Chapter 4

Thwak!

Thwak!

Thwak!

In a small open field surrounded by lush forest, two boys could be seen battling each other using wooden swords. One had blond hair with handsome face while the other had long straight dark green hair with gender neutral face. Both of them were wearing white cloths that made it easy for moving around. The blond seem to be a little taller than the other, to which he used as an advantage to gain coverage over the other. He went for a horizontal strike which the green haired parried. Then the green haired boy retaliated with his own sweep using the momentum of his spin. The blond boy, of course his highness Theodore, ducked in response and retaliated with a horizontal sweep of his leg. The green haired boy, Sir, jumped into the air, narrowing his eye at the unfavorable position he was in. Then came another flurry of attacks, courtesy of Theodore, striking at Siri who was still in the air but Siri countered each and every one of them perfectly before landing gracefully.

This all happened within a few seconds, as any ordinary person would see was blurry figures and the sound of striking woods.

Theodore then raised his hand as few shadowy figures appeared. They wore black clothes which covered everything from head to toe, while leaving only the eye part open. They were one of Theodore's covert unit, responsible for Theodore's spy network as well as performing underhanded political maneuver if required. But right now, they were responsible for maintaining the security of the Royal Garden so that none would trespass while the highness and his retainer trained in the Arts of Sword. They are also responsible for providing relief as one of the shadowy person brought them a towel which Theodore graciously took, wiping the sweat from his face and neck. Same could be said for Siri as she also took a towel, wiping the sweat and dust accumulated in her hair. Their one hour long sparring session had finished. 

Three years had passed in a flash and both of them were 13 years old. Theodore looked at Siri, who was still busy fuming trying to take the dirt off of her hair. Theodore thought.

'It had taken quite a while but Siri has now reached the skill where she no longer require my help.'

It took quite some time for Siri to re-adjust her life from being a male and then transported as well as transformed into a girl. Till she was easy in her body, Theodore edited her routine so that she interacted with the people in palace to a bare minimum. His father would surely see the difference as to how Siri acted before and now, as well as most of his rival to the throne. So the first few months, he had posted his secret guards to take care of Siri while he was away. That way, Siri had effectively secluded herself. Of course, it was after asking for her permission. It seemed that even Siri could tell how differently she would seem if she tried to impersonate how she used to be. Or she was just an introvert. 

Theo thought that the second option was the more compelling reason. 

Even so, in the last 3 years, Siri had been trying to catch up. She polished her swordsmanship to an absurd level. It seemed that all her focus went into training and studying like crazy. Improving well and beyond his imagination even though he had to force her to rest. She said that she liked swordsmanship very much, saying how it was so cool and powerful. Theo guessed that it was the [Blessing of the Sword God] that made her feel that way. But he wasn't complaining, she had truly improved well and beyond. In their spar, he had seen that her skill was on par with him. She could fight him to a standstill in the test of skills. Though her stamina and guard needs to be improved on.

Though if it was in the test of... well everything in a battle of death. He didn't know how would that play out. The only time he had to strain himself fighting someone was when he was 8 years old. That was when he had fought against his shadow guards. All of them against him when they were his enemies. He beat them and they accepted to become his servants. Since then he has been improving at a tremendous rate. His [Blessing] made him a powerhouse. His Mana was off the chart and couldn't be measured. His arsenal of attacks were huge along with plethora of [Magic Skill]. All in all, the only thing lacking was his skill. In the end, he only liked to research [Magic], not prove himself in a battle of glory and such.

Then Theodore could feel that one of Guards came rushing towards him. The shadows in the forest let him, knowing that he was appointed by the Prince to deliver him letters. The Guard seem to reach them, albeit doggedly and panting a bit. He then cleared his throat and presented a letter with the stamp of the 'House of Karmellia'.

"Ah the letter from Lady Karmellia is here!"

Theodore nodded and thanked him before looking at the letter. It was the way the silly girl seemed to contact him. He still remembered when she huffed when she announced that she would write a letter to him. That memory brought out a genuine small smile in his face. Siri just looked at him before saying.

"Eh, from the missus? Argh! These are too tight!"

Siri reached out to her back before doing something which made the front part of her swell a bit, implying bindings on her chest. Yes, she had been growing up as a woman. He didn't know how a dead body would even grow up. After all Siri was just a dead body stuck with a piece of his soul in it. But if the so called 'Otome Game' is to be believed then she would grow tall. A thought for later as he opened up the letter.

Hey Theo!

How is my handwriting? Not too shabby right? Right!? They say I have been improving a lot but I have to focus more on etiquette or something like that. My Papa wouldn't let me make food in the kitchen! I wanted to recreate so many foods from my world like pudding, katsudon, crepe and other things. Hmph! I won't talk to Papa anymore. Though my mama did say to forgive him a few days later. He looked so ill till then that I was scared.

An image of a sad Duke was created in his mind, which made him chuckle a bit. Her letter was so direct and full of her thoughts that he felt that she was right next to him. No need to deny that he misses her. After all it had been a few weeks since he last visited for a tea time with her. Their engagement declared on her debut to high society which was quite early than most. She had made new friends among the children of other Nobles there. He read more.

I did forgive him and with that he started to look so healthy. He was just pretending to be sick, I tell you! But mama said to me that I had him in my fingertips. So strange. Also from the rumors among the merchant that came to our territory, they said that the kingdom that the Heroine is from is making so much progress. Like brand new ideas and so much more thing. I think that someone like me is also there and patenting all he can from the knowledge of the world! So I decided that I too would make some patent of my own! I am already writing simple stories and such from my old world. Simple things like 'Little Red Riding Hood' and 'Snow White and the Seven Dwarves'!

"Now that I think about it, those books seem rather popular with children."

He still remembered when he got the report from his servant, a week earlier, about it. Also back to the so called Heroine, he narrowed his eyes. She did not appear in front of him after that late night appearance. Though she bore a striking resemblance to Veronica. White hair, fair skin but she had blue eyes instead of red and her white hair did not possess the same shine that seemed to reflect the sunlight that Veronica's silver hair had. She did come from the Vassal state that had once been a close ally of Haelen. Their Royal Family's history had been full of intermarriage with upper echelon of Nobles from Haelen. It wouldn't surprise him if one of them happened to be from Karmellia family. 

However, 50 years ago, drought and famine had destroyed most of the arable land. It caused them to depend on Haelen for support and deterrence to foreign invasion. Since then it had been regarded as a vassal kingdom of Haelen which had its own autonomy. Although he had seen improvements over the last few years.

'Irrigation, was it?'

A word which was both familiar and unfamiliar to him at the same time. A thought for later as Theo read more.

Also I made new friend! It was the daughter of Count Lenard. She was so cute even as a child! But so smoll! She was quite an avid book reader as well. Bringing at least a book as thick as my arm on her hand! A stereotypical intelligent friend and ally of Heroine! I was so shocked that my mind rebooted after seeing another member of the Game apart from you. Seriously, she still has that cool-don't-talk-to-me aura even as a child. Oh! I just got goosebumps! It wouldn't surprise me if she knew I was talking bad about her. Also her name is Charlotte Lenard!

"Ah the Lenard family?"

Theodore thought about the Count family who was the spear head of the Neutral Faction. Those that allied to none in the 'Succession War'. Count Lenard was influential. He was the only Count that ever holds the post of an important Minister. Minister of Internal Affair. He is quite devoted to his work and is responsible for improving the life condition of the common people. Though the Prime Minister Karmellia is influential, he mostly has 75% of the Minister of the Cabinet on his side. The rest are on neutral side who do not care as long as they are doing their duty. Typically, this group falls on the category of people who are promoted through their hard work, not through their fathers or forefathers.

That is why it was such a rare sight to see the daughter of that Count Lenard, sending his daughter to Tea party.

"Is he perhaps changing his mind on neutrality?"

A blessing for him. Theo read more of the letter and found out the reason.

It seems that this is the first time she had come out of her home in years! She is even more of an introvert than me! Can you believe it? It seems that she has a pretty sad backstory too! According to her, her mother was the one reading books for Charlotte. After she died, she wanted to engross herself in book to see what made it so important to her mother. Ah well, it seemed that she liked it way too much and started to read each and every book by herself. Even Magic ones! I bet she is as smart as you are! That was when Count Lenard despair began when she wasn't interested in anything. Anyway he asked my father for help as my father was known for loving his daughter very much, for advice. So she came here! Anyway the page is full so bye for now! We need to conserve trees after all!

"That would be interesting."

Not minding the abrupt ending, a little sting went to his heart. By this point Siri had already loosened her hair a bit. She looked curious as to what he was talking about so she asked.

"What would be interesting?"

Theo just shook his head, before keeping the letter down and wiping the remaining sweat off of his hair. 

"Nothing, just that the thought of conversing with another people who are interested in Magic. Also Siri, how goes your assimilation in your role?"

Siri just looked at her hand, before clenching and unclenching it. Then she massaged her shoulder before replying in a somber way.

"To be honest, it is going steady. I know the layout of the castle. My time table. Heck I have started talking to other..... a little bit."

Theo nodded in understanding.

"You don't need to force yourself. The persona that I had grafted for Siri was quiet and meticulous kind. She did not interact much with others and usually acted as the head of my 'information gathering' unit. So what you must know are your position, about the people of interest and ongoing rumors. You are my eyes and ears now." 

Siri hummed in understanding before saying in an excited way.

"Why didn't you tell me sooner that you had this whole 'spy' network on your beck and call? When you first introduced me to them, I was scared shitless when they 'poofed' into existence!"

"Well, lot had been going on and I didn't want to stress you."

Siri winced a bit before replying.

"Yeah I can see that, in the past year or so. Anyway, I always wanted to try my hand in this spy shit. Wanted to know how 'James Bond' kind of vibe would feel like."

Theo quirked an eye at that term.

"James Bond?"

Siri nodded enthusiastically.

"Yeah! A fictional Super Spy!"

Theo looked at her before replying.

"Well, before you go back to your roleplay, give me what you know about the general situation on the castle."

Siri nodded before thinking for a while.

"I guess first of all, you are the most likely to win the position of Crown Prince. The 1st Prince is a lazy dumbass. He doesn't even know that the Succession War is going on and expects the position to fall onto him and doesn't have any support. Being the 1st prince, he was pampered till he was spoilt rotten. 2nd Prince gives me the creep. He is the military type with the backing of various Generals. Though majority of the Generals respect you as well for your martial prowess. The 2nd Prince has blood-thirsty personality and looks at me with creepy eyes."

Siri shuddered for a moment. Theo remembered the incident very well. It was a case of misunderstanding, well on his 2nd Brothers part. Due to the fact that Siri has gender neutral face, he thought that Siri was a girl and tried to hit on her when he saw her battling in mock battles with few soldiers. Theo reminded him that Siri was a guy and his aide. Though he had a feeling that something was amiss when he saw the strange gaze 2nd Brother was giving to Siri.

Theo's smile faltered a bit at the possibility of his thought coming true. Oh dear, he needed to come up with a contingency plan for that if it was required. Siri continued on.

"3rd Prince is a magical fanatic and has the support of various Magician. Though the [Sage]s are on your side. Wasn't that the title given to the ultimate authority among Magicians?"

Theo nodded.

"Yes, and I have the Cabinet Minister, few Generals and [Sage] on my side. Well mostly because [Sage] condone the magic that my 3rd brother is researching on or they believe he is researching on."

Siri looked at him curiously.

"What kind?"

"[Forbidden] kind. Well those that uses Soul as an ingredient. [Forbidden] are categorized into two: Mana intensive and Soul Arts. The [Forbidden] magic I use are Mana-intensive. You need ridiculous amount of Mana, which I have abundant of. Then there are those that uses the soul as a fuel. 3rd brother has average [Mana Pool] so even if he is a genius, he is limited. So he is researching on that kind of Magic. Ultimately he wants to make the research on that kind of [Forbidden] spell legal and you need to be a King in order to do that."

Siri was making a horrified face.

"That is kind of horrible."

Theo nodded.

"Yes, it is. Though father will make an announcement on it after visiting the Vassal Kingdom, a few days from now and this succession war will be over. Looking at the other candidate, I suppose I am the only one that is sane. 1st Brother will ruin the Kingdom, 2nd one will lead to war, 3rd brother will plunge the Kingdom in darkness and I guess the rest are mediocre. My 1st Sister is too much of a soldier than she is a leader and other sister are.... again mediocre."

Just then both Theo and Siri looked towards a direction. Silently from the darkness of the forest a hooded figure emerged. He was tired and panting but still bowed to both of them before handing out a rolled paper. Siri took it from him and gave it to Theo. Theo unrolled the parcel covered in blood and read it as his eyes turned graver and graver.

---

Somewhere Else

An armored man was fuming as he was walking down a marbled corridor. He was so blinded by rage that he didn't notice he walked into another person. Their armor collided as the angry one swore.

"Motherfucker! Fucking look where you go!"

The other person, a tanned man with black hair looked at him in amusement.

"Well, I'd say you look pissed off but it will even make you more angry."

The man hissed.

"I don't need to see your fucking face again, Mikhail!"

The tanned man, Mikhail just sighed.

"Again, Ares. But knowing you have the [Blessing Of War God], telling you to calm down will likely end up getting me punted into the wall."

The man, Ares just scoffed.

"What use of the Blessing in this cursed peaceful time. I'd rather go rogue and cause chaos than live my life miserable from pent up rage!"

Mikhail nodded in understanding, before smiling slyly.

"Ah.... Your proposal for conquering that small kingdom? The Emperor refused, didn't he?"

"That pussy is afraid of Haelen retaliating after all. Argh! My rage! My anger! It is overflowing!"

Mikhail simply chuckled.

"I can see that. After all you started cussing. Although not without merit."

Ares blinked once and then twice at the unexpected approval of Mikhail. Then he narrowed his eyes.

"What are you plotting?"

Mikhail simply put one of his hand on his face before saying in a faux-tired voice, the shadow covering his face so that only the evil gleam of his eye was reflected at Ares.

"Well, who can say? I heard that the King of Haelen was visiting the Vassal Kingdom. Now who knew one of our General would go rogue? Taking the prototype Anti-Magica with him as well as almost a legion of his loyal men? Certainly not me nor the Emperor. After all, it seems that the general has reached the end of his frustration and heard the vast progress being made in the Vassal Kingdom due to their Princess, wanting to trample it. It is in his nature and [Blessing] to cause chaos and war. Now now, I was not here. I was simply sipping my coffee in my home county hundreds of miles away, watching the military drill with some of my friends. Move along, your men have been stationed at the border and the Emperor is being informed of your.... treason right about now."

Suddenly, the man named Mikhail dissolved and merged with the shadows. Ares's back tingled in fright as he wiped the sweat from his forehead. Despite having blessing, he could not ever see himself beating that guy. Mikhail was a slimy snake and Ares needed to act fast. Damn that man, he was not given a choice. Before the Guards come and seize him, he needed to escape. He grinned as blood-lust ran rampant around him, cracking the marbled hall. It was finally time to let loose. Maybe he will be forgiven if he handed over the Princess to Mikhail? After all he was more afraid of Mikhail than that Emperor.