The midnight had come. The wintry breeze whisked against the falling pitter-patters of white flurries. The freezing branches quivered, finding the snow a heavy burden.

 

Soon, a man wearing a furred-coat appeared from the cold road. He took heart, trudging against the rising snow. Not even the furious blizzard could halt his steps. He was a bit on the bulky side. The man wore a monocle, adding an air of intellect despite his size.

 

The falling snow was not his concern. Not a hint of worry in his face despite the seemingly endless road. He ignored everything and continued to tread the depths of the icy forest. If anyone saw him, they might think that the man was asking for a silent death. But that’s where they were wrong, the man had a definite plan in mind. After all, he was the man who liked to think things through before moving. That's one of the reasons why he was able to become Carmandy's prime minister despite his young age.

 

Soon enough, he finally arrived at his destination. He stopped and stared at the flickering smoke flying out from the wooden house’s chimney. Seeing the house made the monocled man giggle, “Victoria, Elizabeth, Lulu...”

 

As soon as he said those words, the air shuddered; a light blue glint showed itself. It was a magic barrier. The mysterious wall opened, inviting the monocled man to enter. Expecting the reaction, the man strode with ease, arriving at the wooden door. If Victoria were to appraise the house, she’d realized that it's made of familiar material. The same rare magical ‘Dumblewood’ that she loved to make a pun of.

 

The man marched, knocking three times before opening the door. The flickering embers rising from the hearthside immediately warmed his freezing hands. All as if it was greeting him. He took off his long coat, hanging it on the wall hook.

 

Unlike the home of the archmage, the abode was what you’d expect if took a look from the outside.

 

“How’s Carmandy, Jovan?” A deep baritone voice echoed, intended for the monocled man. His tune showed his deep concern towards the status of the kingdom. The man sat near the fireplace. Closing the thick book laying on his lap, he turned, watching his old friend as he sat on a scarlet couch. “Did you succeed?”

 

“That’s quite a question, Elric. You won’t even ask how’s your family? Or even me?” The prime minister chuckled. He knew how his old friend's brain worked. Though he was a good king, he had never been a good father. Out of all the people he knew, this man was the most inflexible and craziest father he had ever met.

 

That’s partly a reason why he decided to serve the man to the utmost of his abilities. The value of the things in the odd king's eyes was as follows; the kingdom, the citizens, and lastly...family.

 

"My family?" The man’s lips trembled, closing his eyes, pursing his lips. For the ordinary citizens of Carmandy, the man was once their king. A good but unusual king. But as for the monocled man called Jovan, he was his best friend and his lord. “Did they die?”

 

“Is that what you’re hoping for?” Jovan glared. “You’re one rotten father.”

 

“No!” The man uttered in a deadpan tone. He closed his eyes and reclined to the warm couch.

 

“Then why did you agree to my reckless plan?” The bulky prime minister ogled his lord whilst scratching his cheeks. “Hah! I don’t even know now if you’re the crazy one or was it me. I never expected things to dive straight to madness."

 

"I almost died you know,” said Jovan.

 

“I did this for the kingdom. If not, you know yourself that it would be soon devoured by the Empire and the Union. And… I-It’s because I trust you.” The shoulders of the King of Carmandy sagged. The shades below his eyes darkened as he stared towards the thick snow through the window. He moved his hands and covered his face to hide his expression from the prime minister. “So they died. Maybe, I’ll follow soon.”

 

“No, they’re alive and kicking. Nevertheless, I couldn't track the youngest princess. Anyway, she’ll loathe you to death if she knew it was all your fault. You know Elric, I sometimes wish that you could go follow the dead ones soon.” The prime minister let out a long-suffering sigh. “You even turned me into a vagabond. What the hell is wrong with you? No, rather what’s wrong with me? Damn it!”

 

King Elric’s eyes lit up. He abruptly rose from his seat, clenching his hands. He paced back and forth as if he was about to run outside and go straight to the castle despite the heavy snow. But soon enough, he realized that he wouldn’t be able to anymore if want things to continue on their current path.

 

"The results are better than I thought." King Elric strode, putting one hand on the prime minister’s shoulder, tapping it with strength. “Thanks.”

 

“So this is my reward?” Jovan sighed. “A thanks?” He had the hunch that this would happen. Well, for some reason, he felt a bit freer as compared to when he was still carrying that weighty title. Though it felt a little weird, he was not a prime minister anymore. A smile bloomed, realizing that a huge chunk of his worries was now gone. Truthfully, it was a nice kind of consolation for the always busy him.

 

“I would like to accept your thanks but my plans failed at the very first step.” The not-anymore prime minister shrugged. “I never thought that the empire has already infiltrated the royal guards. Their actions have stayed hidden longer than we could imagine.”

 

The king sat back, listening to his friend's report, frowning. He sensed the weight of Jovan's tired sighs. “ What happened? I’m full ears.”

 

“After you used the poison as planned, the Lord of Cloves and I have brought you here as soon as possible.” Taking a deep breath, the bulky minister stared at the king. “Nevertheless, someone plotted to kill Victoria.

 

"V-Victoria, what happened to her," asked the king, his voice shaking.

 

"She was not hurt. The son of Cloves died to save her. It was the first mistake. Your brother was stupid but he might have sensed something was wrong. An assurance? Or luck? The man had asked outside help despite going to me. Probably, the union. Aside from that, the poison for the Markandir’s useless prince was not from us. It's tampered.”

 

Elric frowned, shutting his eyes. He knew what was coming next.

 

“I bet you know how the Lord of Cloves thinks about his family. Unlike you, he could go mad if someone hurts lest killed his only remaining family member. His only son.” The prime minister uttered as a matter of fact. “After he brought you here, he rushed straight towards the assembly of dignitaries. He brought a small army, starting a massacre. He weeded out the old snakes through force.”

 

"You didn't stop him." Elric groaned.

 

“I tried... but he still went ahead. I can't stop him with his sword on my throat.” Jovan raised his pointing finger to make a damn point. “Of course, the empire and the union also played their trump card, the assassin’s guild. He died at the hands of the master assassin called Alfonse.

 

"And because of him, the plan failed," said Jovan. "With the top of the dignitaries dead, I became the de facto leader of the same organization I hate.”

 

The king's face darkened, a tired rustle came out of his mouth. He took a deep breath, his previous excitement gone. “It is my fault.”

 

“It was our fault,” sensing the fluctuating emotions of his friend, Jovan said. “Cloves told me to tell you something before he left. Wanna hear it?”

 

“What is it?” King Elric shut his eyes.

 

“It’s not…your fault,” said the prime minister, heaving a tired whisper.

 

Silence descended within the room. The crackles coming from the burning hearth felt muffled to their ears. After a few minutes, Jovan glanced at his friend and asked. “Do you still want to hear the rest?”

 

“Continue,” waved King Elric.

 

“You were right. The empire and the union had been eyeing our untapped mines. I talked once with the black prince and the representative. Believe it or not, getting your head was already on their priority list," said Jovan. “It’s good that we have moved a bit faster. Before I reached out to them, their plan was a simple brute take over. Of course, that included silencing the whole royal family, dead. It’ll be easy for them. After all, we know that most of the dignitaries and most of the nobles have already been bribed.”

 

“I know.” Elric nodded, clenching his teeth. “I know too well, Jovan. That’s part of the reason why Cloves sacrificed himself, right?”

 

A short silence enveloped the room. “Right.”

 

Elric groaned, confused. “So what happened? How is everything still fine if our plan failed.”

 

Jovan stifled his desire to babble. He dived into his thoughts, wondering how he would explain everything from scratch.

 

“Then crazy things began to happen. Though our plan failed, a shitty miracle happened.” Jovan let out a tired chortle. Then, he stopped. He glanced towards the direction of the royal castle. “I never thought that giving a tip to the archmage would change everything. Your youngest daughter... is not only luck but also your lucky charm. I never thought that the Magus of Ice and Fire would even save her."

 

"Saria?" The king frowned.

 

Jovan coughed, lifting his monocle a bit. “Apparently, Saria’s not one bit of a spy. She’s just… odd.”

 

“I thought she met with the union head?” The king glowered. “So we’re wrong from the very beginning?”

 

Deadpan, Jovan let out a wry smile. “I’m wrong in this one. Apparently, she simply loved trading weird things with the Union. It was already too late when I received the news.”

 

Elric felt a headache coming, “What about Victoria?”

 

Jovan clasped his two hands together, gazing at the sun of the kingdom. “The prophecy. One magicless shall rise from the royal line and destroy the kingdom. Thus, the kingdom’s life shall be forfeited. Unless the lilac flower bloom and tie her fate with the shrew, her blood shall end the kingdom... or make it rise anew.”

 

“I thought you didn’t believe in that thing?” King Elric frowned. "There were already a few lilac haired and magicless royals in the past but nothing happened."

 

“I didn’t give sh*t like you…” Jovan let out a dry laugh, “…until everything clicked with Victoria.”

 

“Don’t tell me... she's the one?” The King trembled. He laughed out loud in helplessness. “You’re telling me that Victoria’s not magicless. She was not lying that time. And you're telling me that the destroyer is that idiotic brother of mine?

 

The king huffed. "So if I only killed him much earlier, it won't reach this point. Mercy? Hell to mercy!“

 

“It won’t work if you killed him. And if you killed him, Victoria’s fate might also be the same. And even if you killed him, the kingdom fate was still doomed.” said Jovan. “The kingdom, your brother, Victoria - their fates were tied all along.”

 

The king clawed his face and frustration. “You’re telling me that all this time, the answer was right under our nose? And that shrew, when did she met that thing? Is it Saria! But she’s not one bit of a shrew. She's still young. Wait, I-I thought Victoria didn’t react to the magic stone! We did it even thrice. Are you sure she's not magicless?”

 

“Yes, she's a mage,” Jovan winced. “I sent a spy in the dead forest near Saria’s mansion. He told me that he saw Victoria casting magic but I didn’t believe it. I thought that it was only one of Saria’s tools. I was the one who tested your little girl after all. I swear on my life.”

 

The king frowned. “Delayed awakening?”

 

“Probably,” replied the minister. “She is an extremely rare case. It took years for her before she awakened.”

 

The king fell on the couch once again. Dead tired. “Everything was up to fate all along. That stupid prophecy. We played with something we don’t know. I even alienated Victoria for the sake of that damn prophecy. And all I did was for nothing?

 

"It seems so."

 

King Elric felt a headache coming. He took a deep breath, recollecting his thoughts. "So what happened next?”

 

The minister started falling into his own thoughts again. He remembered how his plans ended up crushed. “You won’t believe this, Elric. But your daughter played me like a kid. She planned something of her own, crafting it with the archmagus. They smashed our plan and crafted a new one within one year. A better plan. Damn, I never thought that your daughter was a damn genius! They crippled the traitors swiftly without any remorse. I just took a break and everything was already a done deal.”

 

"So?"

 

Jovan glared. “She almost killed me without knowing what was happening. How could she be your daughter?! I wonder if I was his real father. You’re too dumb to be her father!”

 

“Hold your mouth!” The king rushed towards the bulky monocled man. With a fist in the air, he threw a punch. Nevertheless, the minister dodged like it was no trouble.

 

“Just joking. Can’t even take a joke in exchange for my one year of suffering?” The monocled man sneered. He glanced at the fuming king who couldn’t even show his true feelings about his family when in front of them. He felt happy seeing him like this.

 

The king huffed, glaring at his childhood friend. “Are you even sure, it’s Victoria?”

 

“Of course,” said the minister. “I met with Aron. You know that guy right? That honest to gold shady prick? I threw a few links in exchange for gold. Unfortunately, everything had already ended before I received the intel. That prick was holding the information all along. The archmage’s payload was definitely bigger than my offer. But he still chose to gobble my offer up at the last moment... that greedy bastard.”

 

“Aron?” Elric frowned, “You asked for his help?”

 

“No, Saria was the one who asked him to save your daughter. Of course, I silently sent some tips to him about the location and what-nots.” The minister snickered. “Aron heard it from one of his men inside the mansion. Your daughter was a genius. And she was planning something big, helping Saria in the shadows. It's hard to believe that she's the one responsible for almost everything. She's brain while Saria was the hands.”

 

The late king’s eyes turned into saucers. Still in disbelief.

 

For some reason, Jovan felt a bit of displeasure against his friend. He swallowed poison, took the antidote, and it was the end. Unlike him who stood in the middle of the chaotic stream of schemes and blood. The king got it easy.

 

Thus, Jovan decided to tell all that had happened in one year...in detail. The plans for the magic mines. The letters of Victoria. The purge. The beheadings. The corruption in the court. Her eldest daughter’s newfound maturity. Erm, the queen's fury. How they forced the empire and the union to capitulate. The carrot and stick plans of Victoria.

 

Jovan wanted to let his old friend feel the same stress he received from the princess and the archmagus.

 

All just to get even with this shitty father... and king. Oh, he also had to speak of the descent of the goddess. He gazed at the furious king and squinted. Come to think of it, he’s not a king anymore. After this, he’ll invite this late king to a spar. He wanted to de-stress, and mugging his best friend might do the job. After all, he suffered a lot from the man's daughter's antics. He could at least pay for it, right?

 

Damn, if her daughter had taken things a little more seriously. He might have gone to the capital only to die. He had to thank that damn assassin for saving his ass. If not, his head would have ended up rolling along with those traitors. Oh damn, he felt a chill after remembering the archmage. He’ll absolutely get whacked by that white staff to kingdom come.

 

Jovan covered his fist and smiled, continuing the tale.