never have children until I was sure to never get into such situations.

'I still like Nastia, Lord Larsa. But when we like someone, we need to let them work. I like to work alone too. I only meet others if I have to.'

I thought my answer would still be unsatisfactory, but he eventually smiled again:

'Alright, Gabranth. As you wish. People say nasty things about you, in the Palace; oh yes, they do. But I do not believe them at all. It is the same for Drace. She and you are wonderful, and I like you a lot. I like you both very much. Soon, I will be able to go outside and have friends. And I'm sure you will as well.'

'I already do, Lord Larsa', I replied before softly closing his door.

And, after all these heartwarming words of consideration and kindness, all I could think of was Vicky. Vicky and her powerful thighs, Vicky and her Mighty sword, Vicky and her immense delight to hear from me.

Thinking three years ahead was terribly hasty, but that Mighty rule was equally interesting. Vicky, out of the three siblings, being the only one to be allowed to pick her future material, and choosing a Landisite man against all odds, was a remarkable vision, and one filling me with insolent pride. Maybe that was the best revenge against her brother, instead of fighting a battle we could not win – at least I could not.

Maximiliano Terramolina. Why such hate towards Landisite young men? And who was the one that your sister Dolores had fallen in love with, in such a way that you had felt compelled to turn the whole Waldgott region into an open air grave?

Cirla Drimer. He was the only Waldgott citizen who knew all the others, who never missed a celebration, who always had a nice word for everybody, including peasants such as Noah fon Ronsenburg. The long hair I had kept during my teens was because of his. The law books I had gone through at the library after his lessons were thanks to him. Every boy who knew him looked up to him somehow. Had he been alive, we could have found out together who the Dolores lover was – the one against whom the bloody raid was targeted, which took Naria, the farmers, the Waldgott residential area inhabitants, and so many others. But Cirla, and his lovely sister Margit, were a victim of that raid – a victim like me. The only difference being that I suffer while standing on my two feet, with the bitter mission of finding the truth – and take action.