Trapped in Another World With No Magic

Chapter 54: The Emperor of the Citadel

Daniel works on aligning the magic crystals made of diamond that he had Xyreko produce, and Hekate charge. She's leaning on his shoulder as he works. Daniel's guessing at the design Wenlianna used to make her anti-dragon weapon, but as a shockwave weapon, it has a middling lethality, depending on the shockwave pressure used. With the right calculations and designs, it can be an effective lethal weapon or non-lethal weapon for defending his friends and family.

And, among the things he thought she did, he had a single mana crystal placed in the center with a system to drive wind crystals into the mana crystal, creating a large contact surface between several wind crystals, which then created a massive pressure. That wind pressure is then funneled down via a specially crafted Bernoulli design, which creates a concentrated shockwave that moves quickly through the air, but as a pocket of pressure. In simpler terms, it effectively does in air what a pistol shrimp does in the water; it snaps a concentrated pocket of air forward at high pressure, which is comparable to an explosion, minus the fire and wide-area blast.

Xyreko's golems, as well as goblin and ogre henchmen have been diligently recovering the pieces of the airship since the shoot-down, which will allow Daniel and Xyreko to study its design and imitate it, since Wenlianna already achieved success.

Coupled with having his phone again, Daniel will be able to ensure that everyone he cares about will be safe from whatever happens, now that Vaergraes has been excommunicated from the Demon Covenant, and the continuing skirmishes threaten an even greater war, now that the excuse of the Devourer can no longer be used.

Essentially, Wenlianna took the same concept as the jet engine using magic crystals and amplified it to make a weapon, and it proved effective. As far as Daniel knows, dragons are the most formidable beings in the skies, and he’s allied with most, if not all of them. If there are other beings or dragons that aren’t allied with his companions, he’d like to ensure they have additional means to defend against them.

Of course, Xyreko is also outfitting the Citadel with flak cannons and anti-air machine guns operated by golems, which use the same technology of his own world. No one has attempted to defend against it, since the only ones who have experienced his weapons are now his allies -or are dead-. If anyone does find a way to adequately defend against even his armor piercing weapons, he’ll need an alternative that hasn’t been experienced.

Hekate sits with her arms draped over Daniel’s shoulder and her cheek against his, skillfully being both in his way and out of his way when needed. She’s not actually interfering with his work, so he leaves her be, and she’s helpful with her ability to use magic.

“Daniel, we… are staying out of the war, right?”

“As much as possible, yes. Why, do you want to get involved?”

She shakes her head. “No. I was just curious, since this looks like a weapon.”

“Unfortunately, I don’t want to chance someone trying to drag us into the war. There’s a weapon my world had in early stages that I think I can replicate, and it’ll use a similar design to Wenlianna’s weapon.”

Hekate pouts a little, laying her ears flat, which causes her right ear to lay against Daniel’s head. He pivots his head a little to try to look at her, but she’s effectively behind him. “What is it?” asks Daniel gently.

“You still like that woman…”

Daniel sighs, but Hekate continues. “She’s pretty, and she’s smart, and she treated you nicely…”

“Hekate, who is sitting here next to me helping me now?”

She flicks her ears. “I-I am…”

“Right. And, who taught herself magic spells few others can use?”

“I… I did…”

“Yep. And, even when I don’t give in to her desires, who continues to express love and affection for me?”

She pouts. “Me. You’re talking about me! I get it!” She hugs his neck gently, cuddling her face to his. “I wish I could be everything to you…”

“I wish the same about myself. I wish I could truly be as great as all of you seem to believe me to be. Or at least, I wish I could be strong enough without relying on things like this to protect you.”

Hekate kisses his cheek, then holding firmly to him for a moment, and he pets her arm softly. “The only change I would make to you, Daniel, is to be immortal, so we can be together forever.”

Daniel chuckles, and he eases her head closer so he can kiss her cheek in return. “I wouldn’t change anything about you, Hekate. If you were perfect, I wouldn’t be able to be anything to you. Same if I was perfect, right?”

She nods, and he smiles. However, suddenly, he pulls her in front of himself, sitting her on his lap carefully, ensuring her tail doesn’t get pinched. She looks into his eyes in surprise with the suddenness, and he starts softly, “Hekate… I know you… know. So, I have to ask; are you sure you aren’t pushing yourself to accept the others that live here with us?”

She cocks her head a little, and with a straight face, she replies bluntly. “I accept their love for you, Daniel. It’s something we share, after all. And, more importantly, you’ve accrued a mighty debt to me.” She bears a wide grin. “I won’t count Ryuo’s, Reina’s, and Geira’s first eggs, since they’re not technically yours, but right now, I count four. P-Plus, snuggles. Lots of snuggles.” She hugs him. “My revenge will be when I monopolize you when it’s my turn.”

Daniel sighs in relief, more than anything. “Xyreko said you felt that way, but I’m glad you do.”

She nods, teasing playfully, “You seem awfully unafraid of your fate, my Darling.” She grins wickedly at him.

“There’s still time. You could fall in love with someone else before then.”

She frowns at him, her ears, laying back in mild frustration.

He chuckles, returning to his work with Hekate sitting in his lap, now. “My fate on Earth was far worse than anything you can do to me, Hekate. I was highly likely to die alone after decades of working in the same job.”

Hekate is respectfully quiet for a moment, but she smiles sympathetically. She then turns her focus on Daniel’s project. “Anything I can do more directly?”

“Sure. Have you been paying attention to what I’ve been doing?”

She nods. “Yes! You’re forcing a massive discharge of wind magic from the crystal using a bunch of mana crystals all at once, right?”

“Exactly right.”

“Can I build one of the arrays, then?”

“I’d be happy if you would. But, don’t worry about the elemental crystal yet. We’ll make a few of these, and then try a few different things.”

She nods in understanding. “I see! That’ll be so cool! Can I have a fire cannon, please? OOO! Or, better yet, I want an ice cannon!”

Daniel chuckles as he reaches past her to assemble the small-scale prototype components Xyreko made for him, and she works on one as well, still happily sitting on his lap. “Fire probably suits you a little better, but cold is the true power of evil.”

She gasps. “Are you saying Reina is evil?”

He cocks his head. “I’ve watched her breathe fire. I’ve seen her lance through metal in an instant.”

Hekate nods, still working with her hands in front of them. “Yeah, but she’s better at ice magic. She apparently used to be known as the Great Ice Dragon to Vaergraes’s subordinates. Besides, blowing up a ship is better with fire than ice, right?” She grins at him.

Daniel smiles and pets her head. “I guess I didn’t know that. Thank you for telling me.”

“Mm-hmm!” She then immediately turns fiery. “And you called her evil!”

Daniel chuckles again. “In my defense, I didn’t know. Besides, I’m the most evil of all of us with the things I’ve built in this world. So, ice or fire, I would still care about all of you.”

She hums in approval, returning to assembling her first of the small rigs.

“Daniel?”

“Yes, my Empress?”

Hekate giggles, but stays focused. “If your world has all of these weapons, how are you so kind?”

“I’m kind, am I?”

“I think so.”

“Hmm. Well, like I mentioned when building the bomb, we lived by mutually assured destruction. Let’s say the dragons didn’t have the curse before you and I conquered the Citadel. What do you think would have happened if there were dozens of little dragons running around?”

She thinks for a moment. “I guess they would have conquered the world.”

“I suspect so. But, because there was a very real risk of them dying, they held back in safety, only attacking when they believed there was no danger to them. Everyone that weren’t allies but had the big bombs on Earth kept each other at bay from attacking and being ruthless through threat of destruction. I grew up under that world. At some point, when the world could be destroyed in an afternoon, you simply become used to taking life as it is.” Daniel inspects the part she completes, smiling and nodding. “Weapons of all kinds can be used to defend just as they can be used to attack. If you could organize everyone in the world into two categories, I think I’d fall into the defense side.”

“And, attackers are evil?”

“Not necessarily. What I just said is definitely an oversimplification, since, where might a coward fit in? A pacifist? An explorer? A pioneer? I just meant that I believe in trying to protect people, which is why I’m content not to be known as ‘Emperor of the Citadel’ and all that. As long as we’re all safe and comfortable, I’m content.”

Hekate nods. “I see.” She begins assembling another one of the special rigs to control the mana crystals. “If… this Wenlianna’s people attack us… What would you do?”

“Same as we have been. We’ll repel them. If we need to make a point to curtail further attacks, then… We’ll probably have to figure something out.”

“Sounds like a good reason to have a freeze cannon, hm?” She smiles over her shoulder, and Daniel smirks. “If that’s what you want, we’ll see how it works.”

After the two assemble a few of the rigs, Daniel asks Hekate to use the charging unit to apply elements, carefully handling the crystals for her after she completes their charge. They’re much smaller than standard crystals, since he’s making a prototype on a much smaller scale.

Daniel takes extra caution with the lightning crystal, and Hekate watches curiously as he moves it to a special case. Hekate inspects the insulated tongs. “Why do you have special tongs for the lightning crystal?”

“The power density of magic crystals is extremely high. But, the difference is, water crystals will become wet and slip out of the hand if they trigger. Fire crystals will get hot. Wind crystals will jump. Ice crystals get cold. Light crystals glow. Dark crystals absorb energy. But lightning; lightning crystals discharge electricity. As little as thirty milliamps can kill instantly.” Daniel flicks Hekate’s forearm, and she cocks her head. “That’s likely all you’d feel, if you have time to process it, before you’re dead. Fire, water, ice; none of the others compare.”

She nods, recoiling a little away from the crystal. “I see… But, I’ve heard people survive lightning strikes. Isn’t that a lot more?”

“It is,” answers Daniel with a single nod. “However, it also depends on the path the electricity follows through the body. If that lightning hits the heart, you aren’t waking up. Same with the brain. You wouldn’t have time to try to save your own life if it hits something important.”

Hekate nods in understanding. “And, you used electricity for weapons?”

“Actually, we used it for just about everything. Lights, vehicles, weapons, beds, food preparation, even golems. Most things magic does here, we used electricity for.”

“I see. And, that’s what you’ve been working with Xyreko on?”

“Yep. But, this one will be a weapon.”

“You hope to shoot a lightning bolt?”

“Sort of. Electricity alone needs a path, and it’d be almost impossible without magic guiding it. Instead, I want to use the electricity crystal as a battery to power a rail gun.”

Hekate cocks her head. “A ‘rail gun’?” She knows a few English words, which she does her best to remember. 

“Yes. If designed properly, it can accelerate a bullet even faster than the ones that took down the dragons. I know the principles…” Daniel reaches for his phone, operating it with slides and taps of his fingers. Hekate perks up and watches diligently as the device comes to life, and he navigates the various display images. He holds his phone so she can see, and she looks at the image on the screen. It shows a strange looking, long rectangle that has semi-familiar shapes to match Daniel’s rifle, but much bigger. Daniel swipes, and it shows something enveloped in fire blasting through what looks to be solid stone walls.

“Does faster make the bullets do more damage?” asks Hekate as she looks over her shoulder at him.

“It does, though it can depend on other factors. It’s all about delivery of force. To penetrate dragon scale, I needed either the dragon’s own teeth, or mithril as a core for the bullets I used, and they lost a lot of energy quickly, meaning the wounds could have been survivable with only a little difference. If the bullet moves faster, than even steel could deliver enough impact force, that it could be lethal even without clean penetration. Also, it reaches a far away target sooner, so it can be easier to aim at a moving target.”

“If… If I mimic it with magic… will I be more powerful?”

Daniel smiles and pets her head. “I see no reason why not. But, you know I can’t speak to magic itself.”

“You just need to learn! If you learn magic, you could do anything!”

Daniel laughs, and Hekate pouts, “I’m serious, Daniel.”

“I know. I know. I’ve been trying to remember what I do see and hear, but I’ll never be an expert. Not without being able to test my theories myself so I can understand how it works.”

“But… you can’t make explosions or electricity with your own hands.”

Daniel rocks his head in a middling gesture. “That’s fair. But I can’t put metal together to make magic. I can never charge a magic crystal myself. If I have the parts, I can build a generator or a rifle.”

Hekate nods. “I guess… But, since you know how to do those, you could help me master magic better than anyone else in the world.”

Daniel chuckles as he hugs her gently. “Alright, Hekate. I’ll study when I have some time.”

She narrows her eyes at him skeptically with a dry smirk. “You didn’t have time last night when you were with Geira and Reina?”

“And here we go. I guess I’ve got tonight to study then.”
“Hey! You’re supposed to sleep with me tonight!”

“Oh? Well, sorry, you want me to study…”

“NO FAIR!” She crosses her arms and faces away from him. “I hate the Hekate game…”

Daniel laughs as he fluffs her hair, instigating her to fight back, though she’s mindful as always of how strong her magic power makes her.

***

A couple of weeks after the Imperial War Summit, an entire noble entourage arrives at Fort Peony. Leiwelles rushes out to see what’s going on specifically, and when she quickly ascends up the stairs of the eastern wall of the fortress, she is surprised by what she finds. As a noble herself, Leiwelles is familiar with many of the banners of other major nobles in the Imperial Alliance, even those of other kingdoms from her own. This banner, however, is even more familiar, since it matches the sigil on the jacket of someone Leiwelles got to know well enough.

It’s the banners of the Stalvaltan Grand Duchy, but given the number of buckrokhs and carriages, it’s a visit from a special envoy.

Commander Leiwelles looks at the sergeant on the ground, who nods. She has already checked the documents of the envoy, verifying authenticity, and she nods at Leiwelles.

Leiwelles nods in turn. “Open the gate.”

“Open the gate!”

The gates rumble open, and the carriage train makes its way into the base, filing out to stage. Leiwelles calls out as she walks to the stairs to return to the ground. “Form up greeting detail and inform the galley to begin prepping for double population. Rigging and construction teams begin staging the camping area for our guests. Smithies, light the furnace for maintenance.”

On the ground, she heads to the most ornate of the carriages, where Stalvaltan Guards have formed up to disembark the passengers in a formal procession.

Leiwelles and her mentees, as well as a handful of soldiers, form up to greet the envoy as soon as they present themselves.

When they are revealed, Leiwelles flinches when the ‘envoy’ steps out of the carriage.

It’s a middle-aged woman who carries an air of icy efficiency and purpose. She carries herself with grace, but she also commands the respect of the Stalvaltan Guard as if she’s nearly a deity herself.

Five young women and a couple men are brought out of the carriage behind her, though they hang back as the leading woman approaches Leiwelles.

Leiwelles has an extremely good idea who she is looking at, but she’s surprised all the same.

With a salute, she greets the woman. “Greetings, your Grace. I am Commander Leiwelles kos Morglodston, Commanding Officer of Fort Peony. It is my sincere pleasure to host you, Grand Duchess Aramellianna kos Stalvaltan.”

Aramellianna curtsies politely, which is a little unusual, but she is known for being skilled in matching etiquette with mercilessness. “Please forgive the imposition, Commander. We’ve traveled from the Imperial Summit in the Imperial Palace, and I hope we can trouble you for a couple of days.”

Leiwelles replies, “You’re welcome here, your Grace. But… This is Fort Peony. We’re on the border between the Alliance and the Demon Wildlands.”

“I’m well aware. However, I am tired of receiving out of date correspondence, and I sensed in your letter that there was more that I need to hear.”

“I see. Then, please, make yourselves comfortable. As this is a military installation, I can provide state rooms for you and your family, but your retainers and guards will likely need to make do with camping or carriages. I hope you understand.”

“Of course. We’ll be grateful for your hospitality.” Aramellianna turns to her entourage, commanding them gently, “Follow the instructions of the base staff and set up camp. Girls, you may join us. Wenlianna, you will join us.” Aramellianna looks at Leiwelles. “Do you mind, Commander, humoring some questions?”

“I’ll clear my schedule, your Grace. I suspect we have a fair amount to discuss.”

Wenlianna and Yanidere join Aramellianna, while the others follow one of the other officers to the dining hall for a meal.

Wenlianna whispers, “Mother, I don’t know anything about warfare.”

“The troops accompanying the asset are still here. And, Commander Leiwelles was one of the last people to see Daniel alive.”

Leiwelles’s steps hitch for a moment, and she glances at Aramellianna briefly. She is certain from her expression that Aramellianna took notice of the motion, and the Commander’s blood runs cold. She gave it away when Aramellianna was referring to the day he originally disappeared.

Aramellianna says quietly, “Hold off on retrieving any of our rescued soldiers, if you would, Commander.”

Leiwelles nods. She then looks to her mentees, who hope to take notes. “The Grand Duchess and her daughters are likely famished. Would you please retrieve meals for all four of us and meet us in the conference room in thirty minutes?”

“C-Commander?” asks the young lieutenant studying under the Commander.

“Are you too good to retrieve a Grand Duchess’s meal, Lieutenant? I’ll get it myself if that’s the case.”

“N-No Commander! A-As you wish!” The two younger officers scurry off, and Leiwelles leads them to the administrative building. Contrary to her words, though, she instead takes them upstairs to her office. She tells her secretary, “We’re not to be disturbed under any circumstances. Anyone who tries to push past you will face corporal punishment.”

Surprised, her secretary nods, staring with wide eyes at the Grand Duchess.

Of course, Aramellianna gracefully follows Leiwelles’s lead, as does the young Yanidere. It’s only Wenlianna who seems nervous about what’s going on.

Once inside, Leiwelles shuts and locks her door. She sighs. “Forgive me, your Grace. The weight of the truth can be heavy sometimes.”

Aramellianna smirks, “Especially when it’s a secret, I would suppose.”

Leiwelles nods, trying to collect her head by doing what she knows. She pulls up three chairs for the Grand Duchess and her daughters, taking her own chair across her desk from them. “Can I get you anything, your Grace?”

“Not at this moment. I’m wholly curious about what you have to tell me.”

Leiwelles nods, massaging her temples. She’s not intentionally being discourteous to the Grand Duchess, but it’s clear that Aramellianna isn’t particularly concerned with decorum at the moment. 

“How much… have you heard about what there is to find in the Citadel, your Grace?”

“Up until now? A self-proclaimed Empress Hekate, dragons, and magic golems. Assuming any of our troops return from the mission that made contact with the Citadel a little over a month ago, we would know more.”

Leiwelles has to struggle to find the right words. She doesn’t want to betray anyone. But, she doesn’t know Aramellianna’s motives, especially to warrant coming to the frontier herself. “And… you’re looking for Daniel?”

“Do you know something about him?” asks Wenlianna quickly and nervously.

Leiwelles glances at her, and then at Aramellianna, who nods. “Daniel is extremely important to the Stalvaltan Household.”

The Commander nods softly. Stalvaltan soldiers showed up shortly after his disappearance looking for him. They even followed him west. “You won’t be able to get him back,” states Leiwelles cautiously.

Aramellianna cocks her head. “You speak with a high level of certainty.”

Leiwelles nods. “Empress Hekate visited here to begin spreading her own name. There is no one in the east that can do anything to her.”

“We’ve all been saying that about dragons for as long as time has been recorded.”

“I haven’t asked many questions about your ‘asset’, but it was defeated by a single dragon, a human knight, and Hekate herself. When she was here, I could barely breathe.” 

Aramelliana cocks her head. “And, you are so certain that this Hekate will guard her prisoner so readily?”

Leiwelles closes her eyes, lowering her head a little. She hesitates for a long moment, murmuring finally, “More than you might imagine.”

“What does that mean?” asks Yanidere.

“Did she speak of Daniel?” asks Wenlianna after her sister.

“Yes.”

Aramellianna cuts in with a sudden sternness. “Commander, I know well enough about your god-given ability to discern lies, but of course, it doesn’t prevent you from being deceptive. You’re being deceptive. Allow me to begin; I want Daniel for three things in this order of priority from highest to lowest; I want him to marry my daughter, Wenlianna, I want him to become the next Grand Duke, and I want his technology and weapons for the Grand Duchy of Stalvaltan. If I must sacrifice the third for the first two, I would gladly do so.”

Leiwelles can tell that Aramellianna is telling the truth, and it’s reinforced when Wenlianna flinches and blushes, glancing at her mother in shock as if it was a secret, rather than being forced into an arranged marriage.

The rumors that have reached the commander are that Aramellianna is highly interested in Daniel’s dragon-slaying weapon, and if she knows he’s related to the strange phenomenon that day a couple of months prior, it could be terrifying if that item became a tool of any faction. What Aramellianna said is definitely true; she wants Daniel for her daughter, Wenlianna. But, she also wants the superiority his weapons provide.

Still, at the end of the day, Leiwelles is a soldier of the Eastern Imperial Alliance. Her loyalties first and foremost must come to her homeland and its allies, to which Aramellianna belongs.

“Daniel is not a prisoner. For all intents and purposes, he is the Emperor.”

The other three in the room stare at Leiwelles silently. Wenlianna and Yanidere can do nothing to keep their mouths closed, looking especially undignified compared next to their mother, who manages to hide it, but is stunned as well.

Yanidere finally stammers, “Wh-... How can that be? You said no one can defeat Hekate.”

“I only know what I saw, my Lady. Empress Hekate introduced him first as her ‘Darling’, and I figured out he was Daniel. He is not a prisoner, and he’s very close to Hekate and the dragons. Hekate radiates magical power beyond anything I’ve ever seen, including those very same dragons, but she’s a teenager and naive.”

Aramellianna shakes her head, whispering, “This… can’t be accurate. Why would Daniel side with demons?”

Leiwelles closes her hand as she struggles with that particular question. She wonders that as well, but having met the group that she did, and nothing dangerous coming of it until a task force invaded westward, she has to wonder if even some of what Daniel said truly will come to pass.

Or rather, never end.

“As I said, your Grace. I only know what I saw. Daniel is in good health, and… Hekate adores him. You won’t get him back not because you can’t defeat her specifically, but because she and the dragons won’t let him go.”

“B-But… Daniel can kill dragons,” squeaks Wenlianna. “Th-That’s how he survived the battle here, didn’t he? Wh-Why would they…?”

“He can kill dragons. They confirmed it. But, that also means he can easily kill humans.”

The three go silent again. The point is that an ability to kill someone doesn’t automatically make that person an enemy. 

“Daniel is friendly with Hekate and the dragons that visited here, as well as a demonkin. Those are who I know of. He also claims to be acquainted with the former Demon Queen, Vaergraes.”

“Demon… Queen?” repeats Aramellianna.

Leiwelles nods. “She wasn’t in attendance, but Daniel revealed that he became acquainted with her.”

Both Yanidere and Wenlianna look to Aramellianna for guidance. Leiwelles adds, since there’s a growing silence between them, “I have a lot of reasons to believe that your ‘asset’ attacked one of the dragons, and Daniel was with her and Hekate, and they took down your asset, but spared the lives of your soldiers.”

Aramellianna has a thousand-yard stare towards the wall as she processes the new information. She truly couldn’t even consider that Daniel would have changed sides. 

“W-We need to apologize then!” exclaims Wenlianna as she stands up.

“We’ll reward the soldiers for their bravery, but they knew the risk.”

“No! I agree, they did what they were told to do, but… If Daniel is friends with them… We need to apologize to Daniel and the dragon we hurt.” She looks at Leiwelles, saying passionately, “I truly believed Daniel was a prisoner, but he’s not a traitor. Not from corruption or cowardice. He’s… He has a reason. He treats everyone equally, even when we don’t. And, we attacked his friends because we chose to attack instead of offering diplomacy for Daniel’s return.” She looks at Aramellianna next. “Mother, I need to go to the Citadel.”

Yanidere finally speaks up, “Are you mad, Wenlie!? You can’t cross the border! The demons will kill you! Or worse!”

“Daniel survived months! That must mean something. He has no magic of his own, but he befriended the dragons. And, this Empress Hekate.” She murmurs softly, “Maybe… Maybe they needed his help.”

Leiwelles offers before the energy rises further, “Empress Hekate did claim that Daniel conquered the Citadel and then gave it to her. I sensed no deception. Conversely, when she claimed that he was her husband…”

Wenlianna gasps, and all three of them stare at Leiwelles, who quickly adds with a disarming raise of her own hands, “That was a lie. She is affectionate with Daniel, but he treats her more like a child, from what I saw.”

The three relax, and Wenlianna turns to Aramellianna again. “Mother, y-your Grace, please; this is the right answer. Let me go to the Citadel to apologize.”

“But Wenlie,” starts Yanidere. “If they take you prisoner…”

“Then there are four other future Grand Duchesses to replace me. Even Mother knows I’ll never be Grand Duchess without the right Grand Duke.” She focuses her gaze on her mother’s eyes. The current Grand Duchess is still deep in thought about Daniel being allied with demon kin and dragons. Aramellianna’s gaze finally returns to the room, and she looks at Wenlianna.

“Mother, you know I’m right. We stand to gain nothing by trying to ‘rescue’ him if he doesn’t want to be rescued. We owe them an apology for the misunderstanding.” She fidgets, hugging her own body gently. “But, I understand the risks to the Grand Duchy. Please, don’t save me if they do take me prisoner. Daniel won’t hurt me. I know it.”

“We still know too little,” replies Leiwelles softly, trying to help the disoriented Grand Duchess. “They were cordial during their visit here, and they declared an intent only to defend themselves, but… there are factors unaccounted for, namely, the power vacuum left by the Demon Queen being deposed. We have no way of knowing what’s in the immediate future, or if the Demon leadership are allied with Hekate. She says no, but that doesn’t mean the others won’t use it as a pretense for attack. Possibly, in order to… prolong a perpetual war, as Daniel called it.”

Aramellianna looks directly at Leiwelles this time, her expression is suddenly more serious, as if she just saw or heard a ghost. It puts Leiwelles a little on guard with the suddenness, but the Grand Duchess isn’t hostile. She all but whispers, “He really said that?”

Leiwelles nods cautiously. “He fears the east and west are secretly working together to control both populations. I could tell he genuinely believes it, but… I can’t fathom such a conspiracy.”

There’s an awkward silence as everyone waits on Aramellianna, who is once more in serious thought. She finally makes direct eye contact with Leiwelles once more. “How far is it to the Citadel?”

***