Demands for Riersha’s attendance at the Grand Council came pouring in, and after a full week of deliberation, Arcmund’s approval finally came through.
The atmosphere at Arachrene’s main estate had grown heavy in more ways than one.
Arcmund had appeared irritable for days on end, and word quietly spread that Pernoa was visiting Riersha nearly every single day.
Whispers circulated that he was setting aside all other duties to search for a solution — determined by any means necessary to preserve Riersha’s newly awakened ability.
…Some of it was actually true.
After all, Pernoa had indeed been showing up at Riersha’s castle like clockwork every day.
“So much for a vacation. The ones who never bother to move a muscle suddenly grow wings the moment it suits them.”
Pernoa clicked his tongue, offering a biting critique of the elders.
“Oh, this is wonderful news!”
Sona, by contrast, was beaming.
“You’ll be able to go on walks again, Miss Riersha.”
“Mm.”
“You’ve worked so hard through all of this.”
“Phew.”
Riersha patted her own shoulders with a satisfied air.
No one quite knew where she had picked up the habit, but whenever Riersha accomplished something, she would sometimes give herself that little self-congratulatory pat.
“You’ve done well, Riersha.”
Pernoa let out a quiet, amused smile.
In truth, being confined to the heir’s castle had been dreadfully dull.
There was no telling what trouble it might cause if Riersha was seen outside and someone discovered she was perfectly fine — so for the past several days, she hadn’t even been able to take a proper walk.
“By the way, my lord — how did you know that Marquess Crender would be gathering funds?”
Rosinante looked up from the documents sent over by the Marcella ducal house, his expression puzzled.
Just as Pernoa had predicted, Marquess Crender had indeed been taking out loans from every financial institution he could reach.
Beyond that, reports were surfacing that the elders who shared his ambitions had also been pulling together funds of varying sizes.
The situation had grown so alarming that even Rosinante — who was partly responsible for engineering it — found himself genuinely worried about how anyone would clean up the mess if things went wrong.
According to the rumors circulating in society, Marquess Crender had been buying up every last scrap of Serinel on the market in a near frenzy.
“Because he’s done it before.”
Pernoa answered simply.
Before?
Riersha blinked, her eyes going wide.
“The moment I left the main estate, he started expanding his business ventures — as if he’d been waiting for exactly that.”
“…Now that you mention it, I remember it well.”
Rosinante’s expression soured at the memory.
“We had exhausted ourselves working in collaboration with the Mage Tower… only to watch Marquess Crender swoop in and take everything for himself while we stood by with our hands tied.”
“Oh!”
Riersha was genuinely shocked.
That had actually happened?
The man was a thief through and through.
“Wh-what kind of business was it?”
If it was a venture Pernoa had been developing, it must have required an enormous investment.
Rosinante pointed to a specific spot on the document in his hand.
“Do you see this?”
“Yes.”
It was the ducal seal of House Marcella.
“That. Right there.”
The magically imbued seals now used across the entire Declair Empire — that was what he was referring to.
“It was something Lord Pernoa had conceived, back when forged documents were proliferating throughout the Empire.”
On top of that, nobles who affixed their own seals to documents and then flatly refused accountability had become rampant — so Pernoa had ultimately reached out to the Mage Tower in order to bring greater efficiency to the whole affair.
Through that process, a forgery-proof seal had been born.
“The initial investment alone was in the hundreds of billions of gold.”
“Oh!”
“It was worth it. Mages from the Mage Tower don’t come cheap.”
Every talented mind within the tower had thrown themselves into the research.
The work had been especially painstaking because the final product needed to be usable even by those with no ability to handle mana.
In practice, the technology had since been applied to numerous artifacts and was now in widespread use throughout the continent.
At present, the patent was held jointly by the Mage Tower and House Crender.
When the seal — crafted in collaboration with the Mage Tower — first reached the open market, it drew immediate and fervent attention.
Purchased primarily by royalty, nobles, and those running large commercial enterprises, it became a sensation across the continent.
That venture had been the turning point from which House Crender began growing at an unstoppable pace.
It was, in fact, the decisive reason the marquessate — which had been teetering on the edge of financial ruin at the time — managed to reclaim its former prestige.
“Given that he’s been stockpiling Serinel, it seems he intends to do the same thing again — take what you’ve planned, my lord, and seize control of the market.”
“Most likely.”
That was also why Marquess Crender was so aggressively gathering funds.
He was moving because he was utterly convinced that something had gone wrong with Riersha’s ability.
He had succeeded once before, using precisely the same method.
Riersha listened to the two of them talk, then let her jaw drop.
This was truly…
“He’s a thief!”
Riersha bristled with indignation, her cheeks puffed in outrage, and both Pernoa and Rosinante turned to look at her at the same moment.
“Yes, he is absolutely a thief.”
Rosinante agreed with full conviction.
Pernoa smiled.
“So what do you think we should do about it?”
“We have to take it back.”
“Precisely right.”
⁂
The day of the Grand Council arrived.
The moment Riersha appeared in the main estate, eyes turned toward her from every direction.
Everyone seemed to believe that today would be the day she was forced to leave.
“Do well in there, Riersha. I’ll be waiting.”
“Go in there and cut those stupid elders down to size.”
“…You two are going to give everything away.”
In order — that was Risideon, Ricador, and Riscal.
At first, all three of them had been genuinely alarmed at the thought that Riersha might truly have lost her ability.
Then they had run into Pernoa spending his days in leisurely comfort at Riersha’s castle, and it hadn’t taken long to realize that all of this had been a trap of Pernoa’s design.
Even so, they couldn’t help but worry about their little sister.
Watching her get tangled up in one difficult situation after another left a weight in their chests that never quite went away.
Understanding that, Riersha smiled all the brighter.
“Oppa, I’ll be back before you know it. Stay right here! We can play together when I’m done.”
“…All right.”
Risideon, who had caught the warmth in her words, smiled faintly back.
Riersha walked into the Grand Council chamber with Sona at her side.
A gravity hung in the air that bore no resemblance to the world outside.
Riersha took in her surroundings. Then, near the entrance to the chamber, she spotted Pernoa and Rosinante waiting and her eyes went round.
“Oh — it looks like the young lord was waiting for you, miss.”
Sona whispered softly beside her.
The moment Riersha heard those words, the rigid tension that had taken hold of her body quietly eased.
Outside, her brothers were waiting. In here, Pernoa was beside her.
The instant that realization settled in, the corners of Riersha’s stiff mouth curved gently upward.
“Papa!”
“You’re here.”
Riersha ran to him, calling out as she went, and he extended his hand as if he had been expecting exactly this.
She threw herself into his side and took hold of his hand.
“Shall we go in, then, you two?”
Rosinante checked the time and pushed open the doors of the Grand Council chamber.
From behind them came Sona’s voice: “Do your best, Miss Riersha!”
Riersha turned back and gave a small wave, then faced forward again.
As she stepped inside, Arcmund and the nine elders fixed their gazes on her with eyes sharp as predators.
The one empty seat, for reference, belonged to Ian Charlotte.
“Now that everyone is present, we should begin.”
Marquess Crender spoke up as if he had been waiting for this very moment. Beneath his measured tone ran an unmistakable current of anticipation. Several of the elders visibly grimaced.
Riersha noted them carefully.
Those ones don’t seem to like Marquess Crender very much.
Whatever the reason, it was clear enough that they held no goodwill toward him.
Arcmund, who was presiding over the session, let his brow furrow briefly before he spoke.
“Today’s gathering has been convened at the elders’ request to address the matter of Riersha Arachrene’s ability. After today, I would prefer that we never have cause for a meeting like this again.”
“Of course.”
Marquess Crender replied.
Arcmund ignored the response and turned his gaze to Riersha.
“I will ask you first.”
“Yes.”
“Riersha Arachrene — is it true that you have lost your power?”
Silence fell over the Grand Council chamber.
Riersha glanced around at the faces watching her, then broke into a wide, radiant smile.
“No!”
In that instant, a storm of conflicting emotions swept across the faces of the elders.
“I have never lost my ability. Not even once!”
With those words, the color drained entirely from Marquess Crender’s face.
