1st Autumn Moon, 908 – Verde Kingdom

"…arriving within a matter of days, as sent by Sir Matthias. They should be arriving at their destination by tomorrow morning to survey the enemy camp," Ortwin announced, skimming through the letter sent to him earlier.

Sitting on the grand throne, Charlie nodded along to the old dragon's explanation, though clearly was straining to understand bits and pieces. JoJo, the disguised merchant-turned-fake-princess, sat on her own throne and nearly drifted off a couple times during the summary, only staying awake by a quick nudge from the Clobbopuss seated just above her.

"We will hear of the results of their assault once they've made contact," Ortwin finished. He looked up to the young royals, prompting JoJo to sit up wide-eyed and alert. "May we hope they succeed in their attack."

Charlie tilted his head. "Does that mean we win the war if they do?"

Ortwin shook his head. "I wish it was only that simple. Even if we've pushed out New Chariot's forces, they are notoriously adaptable. This is a temporary measure until we've forced their full surrender. A difficult task of its own."

JoJo glared. "Fascinating. Any updates on Sir Gaufroi's disappearance?"

"None. Our aerial units have not located him anywhere within the west. Chances are he may have been relocated within the east, though that remains wishful thinking. I dare not imagine what would happen if he were teleported below the ocean."

Charlie gulped. "Sounds spooky."

"I am pretty sure your species can breathe underwater," JoJo mumbled.

"Really? Cooollllll."

Ortwin leaned forward on his twisted cane and sighed. "These are grave times we live in. Younglings such as yourselves shouldn't be forced to endure the ways of war, especially with the death of King Penworth."

Charlie looked down sadly. "Mr. Fletcher…"

"…" JoJo reached up and patted the little octopus' arm. "It will be alright. We will get through this."

Charlie sniffled. "O-Okay."

She sighed and turned toward Ortwin again. "So, at the very least, we have mitigated the threat level of New Chariot? Sounds like a victory to me, even if the smallest kind."

Ortwin shook his head. "I fear darker times wait to be seen from below the horizon. Without a means to force New Chariot into surrender, we may face a greater invasion in due time. We wouldn't be able to withstand a second wave. They've focused their military power on withering down ours. Who knows what they'll be plotting at our lowest?"

JoJo looked off to the side. Well, with any luck, a certain group of thieves is working on drafting that peace treaty with ol' Emperor What's-His-Face. As long as nothing bad happens until then, I say we're all secure. She shook her head. "Thank you for the update as always, Ortwin. I believe I shall retire to my chamber until dinner is called."

Ortwin bowed. "Very good, Princess Melissa. Do stay safe."

"Of course. Come along, Charlie." She took the octopus' hand and guided him off the throne, leading him out of the throne room.

"Uuuuugh, so boring," JoJo groaned after dragging herself back into Melissa's room. Charlie followed behind and closed the door behind him. "I'd ask if she had to go through this crap, but I doubt she's ever been in a war before."

Charlie tilted his head. "Who's she?"

"She's…uh, never mind." JoJo spun around and grinned. "How are you holding up? Not getting too stressed out by all this."

Charlie looked aside. "Well, it has been a lot to take in, but…I think I'm doing fine. Being king is a lot of hard work."

"Believe me, if this becomes a permanent gig, you'll learn that the hard way." She sighed and dragged herself over to Melissa's writing desk. No matter what, I am amazed further and further by all the crap Melissa has to put up with to get anything done around here. I am so glad I wasn't born into royalty, otherwise I would've thrown myself off the highest story window. It…wouldn't kill me, granted, but it's symbolic!

She plopped herself in a chair and ran her hands down her face. On top of all that, I am SO bored. I found out everything I could on Roscoe, and now I'm just stuck here playing pretend until I'm told otherwise. I need something to distract myself. How did Sadie put up with this for two to three years? Then again, I suppose she was pretending to be a maid, not the freakin' princess.

She felt a tug on her dress and glanced down at Charlie. "Um, big sister? Would it be alright if you helped me with my homework?"

JoJo whined. "Good grief, doesn't your tutor have anything better to do while we're at war? Why can't people just stop working during a crisis? Oh right, money." She straightened up and patted the octopus on the head. "Alright, go fetch your supplies and meet me back here."

Charlie beamed. "Thank you!" He shuffled out of the room.

JoJo sighed contently. "Sweet kid. Heh, when was the last time I got this sentimental? I was supposed to set out on my own, discovering new things. Well, I guess this is a new thing. Hmm, speaking of…"

Despite her time pretending to be Melissa, she never once rifled through Meissa's writing desk. She played with her quills and such, but never really dug into the shelves. She mostly busied herself trying on whatever dresses were left behind in the closest and some of Melissa's old jewelry. That, and attending an absurd number of ribbon-cutting ceremonies.

What moron holds a ribbon cutting ceremony for filling a pothole? Slowest news day ever. She shook her head and pilfered through the desk drawers. "Alright, let's see how much of a smarty pants little miss princess really was."

She collected a few work journals from the drawers and set them in front of her. She grabbed the first one she plucked out and skimmed through stacks of pages, her eyes being assaulted by walls of fancy cursive she couldn't read. They appeared to be essays, and they would range from ten to twenty pages per assignment.

Some other journals contained a plethora of neatly formatted notes, again completely illegible to the uncultured shapeshifter. For all she knew, Melissa was writing nonsense to make herself look busy, but that didn't sound right. She always knew Melissa had an air of being the model student.

JoJo eventually rifled through a journal that had red ink marked along what she assumed were Melissa's writing tests. By her assumption, they were checkmarks for improvements or errors, though there were so few between each page. And even then, there were high marks on each of them.

"Good grief, how much does one bunny need to know to become queen? I just assumed they threw the crown at her and called it a day. Then again, maybe throwing your new queen into the firepit on her first day wouldn't spell success."

JoJo kept digging through journals that went back through the years, noting all of Melissa's high marks and verbose use of language that the shapeshifter still couldn't make heads or tails of.

However, there came a certain point where the quality in her writing…dipped. Based on the date she could make out, it would've been around the time Melissa was twelve, and there was a clear difference in how she wrote then versus later. Her handwriting wasn't nearly as neat, and she didn't write as lengthily as she would later on. The difference was so sharp that in quality that it looked like Melissa just suddenly went from mediocre to excellent.

"Well, I'll be darned. The princess had her weak spots after all." She glared. "Still, what motivated her to get better?" She checked between the two assignments that showed the clearest quality difference. "There is a three-week gap between these, so there would've been time to improve. Still, this is quite a bit."

Her mind wandered back to something that tickled her interest when first arriving in Fort Lucus. There was always some noise about Jason and his secretive contacts, and among them was a peculiar fellow who was assisting Sadie when she first arrived undercover. She never looked too deeply into it. She was new at the time and didn't care to ask, but…

At the height of her boredom, she had to know.

"Who is this Theobald Dencourt fellow?"

Echo Bell Kingdom Capital – Castle Visconti

KNOCK, KNOCK, KNOCK

"Asterio, get up!" Evangelina called out to her isolated brother. She rapped her tentacle against the door again. "Your dinner's going to get cold, and the chefs are getting sick and tired of you hoarding all the dinner plates in your room."

She crossed her tentacles, waiting for her brother's response, only to receive nothing for the next two minutes. She groaned into her hand, irritated but unsurprised by the shiny Frillish's reclusive behavior. Even with the war going on, he hardly entertained the notion of assisting beyond telling her to leave him alone in his usual moody tone, and yet somehow that has gotten worse, too.

"You know, I get very little time to myself since I'm acting as the alliance's strategist, so you should be grateful I'm even bothering to talk to you." She didn't expect her cruel remarks to budge him, but she was venting by this point.

Crime started to become an increasing problem as of late. With the damages inflicted upon the capital, criminals were boldly reclaiming the streets, especially with the rumors Grim Deadlock had supposedly retired. Evangelina made sure to squash those rumors out with her own nightly escapades, but lacked the endurance for pulling all-nighters like her brother. Pulling herself back and forth between day and night left her with little time to sleep, evident by the dark circles forming under her eyes.

A small price to pay, but operations would be going smoother if she had the second half of the infamous reaper doing his job. Evangelina wasn't exactly a fighter even if she knew how to defend herself.

She facepalmed and groaned. "You're absolutely hopeless. One bad night, and this is how you repay me for all I've done? I thought you and I were going to clean these streets up, but I guess I expected more from you. Tch. I wonder what she would think if she saw you like this. Oh, but am I referring to Monica? Or your sweet, precious Rubi—"

BOOM!

She didn't even flinch as something (possibly a Shadow Ball) exploded against the other side of the room. Smoke hissed out of the newly formed cracks. She scoffed. "Well, good to know you're still alive. Just come and get your dinner, you big baby."

"Don't you think you're being a bit harsh on him?" Evangelina glanced over her shoulder as the second eldest princess of the Visconti family floated up to her. "He seems really depressed."

Evangelina rolled her eyes. "He's being a moody brat like he always is."

Azelia frowned. "Have you tried being nicer?"

"The lack of sleep and stress of war expends any resources for such useless crap."

"I don't think that's how being nice works, and I should know. I love being nice!" Azelia cheered.

Evangelina shoved her toward their brother's door. "Then, by all means, try and lure him down for dinner. I have somewhere to be." She started off, but Azelia grabbed her arm and stopped her.

"Is…something going on with you two?" Azelia asked. "You two have been acting differently ever since the Misty Lights Carnival."

"A war broke out days after, what did you expect?" She pried her wrist from the younger Frillish's grip. "All my energy is being focused into keeping our allies alive. We have the advantage of telepathic communication. I dare not think of anything else."

Azelia winced. "You've been pushing yourself too hard, sis. Maybe let someone else take over for you until you get your strength back up."

She laughed darkly. "And risk the entire operation on some amateur's mistake? I think not. I have everything under control. You just leave the technical stuff to me. After all, there's none more cunning than I to match the wit of New Chariot."

"Eva, you're starting to scare me. And believe me, you've always been scary." Azelia touched her shoulder. "Seriously, is there something you and Asterio are hiding from us? You can trust me to keep a secret. I'm just worried about you two."

Evangelina shrugged her flipper off. "The sentiment is acknowledged, but I am looking out for the future of the Echo Bell Kingdom. That's between Asterio and me. You may take comfort in watching a new world be born from my brilliance. Pretty soon, we'll never know fear again." She floated down the hallway, leaving a stunned Azelia behind.

"Eva…" Azelia turned toward Asterio's door, silently pressing her flipper to it with a sad sigh. What is going on with those two?

Evangelina made her way to the rooftop of the castle, allowing herself a moment's peace from the chaos of war briefings. Though she implored Asterio to take part in dinnertime, the mood was hardly to anyone's liking. Evangelina had to take a break from the telepath corp and asked to be teleported back to Echo Bell for a few days' time. She plotted to return once the western alliance made their way to the head commander deep within the east. Aside from that, even under the guise of a break, she seldom ceased working. Her mind was far too preoccupied predicting and plotting against the enemy's movements.

This was all within her expectations. After all, this was hardly different to the deeds she was willing to commit.

She sighed. "The air's just as depressing as I remember." She paused a moment before glaring over her shoulder. "Are you going to keep skulking in the dark, or are you going to say something?"

Crawling out from the shadows of the rooftop's spire, the Leavanny assassin who has since become her official retainer bowed to the grumpy princess. "Welcome back to the Echo Bell Kingdom, Princess"

"I've been back for a couple days."

"Yes, but I figure the sentiment was worth giving. How goes the war efforts?"

"Well, we're expunging as much of New Chariot as we can, but their strategy of wearing down our resources is certainly effective. We're hoping for one big push to temporarily keep them at bay, though there are fears of a second wave coming to trample us." She glared out over the city. "Their numbers significantly overshadow ours."

Chihiro chuckled, jumping onto the rooftop's edge and strutting along its low walls. "Ah yes, I am fairly familiar with the tactical brutality of New Chariot. If this war keeps up, the west will surely fall in…a decade or two. It's a slow, methodical process, but that's how they've stayed atop the food chain for as long as they have. They maintain a strong body of war to wither down their equally dangerous prey. But for what it's worth, the west has proven to be resilient, especially with a generation of such troublesome youths. Quite the entourage of vitality and bravado."

Evangelina scoffed. "And once that issue's been neutralized—"

"It's off to the main course of our agreement. You will take your rightful place atop the throne of Virdis and remake it into the ideal world you believe it deserves." Chihiro stopped before the princess and bowed. "A world where true justice prevails."

Evangelina sighed. "A reality just over the horizon. I never imagined my vision could be obtainable, and with such ease. To think that kind of power exists within the core of Virdis."

Chihiro smirked. "You'd be surprised by the secrets this world has yet to uncover. I believe the only man to know of its vast wealth is my own master, Terrowin, but even he doesn't know everything. No, he doesn't. It's a curious thing, looking back to where we started out. Have you ever thought about it, princess? The idea that our ancestors were just mere skipping stones apart from those times? My own grandfather was a young man once with his grandparents, and they were once younglings with grandparents of their own. When you think about how far apart our generations are, you begin to realize how small time is despite the vastness of its existence. It's a perplexing paradox for the mind. What secrets die with you by the time you have your own grandchildren?"

"…" Evangelina closed her eyes. "The secrets of Virdis left to be discovered. What a remarkable endeavor."

"Heh." Chihiro backflipped off the roof's edge and landed behind the princess. "Maybe you'll learn something once you take hold of the Echo Bell Kingdom. Though, I imagine your family will have reservations about your nefarious dealings."

"…"

"You could just speak the word, and I'll raise you to the rank of queen in a week. Maybe even by tomorrow. Or when the war's over, if that's your preference."

"…" She glared over her shoulder. "I've made my position clear. I will do all I can to take hold of Echo Bell, but my family is not to be cut down."

He smirked. "Princess, don't be naïve. Your sister is starting to ask questions, and your brother has become a…liability. And you've said yourself your father is unfit to rule—"

"I will detain them when the time comes, but I will not order for their executions." She turned and snarled at the assassin. "And so much as a whisper of temptation from you, you'll find out quickly just how vile I can be."

"…" Chihiro bowed. "I meant no disrespect. Terrowin prefers to keep his hands clean when necessary." He glared. "It's just that…the blood on his hands came from necessary measures. People who got too close to the truth. People who threatened our plans from knowing too much. It's happened countless times, and many innocent people had to be cut down because they knew something they should've never sullied their ears with. It can happen to a common farmer…or even a queen."

Evangelina scowled. "Fujimori, I swear—"

"Calm yourself, princess. I will not act recklessly. You have my word. I will not do anything against your will." He turned his back to her and strutted away. "Just know that Terrowin's will takes priority over yours. If I see anything that jeopardizes us, it's no longer your call." With that, he sank back into the shadows, skittering away to who-knows-where.

Evangelina curled her flippers, seething through clenched teeth. Don't cross me, assassin. You have no idea what cruelty I'm capable of.

Castle Penworth, Verde Kingdom – Night

After helping Charlie with his homework and seeing him off to bed, JoJo snuck through the castle and found her way to the castle archives. The one saving grace of the sudden war upon the west was removing Nathaniel's watchful eye from her nighttime snooping. Though knights were still stationed around the kingdom, there wasn't an immediate focus on protecting the two royal children beyond high security around the castle.

With this, she easily entered the archives and began rummaging for anything she could on her latest obsession/distraction under the guise of the princess. Fortunately, the archivist kept a neat record of virtually everything, allowing JoJo to find all relevant information on Theobald Dencourt.

The issue, however, was separating fact from fiction.

She lay out everything she could find across the table and studied what had been provided, from Theobald's personal records to public information to an investigative journal on everything leading to his arrest. That, in particular, was the topic of concern that puzzled, yet fascinated her intrigue.

All of Theobald Dencourt's information was forged.

The only thing anyone knew about the elusive Nidoking was that he was raised in the ruins of Virdis, though how much of that was true was still up to debate. The fact was, nobody knew anything about the man. He had been in service to the Penworths longer than Sadie had infiltrated as a maid.

Did he actually come here to help the Foresters?

Or was there another reason he inserted himself into the Penworths' good graces?

What was his purpose here?

JoJo leaned back in her chair, flipping through papers mindlessly. "Something, something, Crownless King. But how does he fit into all of this? Does he have some connection to the old kingdom?" She closed her eyes for a moment. "The Court of the Crownless King was established by seven knights. Is Theobald related to one of those knights? Or was he involved with the cause?" She glared. "Why did he have an interest in Melissa?"

She threw the papers down and massaged her face, her transformation deforming a bit. So much of Virdis remained a mystery to an outsider like her, and even its residents were in the dark about its greater purpose. Nothing made sense. So much lost history, so many unknowns, and so many connections that lead to nowhere.

What if Theobald was secretly working for Last Autumn? Perhaps he was sent to raise her as a proper heir? Jason informed her of what happened in Echo Bell and what they learned, so she knew that much. It'd make the most sense, but…wasn't Theobald actively rebelling against Last Autumn?

That…raised another question. What connection did Theobald have with Last Autumn? Why was he opposing them in the first place? The court's other members were a total mystery to her, so she had no one to compare off of. But Theobald? What did he have to gain from the deception?

JoJo groaned. "There's nothing on this guy. If I met him personally, I'd probably have an easier time getting a read on him. But…nothing."

"Perhaps a second perspective will help." JoJo nearly jolted out of her seat, but calmed down when she saw it was only Hilda. The Chansey nurse entered the archives dressed in a nightgown, lighting the way by candlelight. "Couldn't sleep, dear?"

JoJo frowned, then glared down at the files in front of her. "I was a simple con artist making money off idiots. Now I'm getting myself involved in conspiracies. I'm beginning to see what that Luna chick was going through when she had to investigate this crap."

Hilda smiled sleepily. "It's a troubling matter. Why don't you clean that up and join me in the dining hall for tea? Perhaps I can offer some insight to your questions."

With freshly brewed chamomile prepared, JoJo and Hilda took to the seclusion of the castle's dining hall. JoJo, free from prying eyes, relaxed herself and shifted into a Snubbull as she sipped her tea. Hilda gently sipped hers, letting out a yawn and shaking off the brief spell of drowsiness overtaking her.

"It's kind of nice having the dining hall to yourself at night, yes?" Hilda asked.

JoJo shrugged. "I suppose. I've always preferred company. After all, can't make money without suckers to scam."

"A wild life you must've lived, dear."

"Heh, perhaps." She glared seriously at the nurse. "So, what do you know about ol' Theobald?"

"…" Hilda looked down at her tea. "I've spoken with him on a number of occasions seeing as how I was Melissa's primary caretaker. It was around when she was twelve or so, and she had been struggling in her studies. It was a few years after her mother's passing, and the stress took its toll. She tried her hardest to be the ideal princess, though her father became neglectful over the years. Not as much focus was put into maintaining her status, though Roscoe was adamant about not remarrying. It was mainly because he wasn't a Penworth, so there would've been some issues with the legality. I believe that's what eventually led to him seeking an alliance with the Senbo Kingdom."

JoJo nodded. "Makes sense."

"However, before any of that, Theobald walked onto our doorstep after it became clear her tutor wasn't doing much to improve her studies. He had all the credentials necessary, and he was vastly overqualified compared to her last tutor. I don't partake in their lessons, but it was obvious he had a positive impact on her growth. Her grades went up tremendously in the span of a few weeks."

"Huh. Guess he cared a lot about her improvement."

"I believe so." Hilda smiled. "He was a kind man, though somewhat difficult to talk to once you got him rolling. That man rambled on just as much as Sadie, but at least I could understand what she's saying. Still, he was a big help in Melissa's development. He was a man of many talents."

JoJo leaned on the table. "So, was there anything off about him?"

Hilda glared. "I never noticed anything at the time, though there were always little questions here and there. He never talked about his past much. Actually, he rarely talked about himself, save for whenever he was writing a book. He never got personal with anyone, and he always carried himself with an air of collectiveness. He seemed perfectly at ease with himself. It was almost unnerving how put together he was. Everything seemed to come naturally to him."

"Huh." JoJo looked aside for a moment before asking, "Was there anything you knew for certain about him?"

"Nothing. I don't even know his real age."

Her eyes widened. "Seriously?"

"I thought he was fifty-two, but one of the maids said he was actually sixty-three. But then I heard someone else claiming he was forty-seven. And whenever someone worked up the nerve to ask, he would just say something like we all experience the flow of time at the same rate from the day we are hatched. The only difference between our ages is the time between birth and death, down to the seconds."

"…" JoJo glared. "So, he never actually answered?"

"No. I mean, I think he claimed he was fifty-four, but then said he was fifty-six and…it got confusing. I stopped questioning and just assumed he didn't like giving out his age. You can never get a read on that man."

JoJo scratched her chin. "Mysterious tutor with no known past and falsified information about himself that keeps his personal life a secret. Huh. I wonder why he took an interest in Melissa."

Hilda shrugged. "I wouldn't know. At the time, it was just to be her tutor, or so we assumed. Now, I'm not so sure what he was doing here. We don't know anything about him."

"…" JoJo leaned back in her chair and huffed. "It's one complicated mess after the other." She scratched her chin. "Makes you wonder if he was our ally or our enemy."

Hilda frowned. "I'd hate to think he was up to anything malicious. He was such a kind man during his stay, and Melissa never once felt threatened by his presence."

"Still, it's weird. Even not knowing the guy, my merchant's instinct says he's hiding something." She closed her eyes. "I know a liar when I smell one."

"…JoJo, why are you interested in Theobald?"

"Mainly, I'm bored. But something's just been…bothering me. I…can't really explain what, but…" She groaned and shook her head. "I don't know. Ever since I came to Virdis, I've just been dealing with weirdness up until I met the Foresters. It's all just weird."

Hilda nodded. "These are strange times we're in."

JoJo looked down at her tea, staring into her rippling reflection. "How much stranger do you think they'll get? I can't help thinking this war isn't going to end anytime soon. I can't help wondering what Mr. Dencourt is up to right now."

2nd Autumn Moon, 908

"We're here, Sir Matthias."

Matthias peeked through his telescope, gazing upon the wide open plains of East Virdis. Days of traveling deeper through the harsh, war-torn routes of Virdis led them to the east, and the territory of their enemy.

Focusing his telescope onto the land, he eventually spotted a campsite in the distance occupying hundreds of soldiers. A greater array of numbers than what they've been fighting against.

Focusing deeper onto the camp, he spotted a prominent figure overlooking the soldiers hard at work: a Snorlax in heavy armor and a hammer clipped across his back.

"Commander Manlius," Matthias growled.

Noel took the telescope from him and peered through. "Aye, that's him. I recognize him. He used to be in charge of the slave trade some years back. Looks like he got himself promoted. I remember butchering his operation once, but…" She grimaced. "One of the mercenaries I was working with got turned to paste after one strike from that hammer."

Fulbertus scratched his chin. "An assault right now would be suicide. We have the element of surprise for the time being, and Evangelina should be teleported back to Senbo today. We'll have to use the cover of night to strike."

"Will our numbers be enough?" Matthias asked.

"I don't know. We may have to focus on long-range strikes before we think of closing in. The real obstacle is getting past Manlius. He's not going to be an easy opponent up close if the stories of his power are to be believed."

Noel scowled. "Believe me, I've seen it. He's not to be taken lightly."

Matthias took his telescope back and closed it. "We'll order the knights to rest until nightfall. We'll set up our assault and launch the attack at three in the morning. Once we take out Manlius, we secure all remaining soldiers and ensure none of them escape. We'll prolong the opportunity for them to get a message out to the emperor."

Fulbertus nodded. "I'll draw up the plans for the attack." He teleported back to camp.

Noel crossed her arms and glared into the distance. "I don't like this. He has to know we're heading in this direction."

Matthias nodded. "We can't afford to wait. Our numbers have dropped significantly since we began this assault. Turning back now will give them time to advance on our territory again, and I don't think we can afford that. We burn a line in the earth and stop them from crossing over it."

Noel sighed. "I still don't like it, but I didn't join the fight to turn coward." She growled. "I'll burn every last one of them to ash."

"Hmm." Matthias clutched his giant broadsword by the hilt, glaring hesitantly over the distant campsite. It wasn't going to be an easy battle, he knew that much. He was willing to sacrifice his body to secure victory for the west.

So why have I been feeling this overwhelming sense of trepidation recently?

A whole kilometer away from both armies, the Roar of the Wastes sat in silence under a tree, munching on a freshly plucked apple. He could hear the whispers of both sides strategizing for their eventual confrontation. A battle that will end with the land scorched and soaked in blood.

No matter which side prevails, I'll be there to clean up the rest.