Epilogue: Prelude to Battle

Two days after departing for the island, the Emerald Star made a late but safe return to Ganudos Port Country. Waiting at the dock was the whole Greenmoon retinue, along with the Princess Guard.

“Aaah, we’re finally back... I’ve missed the smell of civilization.”

In general, the Emerald Star afforded no end of luxury and extravagance to its passengers, but for Mia, the inability to take a comfortable bath was an issue that critically impeded her ability to enjoy her time aboard the yacht. Consequently, she breathed a sigh of relief as the boat entered the harbor. The relief seemed to be shared by most of her friends, as tension visibly drained from the faces of the pair of princes and all the attendants, exposing everyone’s underlying fatigue. Deserted islands, as it turned out, could be quite grueling for those who weren’t used to spending time on them. The only one who remained in high spirits was Esmeralda.

“Your Highness, we are overjoyed to see that you have returned safely.”

As soon as she stepped off the boat, Ludwig approached, trailed closely by Dion and Vanos.

“Yes, I’m glad to be back too... That was an experience I’m not eager to repeat anytime soon.” She stifled a yawn with only moderate success before gazing wearily up at Ludwig. “Save the questions for tomorrow. Tonight, I’m going to enjoy some leisure time at Esmeralda’s place.”

“I see... In that case, I’d like to request permission to have Sir Dion and Sir Vanos accompany you as guards.”

“...Oh?”

She frowned in confusion for a second before the subtle tension behind his words sunk in, allowing her to catch a whiff of the danger in the air.

“...I take it there have been some developments that warrant increased vigilance, then? All right, I’ll ask Esmeralda if I can bring some extra guards...”

Not only was the request okayed immediately, Esmeralda even allowed Ludwig, along with the whole company of Princess Guards, to stay at her manor. The sheer cooperativeness she displayed would have been unthinkable only a few days ago, and it was enough evidence for Ludwig to reach a certain conclusion.

“So she’s done it at last... Her Highness has finally worked her magic on Lady Esmeralda and brought her into the fold.”

Mia and company made their way to a villa in Ganudos that the Greenmoons owned. Of great relevance was the fact that the villa was equipped with a small but fully functional bathhouse, meant to be used after a dip in the sea. Understandably, Mia made a beeline for it upon arrival and proceeded to soak in some warm, watery luxury for a while. Afterward she put on a fluffy gown and dove straight into bed.

“Oho ho, it feels so good to be back in a soft bed,” she said, kicking her legs happily as she rubbed her cheeks against the blanket with such enthusiasm that it looked like she was trying to dig through it with her face.

Her bedding excavation was soon interrupted by a request for an audience from Ludwig’s party.

“My, Ludwig’s here? Hm... What he mentioned at the dock was indeed a little concerning. It’s fine. Let them in.”

Ludwig entered with Dion in tow, the former’s eyes widening at the sight of Mia in total post-bath leisure mode.

“I see that you must be tired. I apologize for interrupting your rest.”

“I don’t mind. It’s a little too early to sleep anyway.”

“A little too early” was an understatement, considering evening had just barely begun, but no one offered any comment. The only hint of amusement came from Dion, who simply smiled in silence.

“I see,” continued Ludwig. “The reason for my hasty visit is that there is some pressing information we discovered about Ganudos, which I felt we should share with you as soon as possible.”

“There’s plenty I need to tell you about as well. All right. Let’s hear your side first.”

Ludwig proceeded to describe his findings, which suggested there was conspiracy afoot in Ganudos, but its existence had been obfuscated by its exceedingly labyrinthine nature.

Who would have thought there’d been a conspiracy like this behind the revolution that had engulfed the empire...

She was left reeling after he finished and had to compose herself before recounting what she’d found on the island. In truth, she still wasn’t sure if the stone slab had been real or its claims authentic, so she was having trouble figuring out what to do with this piece of knowledge moving forward. She was hoping Ludwig the Thing-Figure-Outer-er could point her in the right direction.

“This stone slab you said you saw... It certainly lends credence to the theory that our ancestors came here by crossing the Galilea Sea...” said Ludwig with a deep sigh when Mia finished recounting her story.

He walked over to the room’s desk and spread open a map.

“The shrine you found is probably on one of these islands here. Past it, beyond the rest of the Galilea Sea, lies more land. According to the theory, somewhere there is the place our ancestors used to call home. For reasons unknown to us, they crossed the sea. Judging by the inscription on that stone slab though, it’s probably safe to assume the reason was some sort of conflict of which they were the losers.”

The loss likely came with an immense cost in terms of life. After losing so many of their own, these ancient people probably sought safe haven beyond the sea, whereupon they arrived at that island.

“And the leader of these weary travelers... The one who inspired this group of destitute people on the verge of despair to take heart once more and continue their journey...was our first emperor. Leading them further across the water, the place where they finally made landfall...”

“...Was here,” said Dion, continuing Ludwig’s reasoning. “Right here in Ganudos. So that’s it. Even back then, the rough outlines of this conspiracy were already starting to form in our first emperor’s head. That’s why he forged a secret pact with the people here before advancing onward to the Fertile Crescent. He needed to secure a supply route of food that he could cut off at will.”

Ludwig nodded in agreement before falling into a period of silent contemplation.

“Or...” he finally said, “the first emperor left someone here. Someone he trusted. Ganudos Port Country was founded by local fishermen banding together, but the person who rallied those fishermen in the first place might have been a relative of his. Then, the first emperor tasked another one of his trusted subordinates, the Duke of Yellowmoon, with supporting this newly crowned King of Ganudos in laying the groundwork for this whole scheme.”

“The oldest and weakest of the Four...” whispered Mia. “The House of Yellowmoon, huh...”

It suddenly occurred to her that she had no concrete impression of the Duke of Yellowmoon. His daughter was supposed to be enrolled at Saint-Noel Academy, but Mia had no idea what she looked like. It was almost as if their whole family was hiding from her. Or, at least, behaving in a fashion intended to evade notice.

“So, what’ll it be, Princess? For the sake of simplicity, how about I just go and, y’know...”

Mia looked up just in time to see Dion making a slicing motion with his hand. Having been absorbed in her own thoughts, it took her a moment to realize what he was implying.

“What? No! Absolutely not! Imagine the mayhem you’d cause!”

Conspiracy or not, they were dealing with an Etoiler. Assassinating one of the four pillars of Tearmoon nobility would cause no end of problems. More importantly, she had a personal reason for eschewing the more slice-and-dice-y solutions to this issue, which stemmed from a profound confidence. Specifically, a profound confidence in the competence of her enemy. If they killed him and he somehow leapt back through time as well, she wouldn’t stand a chance against someone with such skill and foreknowledge. So she much preferred a solution that didn’t involve the man dying.

“Also, don’t forget that the famine is going to strike next year... When that happens, we’ll need the help of all the nobles in the empire. Losing the Duke of Yellowmoon now will only cause unnecessary chaos throughout his faction.”

It’d be simple if every single noble affiliated with the Yellowmoons was guilty of conspiracy, but if there were a good number of innocents, eliminating their entire faction would, in effect, be playing into Yellowmoon’s hands due to the inevitable turmoil that would ensue.

Ideally, we’d pinpoint all the people in the House of Yellowmoon who are connected to the Chaos Serpents, tie them up, and have someone else in his family succeed the Duke’s title. It’d be really nice if the Duke was the only one actually following the wishes of the first emperor and participating in this conspiracy...

Mia sighed and shook her head.

“Can we post some more eyes around the Duke of Yellowmoon and his people? And investigate how deep within his faction this conspiracy goes?”

Ludwig regarded her for a solemn moment before inclining his head.

“If that is Your Highness’s wish, then I shall see that it is done, or die trying...”

Thus, the battle began. It was a battle to abolish the pact of the first emperor and free the Tearmoon Empire from his ancient chains. How will it end? Who will be the victor? What is the fate of the empire and its people? The answers are yet a mystery to all.

Part 2: The Lodestar Girl Fin

To Be Continued in Part 3: A New Oath Between the Moon and Stars