A/N This entire scene is very important, but I've rewritten this so many times I'm kinda over it, so hopefully it's decent enough and fills some gaps before getting into Arc 4!

Also a similar warning here you will see in Chapter 1 of Arc 4– There is a character present now in the story who doesn't really appear til about Arc 6 of the LN, or Season 3 of the anime. Just a fair warning! I'll always tell if I made something up like an OC otherwise.

EX 3 (Extra Chapter 3)

A Dream of Lilac Greed

"…I get that you wanna talk up a good show here, but I'm busy, y'know."

Anastasia Hoshin looked a bit annoyed towards Marco Gildark, the man who had begun the proceedings by speaking of the history of the Royal Family of Lugunica.

"As we say in Kararagi, 'Time is money'."

Here in the main chamber of the castle, the entirety of the Royal Army and all of the city's nobles were formed behind the candidates that were in the running to rise to the throne that Lugunica's royal family left vacant.

Ahead of the candidates was the Council of Wise Men, who often came together to discuss and enact changes for the country in the absence of a King.

"Not to mention…" Anastasia looked to her left, towards the only two others standing with her. "Was there not supposedta' be more of us here?"

"You are correct, Lady Hoshin," Marco stated, the large knight nodding reluctantly. "It appears there may have been.. setbacks."

"To think I could have simply not appeared, now that would be quite amusing," said the orange haired woman in a red-and-black dress that accented her voluptuous properties. "I should perhaps make my graceful exit and consider this matter done with."

Anastasia shot the woman a look, knowing her to be Priscilla Barielle, a matriarch who is known for her loud and proud arrogance, but the third woman standing between them took a step forward before she could say anything.

"Are we not simply here to share in reverie before becoming future adversaries? This seems pointless."

"Miss Crusch… It would appear you are misinformed."

At that, a snicker could be heard from the ranks of the Royal Army. Crusch Karsten shot a look in that direction.

"It seems I was misinformed by my knight, then.."

Anastasia felt her patience wearing thin. After all, she had a lot on her mind these days— so much so, that the entire business with the Royal Selection was hardly of concern to her, as much as she wished to ascend to the throne for monetary power.

As the head knight Marco began to explain the purpose of the ceremony, and how five candidates were selected before one is chosen in the end to make a pact with the dragon Volcanica, the white scarf around Anastasia's neck shuffled a bit.

"…Something terrible might happen soon, I feel a bit off."

The voice was low, and the movement of the scarf unnoticeable to anyone around except Anastasia. She glanced around worriedly.

"It's not like you to be worried when we're the center of attention, 'Dona," Anastasia commented in a low voice.

"You are not wrong, but it's… I cannot even explain it."

"…Reinhard van Astrea, step forward."

From the formation of knights, a particular one stepped out and approached the front. Anastasia turned to watch him, the man who Julius regarded as a dear friend, with a bit of wariness. After all, recent reports had told of the Sword Saint being… Off.

Stopping before the three women, he placed a hand to his chest and bowed his head.

"Honored members of the council of wise men, I, Reinhard van Astrea, must announce that I have completed my mission."

A grin appeared on the man's face as he lifted his head, extending an arm back towards the main door of the chamber dramatically.

"The dragon priestess, the final candidate to the throne, and the one I believe as the one true Queen—"

The doors opened, causing a bit of a stir as everybody turned to look.

"And her name is—"

"Let go of me you creepy bastard!"

Reinhard's eyes went wide, and he turned quickly to see a sight that would be talked about by the nobles of the country for weeks to come.

Roswaal L Mathers walked beside a beauty with silver hair and pointed ears. Anastasia knew it to be Lady Emilia, but the way that the scarf around her neck trembled at her presence made her feel uneasy.

Of course, tucked under the arm of the eccentric richman Roswaal, was a young girl in a yellow dress who was kicking and flailing to try and escape him.

"I found this one waiting to make a dramatic entrance," the man said with amusement. "So I brought here alonggg~"

"My Lady…!"

Reinhard ran forward, but the girl managed to finally escape, the wind whipping up around her as she spun and tried to kick Roswaal in the back of the head.

The man ducked and transitioned the move into a bow, his arms outstretched to present the girl at his side.

"I, Roswaal L Mathers, am pleased to present the candidate and rightful ruler of our woooonderful country," the man said. "Lady Emilia.~"

The girl landed after her failed attack and looked to be going for another, when Reinhard stepped in, taking a boot to the face. This shocked those in the crowd who knew who he was, and the attack left a mark on his cheek.

Still, Reinhard managed a smile as he knelt before the girl and gently grabbed her gloved hand, placing something into it.

"…and this.. is Lady Felt," he spoke, feeling dejected that his big moment had been ruined.

During this entire debacle, Anastasia had her eyes locked on Emilia, feeling her breath catch. After all, if the supposed missing candidate was here, did that mean the group they sent to the Mathers domain were successful? Or did it mean they went for no reason?

She spotted Julius amongst the knights, equally as perplexed and suspicious. He even had a hand on the hilt of the blade at his side, clearly distraught.

Reinhard stood in the face of Roswaal, the other man all smiles and oddly not intimidated in the slightest by the Sword Saint. As the two squared off, the entire room felt tense, though nobody dared to step in against two imposing figures.

"I always thought you to be a respectable man," Reinhard growled, "And yet.. You would dare do something like this.

"And I," Roswaal began with a flourish of his hand, "Had always heard such greaaaat stories about the Sword Saint. To say I am not impressed is… An understatement."

Reinhard reached out to grab the man by the shirt, but someone stepped in to grab his wrist and stop him. He looked surprised towards Julius, the knight shaking his head lightly.

"Reinhard… This is not the time, nor place, for such a quarrel."

"Unhand me…"

Julius' eyes narrowed as he gazed into those maddened eyes of Reinhard's. Anastasia let worry overtake her usual confident expression, knowing that her knight had held many regrets about whatever had happened to Reinhard.

"Ever since failing in his search for the final candidate, something had changed within him," Julius had told her.

Yet now, it seems that his mission had been completed. She looked to the girl, Felt, who had her arms crossed and looked like she was annoyed by the entire event transpiring, glaring around at the nobles that looked her way. It offered up a harrowing question to the woman, one she feared the answer to, due to how powerful the Sword Saint apparently was.

…What exactly did Reinhard van Astrea give up in order to accomplish his goal?

Thankfully, Julius released his fellow knight without further conflict, and Reinhard turned away, offering his hand to his lady. Felt exchanged some heated words with him, but eventually was guided towards the others, a glowing Dragon Insignia in her hand for all to see.

"As you can all see… Lady Felt has been chosen rightfully," he began, before shooting an annoyed look to the side when he saw Roswaal guiding Emilia towards the front just behind him. "There is no objection to be had– The prophesied five have been found."

Emilia, as well, took out her insignia, the crimson glow permeating the room. She held a small smile on her lips, and now that she was closer, Anastasia saw just how dead and cold her eyes looked.

Julius as well seemed to be shaken up by her appearance as he passed by, returning to his spot, ignoring the cat-eared knight of Crush when he tried to ask him what was going on.

"No… I can feel it even better now," the voice spoke to Anastasia again. "It's her. It's.. Impossible, right? Though I guess the future is limitless."

"What do ya' mean?" Anastasia kept her voice low, the white wolf-like being around her neck peering at Emilia with intensity. "Echidna… You've been tense this entire time, ya' know?"

"My namesake… Echidna, the Witch of Greed."

Anastasia paused, taking a step back instinctively. The artificial spirit around her neck, the one she had met long ago and introduced itself as Echidna, had never quite known of her purpose in life, being abandoned long ago by her creator. For years, Echidna had helped Anastasia as an advisor of sorts, her lacking magical prowess made up for with her ability to hide from the sense of others. Appearing as just a simple scarf, she could remain with Anastasia as an unknown extra party, keeping her hyper aware of everything that was going on around her, especially during business deals.

With the witches believed to be dead or sealed, they had both believed the answers they sought may never come to fruition, yet… Here she was, standing before them in the body of another.

The silver-haired girl moved into the line of candidates, standing beside Anastasia and turning to smile at her.

…And then she looked down at the scarf around Anastasia's neck.

"It is so good to see you again," she spoke softly. "I hope we can continue to get along, Miss Hoshin."

Anastasia felt no response from Echidna around her neck, for the first time in what felt like forever. It almost made her feel helpless, like she wanted to run and hide… But she knew better than to give in to such fears. After all, she hadn't gotten to where she was today by running from a challenge.

Returning the smile, Anastasia offered a slight bow towards the girl.

"It's an honor to finally meet ya'."

Echidna smirked, and the two left it at that.

The ceremony went on as normal as it could go, many knights and nobles expressing questions about what was to happen. In the end, the candidates went their separate ways, with mixed feelings about their rivals, and more heated emotions about others.

When Julius caught up with Anastasia, the two could feel the others discomfort. The girl reached over and gently grasped her knight's hand, the man offering a gentle squeeze of it in comfort as they headed off.

Echidna…

Reinhard van Astrea…

These two people had the power to bring the entire nation to its knees, if left unchecked. Both were still a complete mystery to Anastasia, and she silently cursed the strange oddities that kept popping up these days, getting in the way of her plans.

Still, there was a sense of purpose that drove her to consider the possibilities. She felt a bit responsible for ensuring the safety of the Kingdom, something that she never would have expected before. Perhaps it was a change brought on because of those two?

Thinking of Subaru and Meili, Anastasia clutched Julius' hand tighter as he guided her into their carriage. She looked to him, her own worry reflected in his eyes.

"We'll be alright, won't we?"

Julius gave a slight smile and a nod, even if he didn't quite feel like doing so.

"Of course, my Lady. As long as we are together."

…If only they had known how haunting those words would be only days later, when their entire world would turn upside down.

End