I was under no illusion with how fortunate I was. Born to a prestigious family, in a position wherein I befriended the prince of Lugunica, with the physical and magical ability to back up my place in the world. I was never left wanting, and yet still, my parents did not let me grow to be arrogant and petty.

Casting aside modesty for a moment, I knew how my peers act when the curtain falls. My Divine Blessing made sure I knew the lies that those that pose to be my comrades tell. It disgusts me, just how much they disregard their honor for the tiniest benefit to themselves.

My father, mild-mannered as some may see him, was my role model. Yes, Meckart Karsten was the embodiment of what a duke should be, a man who the people can truly trust. When he retired and passed the title onto me, I held on to that vision, I aspired to be like him. In some cases, I have no doubt achieved it.

I held within myself the will of House Karsten from that fateful day onward. I held my head up high, proclaiming to the very world that I was no damsel in distress. That I, Crusch Karsten, would be the pillar that my people need.

And then, the sickness that befell the entire royal line came to be. The day when Fourier Lugunica, one of my closest friends, died.

I am…ashamed to say that, despite my feelings of indignation towards the Kingdom, I had retreated into myself. My anger with having the old men in power see the death of the entire royal family as lesser than the loss of the contract Divine Dragon amounted to nothing. I lacked the conviction to right what I saw as wrong.

I hated myself there and then.

Had things proceeded as they were, I doubt that that conviction would have returned. As luck would have it, things changed. Whether for the better, I still have yet to know.

The first change was the Royal Selection itself. I, along with four others I did not know at the time, would have the chance to become the next ruler of Lugunica. While the prophecy itself was engraved within the Dragon Stone, I knew that this was the only chance I had to do what I wanted - to sever that very same contract with the Divine Dragon.

Still, I had hesitated back then. Why would the Dragon choose me, the very same individual who wanted to cut its ties off from the Kingdom? My conviction was still weak, struck low by Fourier's passing.

Had it not been for the second change - had it not been for that man, I would not be the same person as I am today.

I met the blacksmith-info broker just a couple of years before Fourier's death. The meeting came about randomly as I commented on the quality of the practice blade that the prince had. I remember him excitedly guiding us through the city, just as clearly as I remembered the caution in Ferris and my own steps.

Upon seeing the ramshackle building, I recalled thinking to myself, 'How did Fourier even find this place?'

The man he introduced to us was maybe a year or so older than us, but his eyes reminded me so much of a dead fish that I instinctively moved to guard the prince and Ferris, only for Fourier to wave me off and walk towards the man with a smile and laugh.

The look that Fourier was given was nearly enough for me to draw my blade.

"What do you want, you brat? Can't you see I'm busy here? If you want to play pretend, go ahead and do it at your own house."

I did, in fact, draw my blade at those words.

"Have you no respect, you cur?" I glared at the man, who didn't even bother looking at me. Instead, his eyes were drawn towards the sword I pointed at him. He raised an eyebrow, seemingly uninterested in my threat.

"Huh, so this is why you wanted that commission. At least I can see it didn't go to waste." The offhand comment threw me off for a moment, and even more so when he stepped out and started to inspect the blade with a critical eye, "Hm. Good condition too. I can see that you've at least kept up its maintenance. Better than most knights I know."

The sword in question was a birthday present from Fourier, just a month back. Among all the blades that I had held, this one was perhaps the highest quality, bar the Karsten family's Lion Rampant. Even channeling my wind magic through it, where most blades would break, it had held on spectacularly.

The implication of what he said, I understood immediately, "You made this?"

"Yes?" The man raised an eyebrow, "Isn't that why you're here? To get that checked out?"

"Ah, not really, Hikigaya." Fourier spoke with a sheepish look on his face, one I was unaccustomed to seeing on the prince, "Actually, I just wanted Crusch to meet who made it and my practice sword."

"So, you brought her here to gawk? Wonderful. If that's all, your Highness, kindly let me get back to my work." The blacksmith scoffed, before turning to the back of the room and starting to walk, "You know the way out by now, don't let the door hit you. Again."

"That only happened one time!"

"Just because it happened only once doesn't mean you're not an idiot, idiot."

"You called me an idiot twice, you know that, right?"

"Yes, I did. Should I call you a deaf idiot instead?"

Myself and Ferris could only watch as the both of them ignored us. Their banter had gone on for a good few seconds by now, though I could not sense any real heat between them. Regardless, it irked me that someone would dare speak to the prince like that.

"Ahem." I gave a false cough as I continued to glare at the blacksmith, "While your skill with blacksmithing is undoubtedly superior to others, such uncouth behavior towards the royal family shall not be tolerated. Your Highness, may I have permission to arrest this individual?"

"AH! No, no, it's fine, Crusch." Fourier held up his hands in a placating gesture, "Hikigaya is just being himself, you know."

"You know," the blacksmith started sarcastically, "You realize you never actually introduced us. Let me add air-headed to the list of adjectives, deaf idiot."

"Not my fault you went straight to insulting me without even giving your name!" Fourier snapped back, though he didn't seem angry, not by the easy-going smile on his face, "Anway, Crusch, Ferris. Please meet Hachiman Hikigaya, blacksmith, info broker, and all around asshole." Ferris and I recoiled at the profanity coming from the prince's mouth.

What was this? Had this Hachiman Hikigaya already corrupted the prince with his words?

"Asshole," Ferris had to physically keep me standing as I lost the feeling in my legs. Neither Hikigaya nor Fourier seemed to notice, "Meet Crusch Karsten and Ferris Argyle, two of my closest friends."

The prince hadn't used our titles, for whatever reason. Was he trying to hide our identities? If so, hadn't I already broken that secrecy by my words earlier? If so, I will have to sincerely apologize to-

"Oh, I already know about them. Doesn't change the fact that I could barely give a shit. Just tell me what you're here for so I can go back to doing something actually important,"

This man-!

Turns out, Hachiman Hikigaya had been a blacksmith for a while now, and had been getting a bit of fame after befriending Reinhard van Astrea of all people. Though, I didn't find that out until much later.

Instead, during that initial meeting, Ferris and I found out that Fourier and Hikigaya had been meeting for well over two months by now, though they'd known each other for a while now, all to create the sword he would later give me. Apparently, Fourier had been a part of the process, from selecting which metals to use, to the length of the blade, to even which jewels to use.

I would not deny the warmth that had filled me when I realized just how much effort the prince had given the present.

After that, I started to realize one thing: the prince was much more casual than he usually was. Even with myself and Ferris, Fourier still fell back on the customs that were borne of nobility, the politeness that was ingrained within us from birth. When Hikigaya spoke with him, those customs seemed to fall back, enough that, had I not known him, I would not have pegged him as a prince of the kingdom.

I was envious of Hikigaya, in those first few moments of realizing that. Here I was, friends with the prince for well over three years, and here comes this man completely out of nowhere, displaying a far more casual friendship than I could ever achieve.

The more he spoke though, the more I realized just why the prince felt so comfortable with a man that would insult him like that.

The two were different, very different. Fourier was like the dawn. Warm and golden and full of earnest light, eager to chase away every shadow he found in his path. He had that irrepressible brightness, as though he wanted to illuminate the world around him, leaving no corner untouched by his good will.

Hikigaya was none of that. He was not warmth incarnate, his eyes looked so suspicious that I would have thought him a Witch Cultist, and he was sarcastic enough that I felt the itch to hit him whenever he spoke.

Despite that, they had one thing in common.

They were true to themselves. Genuine in words I could not fully describe.

It's strange, how such opposites could echo one another in their core. Fourier had his light. Obvious, unmissable, the sort that drew everyone around him as if he were a bonfire in a world of frost. His laughter, his kindness, his natural charisma, all of it came from a place so genuine it was impossible to ignore. He gave himself freely, with a warmth that seemed to say he didn't just want to make the world better - he believed it was his duty.

But Hikigaya, though he shared none of Fourier's glow, still held a kind of unyielding honesty. In a way, his was the opposite of a bonfire; he was like iron - cold, perhaps, but strong and immovable. He did not offer warmth or comfort, but neither did he pretend to be something he wasn't. He did not flatter, he did not placate, and he certainly did not hide behind words softened by concern for another's pride.

And suddenly, after that first meeting, our trio became a quartet. Though Ferris was still quiet, I knew he too came to enjoy Hikigaya's companionship, much like I did. We would visit Hikigaya either as a group or individually, and he quickly became a source of inspiration for me as well, though I would never admit it to him.

Curiously, I found that Fourier would develop a sort of rivalry with Hikigaya, one that was a bit one-sided from my observations. I never did find out what that was about, as neither would say anything about it.

Regardless, we continued our friendship, or in Hikigaya's words, our client-provider relationship. I chuckled to myself the first time I heard that. My Divine Blessing had triggered back then, back when I questioned whether he thought that we weren't friends despite his view.

He had answered no.

When Fourier passed, that friendship was put to the test. Hikigaya had retreated into himself, while Ferris and I were left with the aftermath. I admit, I was saddened when he did so, even if I understood. I only had a handful of people I could truly call my friends, and one of them had passed from such a sickness.

Had I no responsibilities, I would have likely been the same.

Alas, I did have those responsibilities. As a Duchess of the kingdom, I would not fail this country. I would not fail Fourier's country, I refused to. And, when given the chance to become its next ruler, I vowed to myself that I would hold myself to the same level of conviction that Fourier would have held himself in.

Even so, I felt the hesitation still my hand. Would Fourier be happy with my goal? Would Fourier approve? Or would he be disappointed in my decision, should I win? That very same hesitation nearly caused me to drop out of the candidacy.

It was Hachiman Hikigaya that broke that hesitation.

"Breaking the contract, huh? About damn time."

"What do you mean? I was certain you'd call me blasphemous from even thinking about it."

"Who do you take me for? Don't answer that. But yeah, frankly, it's a miracle that you're the first person to even think about doing it."

"And again, I fail to understand what you mean with that."

"Karsten, tell me what you think a contract is."

"A deal between two or more parties, to the mutual benefit of both."

"See, I knew you were smart. You already got to the meat of it without me having to say anything."

"Speak clearly, Hikigaya."

"If you want to be that way, fine. Tell me, what exactly about that contract screams equal to you?"

"The Divine Dragon drove away the Black Dragon when the king called for it! Isn't that proof that the covenant is still in place?"

"Sure, if you believe that that one, single instance is proof. I mean, think about it, over four hundred years of worship, and you'd think that it'd help out more than once. Hell, you said it yourself - the king had to ask for its help, it didn't even come of its own volition. Far as I'm concerned, Karsten, you wanting to break off that contract is more a formality. The Kingdom's already been taking care of itself for this long without its help anyway."

"...Thank you for listening, Hachiman."

"Oi oi oi, what's the sudden name drop? Actually, why are you even talking to me about this? If you're not going to buy anything, scram!"

"Of course, of course. I'll see you later, Hachiman."

"Feh." A pause, "...Before you go, Crusch?"

"Hm?" A thrill in my chest, one I could not put into words.

"...I trust you. And if I trust you, then imagine how much Fourier trusted you. I believe - I know - that he would have backed you up with what you think is right. If you need me, then you know where to find me."

Yes, I trust Hachiman. I trust him as much as I trust Ferris and Wilhelm. Secretive as he sometimes was, I could not help but trust that he has the best of intentions. Even if those good intentions led to the Bowel Hunter paying him a visit.

Really, he should have told me earlier that he was investigating Fourier's all-too suspicious death. I would have given him more resources had he said so. Fourier wasn't just his friend, after all. I gave him a right talking to after I found out, rest assured.

All that to say, I don't know the entire inner workings of Hachiman's mind. And, truthfully, I didn't need to. I just needed to trust that he would do what he thought was the best course of action, and to support him like how he supported me.

So, when I saw Hachiman open a portal and then proceed to throw Ferris of all people at the Archbishop we were fighting, I only had one thought: we would win this battle, the only question was just how insane this story would be at the end of it all.

A/N: If you like what I do and want to support me, check out my P-atreon at P-atreon•com(slash)Almistyor.

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And a special thanks to: FireRogueWolf25, brutalcrab and Tassimo.