Side Story: In the Capital

Marius returned to the capital immediately upon receiving the news of his father’s and elder brother’s deaths. After returning home, he and his two remaining siblings were immediately embroiled in funeral preparations, with talks of the family succession waiting in the wings. He didn’t have a single moment to catch his breath.

The transition to the next generation was supposed to have been an amicable affair. Marius, like everyone else, had been under the assumption that Karel would succeed their father, but the reality proved to be not so clean-cut.

Marius remembered the moment with perfect clarity; he could recall Karel’s exact reaction upon finding out that Marius was to inherit the countship.

“That’s impossible,” Karel had stated hollowly.

But his astonishment had soon morphed into resentment when he’d turned to glare at Marius. Karel, the jovial brother who always had a smile ready for anyone, at any time, was now nowhere to be seen.

Although the news was just as much of a shock to Marius, it didn’t stop Karel from marking him as a sworn enemy from that point on. Marius was heartbroken and disturbed by his brother’s sudden change in attitude. Since when had Karel been so interested in the succession? The man Marius had grown up with would’ve accepted the news with grace. Marius could imagine him saying, “That’s too bad. You, Diana, and I will just have to work together to continue the good name of the Eimoor family. I’m counting on you, family head.”

Where did his animosity and enmity come from?

Marius didn’t get a chance to find out the answer. Karel immediately declared his opposition to Marius’s succession and then left the family estate.

The machinery of succession ground to a halt—as long as there was opposition, the proceedings couldn’t continue. It would’ve been a different story if the objection had come from a third party, but Karel was the second son of the Eimoor family.

Marius may have been first in the line of succession on paper, but if he were discredited, he would no longer be eligible to inherit the estate. Soon, small (and not-so-small) incidents started cropping up around Marius, likely instigated by Karel to undermine him.

On the minor side were defamatory documents claiming he had knocked up a woman during his time as a city guard and had tossed aside both her and her unborn child. Marius could do nothing but laugh with disbelief at the sheer gall, but then several “credible sources” had popped out of the woodwork to back the claim, and Marius had had to bring out concrete proof that he’d done no such thing.

On the major side, there were accusations of attempted assassination. The claim lacked many witnesses, so the rumors petered out before getting too out of hand. However, another rumor started spreading around the same time, claiming that Marius was rotten and certainly treacherous enough to be planning an assassination. Marius had needed to work fast to, once again, prove his innocence.

These sorts of incidents repeated themselves over and over. Marius squashed each and every one, but they all ate up his time.

Then, the day came when Karel started to target Diana.

To Marius, it seemed like Karel’s paranoia had finally reached its peak; the fact that Marius would now have to invest time protecting Diana was, no doubt, also part of the reason.

Everything culminated in a final incident, which Karel was already making a big fuss about and spinning to his own advantage. It was obvious to Marius that Karel had been pulling the strings from the very beginning, but he had no concrete evidence. Marius couldn’t dawdle here, or else Karel would get what he wanted; haste was crucial, but Marius’s hands were tied. And, more than haste, he needed to figure out what solution to enact. Wasn’t there any sort of secret, miraculous ploy that could solve all his problems?

“If I had a magical solution, I would’ve used it already,” Marius said bitterly to himself, wearing a strained smile. After all, solutions didn’t grow on trees.

Or did they?

“Wait... There just may be a cure to my woes...”

It had slipped his mind, but there was one person he could ask for help—a blacksmith of unbelievable talent living in the Black Forest. That person would undoubtedly lend his strength. Marius didn’t want to use a person like a mere tool, but he didn’t have the luxury to waste time on philosophy.

Marius sighed deeply. With resolve burning in his eyes, he picked up his pen and started to write.