AN: It took a lot of revisions, but here is is, the conclusion to Wilmarina's story (for now). Next chapter will focus on someone else.


The next day, Wilmarina prepared to go to the capital again. But unlike her visit two days ago, she wouldn't be alone.

"Alright, have you all made your preparations?" Wilmarina asked.

"I think we've done everything we can here, Lady Wilmarina," Luciana replied.

"The only tasks left are ones to be done in the capital, Lady Wilmarina," Vermut replied.

"There's still the other ranking members of the Order, who haven't been brought into the plan yet," Lucas said. "But messengers have already been sent out to tell them to meet us in the capital. We can reveal the plan then."

"Then it seems it's time for us to head out," Olivie said.

"We will meet again at the royal castle," Wilmarina said. "May the fortunes of war be with you all."

They left the room and split up. Wilmarina and Luciana would be going to the Noscrim Manor, while the others would go to other destinations. By travelling to the capital independently and along different routes, they would attract less attention than if they all moved as a single group.

-ooo-

After returning to the Noscrim Manor, Wilmarina casually stopped by the guest room again. She retrieved her sound recorder and quietly examined the flow of energy within. The sound recorder was set to automatically record only when there were people nearby, and there was now a half-hour of sound on it.

This is fortunate… or perhaps it's to be expected. Father has always been a busy man, so there was always a good chance of him holding a meeting in this room during the past couple of days.

I could have made a strong case even without this… but having more evidence will only make it stronger.

Wilmarina didn't listen to the recording just yet, nor did Luciana ask any questions about it. They were still in dangerous territory.

To think this is how I now perceive the place I grew up in… it's unbelievable

Wilmarina wanted to know what the servants thought of their situation, wanted to know how they might be affected by her plan. But in a sick twist of irony, she couldn't ask them any such questions. If any word of her plan made it to her father, she would fail.

Thus, Wilmarina and her deputy simply waited in the manor for the former's father to arrive. They tried making small talk to pass the time, but the situation made it impossibly for them to truly relax.

An hour later, a servant came to announce the arrival of the manor's owner. Wilmarina and Luciana went to the entrance to greet him.

"Welcome home, Father," Wilmarina said.

Warran nodded slightly in response. His eyes flicked to Luciana for the briefest of moments, then he looked away.

"Are you ready to go to the Senate?" Warran asked.

"Yes, Father," Wilmarina said. "And I will certainly keep in mind what you previously taught me."

"Good," Warran said. "Where is your other attendant? Is she not accompanying you to the Senate?"

"Vermut had to visit her family, but afterwards she will meet us at the Senate."

Wilmarina chose to reveal this information since it would be difficult to hide Vermut's whereabouts; the knight wasn't exactly good at avoiding notice. It was also a fairly safe fact to reveal since no one would consider it unusual.

"Hmm… as long as she's punctual, it won't be a problem," Warran said. "I must rest for a moment, but once I'm done we go to the Senate immediately."

That "rest" turned out to be Father giving Wilmarina another lesson on the intricacies of Lescatian politics. He did sit down and sip a drink brought over by a servant, but that was all. Perhaps for him, this did indeed constitute rest.

It's not just that he's not resting properly. The two of us also haven't had a true experience together as father and daughter for… for years. Even before he banished Elt's family… there was never a time when I was a higher priority than his work.

It was the same for many noble families. Children were an asset used to continue the family line, to make alliances via marriage and to earn glory in battle. Furthermore, they were mainly raised by servants instead of their own parents. While there were exceptions, Wilmarina wasn't lucky enough to be in one such family.

Sometimes, when passing through the city… I've looked at the common people, how they behave as family should… and envied them.

Even while thinking such thoughts, Wilmarina continued listening to her father's lesson and giving responses when appropriate. She'd had many years of experience in acting the obedient daughter.

There's no way to repair our relationship now… it's too far gone. The only thing I can do now is make sure he can't hurt anyone ever again.

-ooo-

At around noon, the meeting of Lescatie's Senate began. Nobles, priests, knights and heroes all gathered in a grand chamber of the royal castle, a space bigger than the average mansion and with enough long tables and benches to seat over a thousand.

Wilmarina was among them, standing behind her seated father. Luciana and Vermut stood just behind her.

Looking around, most of her allies in the Holy Ice Flower were also present. Most put on facades of calm. The sole exception was Eva, who fidgeted and bit his lip nervously. Admittedly, such behaviour was fairly common for him, so nobody would suspect anything from it.

Still, I wish I had the chance to speak to him in person, help him understand what's about to happen.

Alameria and Paula weren't here, and Wilmarina knew why. Alameria didn't have much sway among the nobility of Lescatie since she was an orphan of unknown parentage, but she was quite popular among the common people. She was therefore better suited to going around Lescatie and subtly nudging people into thinking that Lescatie needed change. As for Paula, she had no understanding of politics despite her noble blood.

Wilmarina also looked around at the rest of the chamber. There were over three hundred people here, yet they were clearly delineated into distinct groups.

One was the Noscrim Faction that Wilmarina and the rest of the Holy Ice Flower belonged to. It was the largest in pure numbers, with over eighty present in the Senate chamber at this very moment.

Another was the Miras Faction, the second-largest in Lescatie and one of the only rivals to the Noscrim Faction. It was centred around House Miras, whose sigil was a golden eagle on a red field.

There was also the Gallon Faction, the third-largest and another rival to the Noscrim Faction. It was centred around House Gallon, whose sigil was two crossed swords on a blue field.

Finally, there were a dozen smaller factions that each had fewer than twenty members. Some were seated close to a larger faction, others were currently independent. Wilmarina's father had previously described them as bats, flitting around to wherever they would have the most power.

After a few minutes, the king walked into the Senate chamber accompanied by two guards.. Most of the people already present glanced in his direction, but they didn't even stop their current conversations.

King Castor Bistoa Lescatie should have been in his early forties, yet his haggard face and mostly grey hair suggested a man decades older. He wore elaborate vestments of blue, gold and white, a diamond-studded circle of platinum sat atop his head, and he carried a golden sceptre in one hand. Yet even with this ornamentation, he failed to give off the impression of a king.

...According to what Father has said, King Castor was once more energetic. Unfortunately, he was also naive and unable to get his way in the Senate, eventually dragging him down to this jaded state. Something that the likes of Father appreciate, since it means less interference…

If I could get His Majesty to support me, that would be a great boon… but it would be impossible to meet him in secret to talk to him.

Granted, Wilmarina and Elt had previously held secret meetings with Fourth Princess Francisca, but the king would certainly have better security than a neglected and "useless" princess. Even if Lescatie had grown weak in its decadence, the security for its king would certainly be enough to keep even a hero out. So Wilmarina had discarded that possibility

Eventually, King Castor made his way to a podium at the front of the room. He slammed the base of his sceptre against the floor to silence the room.

"This meeting of the Senate has begun," King Castor said in a voice just loud enough to be heard. "Who wishes to raise the first matter of the day?"

The first to respond was a member of a rival faction. Duke Soren Miras, leader of the Miras Faction, stood up and said, "There is a matter of some urgency I wish to raise. I have recently heard many reports of monsters in the wilds of Lescatie."

This triggered a surge of whispers and murmurs of discussion in the Senate chamber.

Duke Soren placed a sheet of paper on the table before him and tapped it with one finger. Two illusory copies of that paper, each a hundred times larger and facing in opposite directions, appeared high in the air. This was thanks to a spell woven into the tables of the Senate chamber to allow any member to show documents to everyone else. It was more convenient than, for example, distributing physical copies of documents to everyone else.

After allowing a few moments for people to read, Duke Soren said, "The number and variety of sightings are both greatly above average. It suggests that a large raid may now be underway."

Larger than any of you realise, with a lilim at its head, Wilmarina thought. Though I can hardly reveal that here. The danger to Elt is reason enough to conceal it, but most of the Senate would never believe a lilim contacting a common soldier. Even if they heard of his connections to several heroes of Lescatie, they would never believe he could have any influence as a result.

...Though my father is one of the exceptions to that, which only makes him more dangerous.

For now, I can only hope Elt and his companions keep an eye out for Druella sneaking in again.

"This is… grave news," King Castor said. "We must prepare our defences."

"Preparations are already underway," Sun Priest Warran said, now standing as well. "Our own Order of the Holy Ice Flower has devised various strategies we can use to defeat the monsters. Of course, we are ready to collaborate with any others in the defence of Lescatie."

Marchioness Eleanora Gallon, leader of the Gallon Faction, also stood up. "We will gladly contribute our forces to the duty of slaying monsters."

"Our blades and spells will ensure that no monster ever sets foot within these walls," Duke Soren vowed.

Representatives of smaller factions also stood to announce their support. Outwardly, it was a show of Lescatie's unity, of humanity's unity against the horde of monsters.

Yet Wilmarina could see the falseness in their eyes, could hear the self-interest in their words. To most of the Senate, the real battle was not outside the walls of the capital but within. They only cared about the monsters as a way to increase their own faction's prestige in battle. They would vie to get their heroes the glory of killing high-class monsters, while trying to saddle their rivals with the most casualties.

I almost want to reveal Druella's presence, just to get them to take this matter seriously… Could I lie and say that I was the one who encountered her? But that would be met with great scrutiny, it's unlikely I could maintain the lie…

Druella is cunning, I'll grant her that much. She revealed herself in a way that makes it impossible for those aware to reveal it publicly. The only reason I know it's true is because I trust Elt unconditionally…

Forcing her thoughts back to the current topic, Wilmarina noticed the Senate members sitting down again.

"Monsters…" King Castor murmured, so quietly that even Wilmarina strained to hear it. He added more loudly, "What strategies do we currently have to deal with them? It would reassure all of us if we knew how the monsters could be beaten back…"

"I will entrust that topic to my daughter," Sun Priest Warran said. "Wilmarina?"

Wilmarina stepped forward as the eyes of the Senate focused on her.

"I've discussed the approaching monsters with my knight order for the past few days," Wilmarina said.

All perfectly true; even as Wilmarina and the others planned their rebellion, they had never forgotten the true threat on the horizon.

"Eva proposed a number of strategies, which we further refined through discussion."

That caused the young man in question to meet Wilmarina's gaze. Eva still looked nervous, but he nodded slightly… an ordinary gesture that nevertheless confirmed what Wilmarina had been hoping for.

Over the next couple of minutes, Wilmarina explained the strategies they'd been working on. The other heroes and the knights in the room listened raptly, even those belonging to rival factions. So too did many of the nobles, especially those who had territories outside the capital.

"...We still do not know anything about the leader, or leaders, of the monsters. I therefore believe we should err on the side of caution and mobilise as many of our forces as possible."

This was an addition Wilmarina had slipped in thanks to her secret knowledge of Druella. It would take everything Lescatie had just to stand a chance against a lilim.

"I also believe we should reinforce the outlying villages and towns. If they fall, the monsters will only be strengthened."

This suggestion was met with numerous nods and murmurs of agreement… only a fraction of which was sincere. Even some of the other heroes didn't seem interested, and Wilmarina knew why.

There's glory in fighting powerful monsters and slaying them in single combat. There's none in guarding small villages, which are unlikely to be attacked by anything stronger than goblins or orcs…

It was also unlikely that her earlier suggestion would be followed. The Senate members with territories outside the capital might follow it, if only out of self-interest, but most would be as miserly as possible. Preparing for was expensive, and most cared more about their luxuries and their power games.

...Then there is no other option.

"And… there is one other matter I'd like to raise before the Senate."

This sentence made Warran turn to look at Wilmarina, surprise clear in his eyes. Unfortunately for him, there was no way he could stop her now.

"After speaking with various other people, I have been made aware of terrible truths regarding Lescatie," Wilmarina continued. "I feel that those must be addressed as well in this meeting."

Wilmarina stepped forward, took out one of her father's letters and placed it on the table. It was the only one she'd kept to herself.

"Wilmarina," Warran said, his voice low and filled with suppressed emotions. "It seems you're quite stressed from recent work, perhaps you should—"

In the next moment, Wilmarina projected the letter as an illusion for all to see.

"I discovered this fallen to the floor," Wilmarina lied. "The contents shocked me…"

This was a letter revealing Warran's dealings with Duchess Allaria Mayer, head of House Mayer. It dated to four months ago, which was why he hadn't noticed it going missing from his chest… but that did nothing to diminish its contents.

"You were right, Vitral's daughter was once in an orphanage. This information should be useful if we ever need to influence him. As a token of my gratitude, I'll send you some bottles of Amalos Red. It wasn't easy getting hold of them, but I was able to persuade one of my contacts to donate them. -Allaria"

There were gasps from all around the Senate chamber, some of which actually sounded sincere. Certainly, some had to be merely pretending in order to avoid drawing suspicion to themselves. Yet the others… perhaps they'd known Lescatie was corrupt, but unaware of just how corrupt it was.

Just like myself, for so many years, Wilmarina thought. I was also that ignorant until just two days ago.

"This is nothing but a forgery!" shouted Duchess Allaria, an elegant woman with silver hair tied into a bun. She pointed one finger at Wilmarina. "You besmirch the honour of the Senate with your lies!"

Many other members of the Noscrim Faction shouted their agreement. On the other hand, the other factions in the Senate were silent—perhaps they hoped to use this opportunity to weaken their rival.

"I'd say you did that first… Mother."

Duchess Allaria whirled around in shock to face her son. Lucas stepped forward, his expression one that Wilmarina had never seen before: tranquil fury.

"Lucas—you—"

"With this information, some of your recent activities make far more sense, Mother," Lucas said. "Such as your private meetings with Sun Priest Noscrim, the ones you refused to give any details about, even when pressed."

The ferocity that Allaria had while accusing Wilmarina of lying was gone. In its place was a nervous terror more fitting for someone surrounded by hungry monsters.

"Lucas, what are you talking about?" Allaria said. "Those were simply ordinary meetings, where we talked about—about family matters."

"Children, you speak of things you do not understand," Warran said. He glared at Lucas and then at Wilmarina. "Such nonsense distracts us from the monsters bearing down on us all!"

"I suppose eyewitness testimony is inherently unreliable," Lucas said calmly. "Then I'll add some physical evidence as well."

Lucas set down his own evidence on the table, two documents that Wilmarina had given him yesterday, causing an illusion of them to replace Wilmarina's. This led to more gasps, for this evidence also implicated members of both the Miras and Gallon Factions—the former with bribery and the latter with the non-fatal poisoning of a rival.

"Th-Those are more forgeries!" Duchess Allaria protested. "Such documents never existed!"

"That's right!" Duke Soren agreed. "We will not stand and be accused of such… of such things by your unruly children!"

"How will you compensate us for this insult, Sun Priest Warran, Duchess Allaria!?" Marchioness Eleanora demanded.

Members of the other two major factions stood to add their voices. The sheer amount of noise was almost overwhelming… but Wilmarina couldn't give up now. She opened her mouth, ready to give a counterargument—

"...Aren't you talking to the wrong people?"

That voice didn't come from one of the Holy Ice Flower, from one of the allies Wilmarina had planned with. It came from a young man within the Miras Faction: Stephen Miras, son of the duke.

"Stephen, you—stand down, you fool!" Duke Soren commanded. "You know nothing about such matters, this is your first time even being in the Senate!"

"That's right, I haven't been here until today… because nothing important ever happened here," Stephen said. "But I'm not staying silent anymore. I won't let you keep using heroes like me to threaten other people!"

Soren flinched as if struck by a physical blow. "That—you misunderstand, it's vital for others to know of Lescatie's strength—"

"Then why do people from other countries tremble in fear when we approach!?" Stephen retorted. "Why do our visits always get followed up by big 'donations'? It's because we're extorting them like common criminals! Our strength is meant for fighting monsters, but thanks to the likes of you, we have to use it to threaten our fellow humans!"

The Senate chamber was abuzz with nervous whispers. More than one noble tugged at his or her collar, no doubt fearing their own crimes were about to be exposed. With members of rival factions all cooperating, it was harder for anyone to refute their arguments.

One noble stood up. He was a friendly-looking man with blonde hair streaked with grey, and wore golden clothing adorned with the sigil of a purple flower.

"Please, please, we must all calm down," said Marquis Julian Amaltia, raising his hands in a conciliatory manner. "I understand some of us have grievances, but we must not give in to emotion—"

"Crimes committed with a rational mind are still crimes… Father."

Marquis Julian froze, then looked over his shoulder at an angry Olivie. Wilmarina had seen the older woman angry only once before, and that had been anger born of worry for her comrades. This was clearly a fundamentally different kind of anger.

"Olivie, you… surely you agree with me," Julian said, his mask cracking slightly. "If we allow ourselves to devolve into infighting, Lescatie will be vulnerable to monsters—"

"Lescatie is already vulnerable due to infighting," Olivie retorted. "And, more directly, because certain individuals among us weaken our defences!"

Olivie thrust two documents down onto the table to be projected as illusions. One was a letter about Lescatie's extortion of its neighbours. The other was about Marquis Julian embezzling funds meant for repairing Lescatie's crumbling outer walls.

There were more gasps from the Senate. It was possible that many of their reactions were genuine; even if they were probably guilty of embezzlement themselves, they probably didn't steal money from the upkeep of the walls, which both protected Lescatie and were the first impression to visitors.

"Olivie…" Julian growled. Veins bulged on his forehead. "You… You would go to such lengths? Is this revenge for—?"

"This is purely for the sake of strengthening Lescatie," Olivie replied confidently… and dishonestly, Wilmarina knew.

The floodgates were broken. More and more people came forward with accusations, forefront among them being the Order of the Holy Ice Flower. The rest included many like Stephen who wouldn't have known of Wilmarina's plan, but were now exploiting this opportunity to break free from their chains.

"Our soldiers don't stand a chance against monsters, because they can never get proper equipment!"

"My cousins in Amalos won't even look at me, because to them I'm just a thug of Lescatie, there to intimidate them!"

"You tried marrying me off to a fifty-year-old man whose last wife ran away! You knew about that, but building connections was more important to you than your own daughter!"

Wilmarina looked on at the chaos with a complex swirl of emotions in her heart.

She'd disobeyed all of the rules she'd been raised to obey, barring those about fighting monsters. And by triggering this chaos, she'd ensured that Lescatie would be weakened at least temporarily.

But she'd also torn away the veil that hid Lescatie's darkness. She—and all those who now stood with her—were stepping away from being just as bad as the monsters they fought. By winnowing out the corruption, she was also removing vulnerabilities to the monsters.

"...Wilmarina."

At the start of this Senate meeting, Sun Priest Noscrim had been an imposing figure, feared and respected by all. Now… he seemed to have physically shrunken in his chair, and even the bright yellow of his clothes seemed faded and dull.

"Do you… truly think this is the best path for Lescatie?" Warran said, almost inaudible over the clamour in the room. "If so… you are a fool among fools."

"Words more fitting for you, Father," Wilmarina shot back. "You knew about crimes like Marquis Julian embezzling from the walls' repair, yet you did nothing to stop them. For you, personal advancement was a higher priority than Lescatie itself."

Warran shook his head slowly. "Keeping Lescatie united requires… unscrupulous methods, at times. But now you've thrown all that into disarray. I won't say that Lescatie is now doomed to the monsters… for it will now destroy itself before the monsters ever arrive."

"...We shall see."

The accusations and desperate refutations continued for over a minute. Eventually, a loud clang and a shout of "SILENCE!" brought all to a standstill.

King Castor now had an intense energy in his gaze, as if the vitality lost from Wilmarina's father had been transfused to him.

"It is clear that many people in this room… do not deserve their titles," King Castor said.

Warran shifted nervously in his chair. Wilmarina reached into one pocket and grasped the sound recorder.

"Th-These are all forgeries and lies!" one of the accused nobles protested.

"That's right!" another noble said. "Anyone can put ink to paper and make realistic-looking documents!"

Warran began rising from his chair. "Your Majesty, if you will allow us to defend our names—"

At that moment, Wilmarina tossed the sound recorder ever so slightly forward… causing it to land right next to her father's foot.

You were right, Father. Sometimes unscrupulous methods are required.

Warran blinked and looked down, then at Wilmarina.

"You—You would even—"

"Father, what did you just drop?" Wilmarina asked. "It seems like it came from your pocket…"

Warran tried to crush the sound recorder with his foot, but Wilmarina picked it up first.

"She just planted that!" Warran protested. "I am innocent of—"

"Silence!" King Castor said, banging his sceptre against the floor again. "Recent information gives us no reason to trust your word, Sun Priest Warran! Hero Wilmarina, what is that object?"

"It… It appears to be a device for recording sounds so they can be heard later," Wilmarina said innocently. "If I remember correctly, by pressing on this part…"

Wilmarina activated the sound recorder, causing a familiar voice to emit from the device.

"Thank you for taking the time for this visit, Grand Master," said the voice of Warran.

"The pleasure is mine, Sun Priest," said the voice of Felix Almas, Grand Master of the Order of Holy Knights… and one of Wilmarina's former instructors.

Many eyes turned to Grand Master Felix, who was present in the Senate chamber at this very moment. He'd already looked guilty, but now he looked like he dearly wished he had the power of teleportation.

The sound of a bottle being opened came from the recorder, followed by wine pouring into glasses. The two men drank and bantered about simple topics… though even this indulgence was scandalous for a priest and a knight.

Then Warran asked, "Do you have any promising recruits currently?"

"Several," Felix replied, taking a sip of wine. "A young man from House Emerl holds first place in most skills…" he clicked his tongue. "I only wish he wasn't second in swordsmanship and tactics."

"Second? Then who is first in those skills?"

"A son of a blacksmith. It's shameful, but he's somehow managed to become a decent fighter, not just reliant on brute strength as you'd expect. His skills in other areas are average at worst, so I haven't been able to find any pretext to eject him… Would you have any use for him, Sun Priest?"

"No, one common-born knight around my daughter is enough."

Nearby, Luciana clenched her fists. Wilmarina wished she could comfort her deputy, but now wasn't the time.

"But that son of House Emerl might make a good recruit to the Order of the Holy Ice Flower…" Warran added. "As for that blacksmith's son… perhaps he might make a good guard for the weak fool who sits on the throne."

"Hah! Yes, unlike men like us, he doesn't need to have proper knights in his service…"

The Senate members sitting closest to Warran and Felix began moving away. The king himself maintained a dispassionate expression despite what he'd just heard. The king's guards, on the other hand, looked at Warran like they wanted to kill him with their bare hands.

The recorded conversation continued for another minute before King Castor raised a hand.

"You may stop that now, Hero Wilmarina, I believe we've heard enough. More than enough."

The Senate chamber was filled with tension as all waited for the king's judgement. Warran and the other accused nobles looked entirely defeated. It was only personal influence that had allowed them to ignore the king's will historically. Now that their influence had been diminished…

King Castor pointed at one of his guards. "You, bring my third daughter here, along with any of her subordinates you can find." He pointed at the other. "You, gather all of the evidence—the physical evidence, I should specify—that has been presented here."

The king's guards saluted and then ran off to their individual tasks. Soon enough, all of the documents and the sound recorder were assembled before the king.

A few minutes passed, during which King Castor perused the evidence and many nobles looked around desperately for an escape route. Then the first guard returned with the princess and about two dozen soldiers.

Princess Selina Mistel Lescatie was a woman scarcely older than Wilmarina, and a hero as well. Her purple hair was tied into a short braid to avoid hindering her movement. She walked not with the demure gait of a princess but the confident stride of a warrior. Lastly, a rapier of gleaming white metal hung at her hip.

"You summoned me, Father?" Princess Selina asked.

"Yes… I've been informed that many members of the Senate are, in fact, mere criminals who do not deserve their positions," King Castor explained. "Selina, I give you the following command: arrest Sun Priest Warran Noscrim, Duchess Allaria Mayer…"

Over thirty names were mentioned in total. Some of the people in question shook their heads in a desperate attempt to deny reality. Other accepted their sentence stoically. Wilmarina's father was in the latter category.

"...and hold them all in individual rooms. Make sure the only people who guard them, or even bring them food, are ones you trust."

"Your Majesty, this is excessive!" Marchioness Eleonora protested. "Surely—"

"An army of monsters bears down on us all!" King Castor shouted. "That is something none of us disputes! As king of Lescatie, I invoke emergency powers… including the power to swiftly punish traitors to the cause! Now, Selina, take them away!"

Selina looked mildly surprised by the command, but she smiled. "Understood, Father. I will not fail you!"

The princess and her retinue began rounding up the guilty and marching them out of the room.

When it was Warran's turn to be taken away, he looked at Wilmarina one last time. Unlike Marquis Julian before him, he didn't say anything out loud, nor did he need to.

Was it worth ruining Lescatie as revenge for a servant, Wilmarina?

Wilmarina said nothing in response. Her answer was clear enough from her actions.

-ooo-

After the arrests were complete, chaos erupted in the Senate chamber once more. The disgrace of many family heads raised the question of who should replace them… or if their families should be allowed to continue at all.

Eventually, King Castor settled the matter with a firm declaration: "In the interim, all family heads will be replaced by their heirs, as determined by the usual laws of succession. I will continue reviewing the evidence presented today, as well as gathering more with my own methods, and pass down further judgements as necessary."

That brought about a relative calm. Discussions continued for another half-hour, then people began trickling out of the Senate chamber to deal with their own business.

Wilmarina hoped to leave as well—there was a mountain of work ahead of her, if she wanted to bring House Noscrim onto a better path. But she remained long enough for the king to approach her personally.

"Hero Wilmarina," King Castor said. "I must thank you for bringing this matter to the attention of the Senate."

Wilmarina bowed her head. The king's abrupt shift in personality still surprised her.

"I was simply doing my duty to Lescatie, Your Majesty," Wilmarina replied humbly and—unlike most times she said these words—sincerely.

"Still, I would be remiss if I did not acknowledge your efforts," King Castor said. "It could not have been easy…"

King Castor glanced down at the sound recorder, which was now in his hand. It was obvious to Wilmarina what he was thinking: even if Warran had recorded his meeting with Felix as blackmail material, he would never have brought that evidence to a Senate meeting in his own pocket.

The only reason it worked was because I made sure to discredit Father first. Otherwise, people would have focused more on my actions, accusing me of being a treacherous daughter only out to usurp her father's position.

But then the king moved away to thank someone else. He was quickly replaced by various members of the Noscrim Faction. Annoyingly, they blocked out the rest of the Holy Ice Flower, so Wilmarina couldn't even speak to them.

"You were marvellous just now, Lady Wilmarina…"

"I cannot believe such things were happening in our proud country… but you've brought them to an end!"

"I always knew something was wrong about Sun Priest Warran…"

These nobles included many who were guilty of their own crimes. However, it hadn't been practical for Wilmarina to try and accuse them all. There were still some who were genuinely innocent, and even the guilty could make for potential allies.

Now that we've shown corruption can lead to punishment, they'll have an incentive to clean up their activities…

...or to hide them even more carefully.

But even if there were caveats, Lescatie had gone through a momentous change today. That was something to be proud of.

-ooo-

A short time later, King Castor made his way to an isolated room. As soon as he was away from prying eyes, he slumped down on a couch and sighed.

One of his loyal guards brought a flask of orange juice to his mouth, while the other stood next to the door to watch out for eavesdroppers.

"Th-Thank you…"

Castor felt embarrassed at being so vulnerable, even if it was around guards he knew and trusted. But acting as a true king, even for less than an hour, was unfathomably draining on him.

"You've done well, Your Majesty," said the guard holding the juice. "I… Neither Phillip nor I ever expected something like this to happen."

"But those bastards have finally gotten what was coming to them," said Phillip, the guard at the door. "And if they do ever send that blacksmith's son to the royal guard, we'd throw a party to welcome him!"

"I simply… drew on my imagination of past kings, thought of what they would say in that situation," King Castor said.

Truth be told, Castor felt he still didn't measure up to those kings of Lescatie's glory days. He should have spoken up as soon as Wilmarina presented that first piece of evidence… but he was just too afraid.

"And I'm not sure if this will last," Castor said. "There are many in Lescatie who'll fight tooth and nail to keep their privileges…"

That was the fundamental reason why Castor had been reduced to a mere figurehead for years. The aristocracy of Lescatie might be ruled by selfish desires, but they did not lack for intelligence or determination when it came to fulfilling their desires.

If only they could channel that intelligence and determination into combating monsters…

But there was no point in simply hoping for the aristocracy to change. If Castor didn't want Lescatie to slide back into corruption—or to fall to invading monsters—he'd have to begin acting as a king again.

At least there are others who are working to fix Lescatie… to add to them, I should call in the rest of my daughters, all three of them.

All three… of them…

Groaning, Castor remembered his fourth daughter Francisca. While his elder three daughters were all prominent heroes, his fourth had been shackled since birth with a fragile body. No one could explain why, since none of her family members had a similar problem, and no one had ever been able to heal her.

It saddens me to admit it… but she won't be of help now. The treacherous realm of politics, and the dark threat of monsters, would both be too much for her.

Still… I should at least try to visit her once, shouldn't I? Together with Francia...

-ooo-

When night fell, Wilmarina was sitting in the room of the Noscrim Manor that was once her father's study. Luciana was the only other person present. The two of them read through Warran's records more slowly and carefully than last time.

"Even now, I can't believe the sheer extent of the corruption…" Wilmarina murmured. "How has Lescatie not collapsed already?"

"Well… maybe that's a testament to how strong it is," Luciana suggested. "Even with so many of its leaders ignoring their duties, it could still last."

But that state of affairs had to be stopped. A rotten Lescatie would stand no chance against a lilim and her army.

It would take a long, long time before Lescatie could be truly free of corruption. Until then, Wilmarina would have to work with what she had.

Now the resources of House Noscrim—the full resources, that is—can be devoted to making Lescatie into what it should be: humanity's sword and shield against the monsters.

The purpose of this reading was to determine just what House Noscrim's resources were and how to deploy them most effectively. That would take hours, at the very least, so they just had to be diligent. The rest of the Holy Ice Flower were doing similar tasks.

Except Kirsch… where has she gone? None of us ever met with her today, or yesterday… I hope she returns soon.

Suddenly, Vermut entered the room with a paper scroll in hand.

"Lady Wilmarina, there's another letter for you," Vermut said. "It was apparently sent by Hero Sasha Fullmoon."

Which implied it might have a message from Elt. Wilmarina accepted the letter and said, "Thank you, Vermut. I need to stretch my legs, so I'll go out for a moment to read this."

Wilmarina left the study and unrolled the letter. It began with "Dear Wilmarina Noscrim, I've heard of your courageous efforts in the Senate today" and the rest was just meaningless pleasantries. She'd received a dozen similar letters in the few hours since the end of the Senate meeting.

But, if Elt wanted to include a secret message with it…

Wilmarina looked around to confirm no one was nearby, then conjured up a tiny magical flame with one finger. She held the flame close to the paper, revealing more words written between the lines of Sasha's. This secret message was in untidy handwriting that Wilmarina had never seen before, yet somehow she just knew who it belonged to.

Did Sasha or her mother teach Elt how to write? If only I… no, that's not important right now. What does Elt have to say?

The secret message was short. It was simply: "Mary, Sasha's turned into a monster but still seems to be herself. What should we do?"

Wilmarina read the message once. She read it twice. Then she extinguished her flame, stuffed the letter into a pocket and held her face in her hands.

What in the world happened over there!?


AN: Most of the characters in this chapter are one-shots to fill out the cast. There are some with future relevance, though…

I originally had a section where Paula talks Parshe into joining the cause. I decided to omit this since it wasn't really adding anything and it broke up the flow of the story. Likewise, I planned to have Queen Francia make an appearance but there's enough characters as it is, so she'll appear later.