Ezra Kaelus had always hated nobles.

That much had never changed, and it likely never would.

But if he were to claim he still hated every noble the same way he once did, that would no longer be the truth.

So when that sudden revelation was thrown at him, a truth he had once tried to suppress and forget, it felt as though everything inside him collapsed at once.

——My mother... the Imperial Queen... ordered the purge.

What unsettled him the most was the indifferent way Astrid had delivered it. She had simply laid the truth out before him and let it stand on its own.

For a moment, Ezra had wondered if it was some kind of cruel joke.

The Astrid he remembered had been a blunt and spoiled girl who grew up in the comfort of royal gardens. Someone like her openly condemning her own family for the sake of his truth felt almost absurd.

If Ezra did not know any better, he might have taken it as some subtle form of manipulation. A confession meant to prevent him from directing his hatred toward her.

Even now, he did not know how he was supposed to take it.

Before everything fell apart, that village had been his entire world.

It was where he had grown up with his family.

Back then, he believed he would spend his whole life there and eventually die in that same place.

But life had other plans.

Before he even realized what had happened, Ezra had been left with no one he could call family anymore.

Perhaps that was the very reason he had clung so closely to Vanitas. The man who had acted as his benefactor without asking for anything in return. And that was why, even now, while the rest of the world condemned him, Ezra still believed in the purpose behind Vanitas Astrea’s actions.

Because in every sense of the word, Vanitas Astrea had never been an unreasonable man.

Every move he made always had more than one purpose. One action often served two or three different outcomes at once.

That was the kind of person Vanitas Astrea was.

And that was the person Ezra Kaelus had chosen to follow.

——Wait for Astrid.

Those had been the Professor’s final instructions before departing for Zyphran. It was almost as if Vanitas had already known she would appear.

For that reason, Ezra swallowed the lump in his throat. He forced his heart to calm, pushing aside the storm of emotions.

This was no longer about him.

"Sigh."

Ezra pushed the door open and stepped back into the room, only to find Astrid’s head still lowered in the same position he had left her in. Five minutes had passed, and yet she remained standing there without a word.

Ezra frowned. What the hell was this stupid woman doing?

"Raise your head."

Astrid slowly lifted her gaze.

Silas, who had been standing awkwardly near the table the entire time, finally let out a breath he did not realize he had been holding.

Ezra crossed his arms and leaned against the wall.

"You’re really going to stay like that forever?"

Astrid remained silent for a moment before speaking.

"I thought you needed time."

"I did." Ezra rubbed his face. "But you don’t need to act like you’re waiting for a verdict."

"I was prepared to offer my head."

"Like hell you were."

"Well..." Astrid tilted her head. "At the very least, my brother’s..."

"Hah."

That was the Astrid he knew.

There were still a hundred questions he wanted to ask her. But he pushed those thoughts aside for the moment. As long as she was here, that was all that mattered.

"So what are we dealing with?" Astrid asked as she took a seat across from Silas.

"Civil war," Ezra answered. "Pretty much all of Aetherion against your brother and the Professor."

Astrid’s eyes narrowed.

"There are several factions moving throughout the Empire," Ezra continued. "But the largest one has your sister acting as its figurehead."

"Irene?"

"Yes."

Ezra leaned back in his chair.

"From what we’ve gathered, they want to put her on the throne. Or at least use her name to legitimize their movement. Either way, she’s furious and apparently out for my head."

He shrugged.

"She would’ve gone after Silas too if he hadn’t volunteered himself as a figurehead and... something like a double spy."

Astrid turned toward Silas.

"A double spy?"

Ezra gestured toward him. "Go on. Tell her."

Silas scratched his cheek awkwardly.

"Let’s just say I’m playing both sides," he said, leaning forward. "Most of the Ainsley assets are technically under Astrea control. But with the Professor gone, the authority over those assets defaults to me."

Astrid listened carefully.

"The revolutionaries see me as someone close to Vanitas," Silas continued. "So I offered to betray him. Or at least that’s the story I gave them."

"And they believed you?"

"People believe what they want to believe. Since I’m still young, they think there’s some plausibility in my words."

Silas gave a small shrug.

"So I let them think I’m their insider. In the meantime, I’ve set up a figurehead to lead their faction while I secretly manage the real flow of resources."

Astrid rested her chin on her hand, crossing her legs together. "So you’re feeding information both ways?"

"Yep." Silas nodded. "They think I’m helping them dismantle Astrea influence. In reality, I’m making sure things don’t spiral completely out of control before the Professor returns."

The room remained quiet for a moment before Astrid finally spoke.

"So where does that place me?"

"That depends," Ezra responded. "What role do you want to play? Truthfully, this whole civil war is a complete mess."

Astrid waited as he continued.

"There’s a democratic faction that doesn’t want anyone from the Imperial Family taking the throne ever again. They’re basically a third force right now. They oppose both sides. That means Irene’s revolutionary movement and Franz Barielle Aetherion’s loyalists."

Silas nodded. "They’re growing fast, too."

"But they’re missing something important."

"A leader," Astrid said.

"Exactly." Ezra tapped the table. "They don’t have a proper figurehead yet. Someone who can legitimize their authority in the eyes of the public."

Astrid tilted her head. "So who’s leading them right now?"

"Mostly intellectuals," Silas said. "Scholars from the Institute. Alumni from the Silver University Tower. A handful of lower noble houses who turned their backs on the aristocracy."

Astrid leaned back in her chair. "So they have ideology, but no symbol."

"Pretty much," Ezra said.

Silas glanced between the two of them before speaking again.

"And that’s where things get interesting."

Astrid raised an eyebrow. "How so?"

Silas crossed his arms. "Because if someone like you showed up among them..."

"You’d instantly become the most powerful figure they have." Ezra finished the thought.

Astrid considered the idea for a moment.

"Do you really think they would accept me?"

"Highly likely," Ezra replied. "You currently have the best reputation among the Imperial siblings. Out of all of you, you’re the one people consider reasonable."

He began counting on his fingers.

"You were the student council president of the University Tower. You never prioritized social status when treating patients as a licensed medical practitioner. You funded several philanthropic programs across the capital."

Ezra continued speaking as if reading from a prepared list.

"You’re basically the one member of the Imperial Family that people don’t immediately want to hang in the streets."

"Alright, alright." Astrid raised a hand. "Stop embarrassing me..."

Silas chuckled from the side.

"He’s not wrong, though."

Astrid leaned back in her chair and rubbed her temple. "So in other words..."

She looked between the two of them.

"You want me to become the face of a democratic movement that wants to dismantle the very system my family built."

"Pretty much."

Silas tilted his head. "Think of it this way. You’d be the one making sure the country doesn’t completely implode while everyone else fights for the throne."

Astrid let out a quiet breath.

"And the Professor?"

"He already knew something like this would happen."

Astrid’s eyes sharpened. "...You’re sure about that."

Ezra nodded.

"He told us to wait for you."

Following Vanitas Astrea’s thought process, surely this was what he wished for Astrid to do?

* * *

The battlefield along the coast had become a barren wasteland.

The fighting had dragged on for hours. Endless waves of monsters crashed against the defensive lines as the soldiers struggled to hold their ground. These creatures, the so-called Chimeras, showed no fear and no sign of exhaustion.

The battle had seemed endless.

———!

Then suddenly, everything stopped.

The Chimeras froze.

"Huh?"

"They’re not moving?"

"Step back!"

Margaret Illenia tightened her grip on her blade. Only moments ago, she had cut down yet another Chimera that lunged at her from the surf. Now she watched as the rest of the monsters froze in place as if someone had stolen the life from their bodies.

All along the shoreline, the Bundesritter Navy fell silent. They stared at the frozen monsters scattered across the battlefield.

Margaret slowly lowered her sword but did not relax her stance.

"...Could they have succeeded?" someone muttered from the line.

"That must be it."

Another voice answered quickly. With this sudden change, there was only one explanation that made sense. The group that had boarded the Eisenreich to confront the phenomenon behind all of this must have succeeded.

The next moment, someone tapped Margaret on the shoulder.

"...!"

Margaret reacted instantly. Her blade flashed through the air in a swift arc before colliding with steel.

Clang——!

Standing behind her was Franz Barielle Aetherion.

"Woah, easy."

Margaret immediately stepped back and lowered her weapon.

"My apologies, Emperor."

"It’s alright."

Ever since their duel, Franz had been noticeably cautious around her. That match had ended with Margaret’s overwhelming victory, and ever since then, he had been behaving around her like a startled cat that had learned its lesson.

Margaret had made her position clear long ago.

She did not like him. She did not like the way he hung around Vanitas either. But Franz was the Emperor they served, and that reality was unavoidable.

That did not mean she had to enjoy his presence.

Still, professionalism mattered. Margaret knew how to separate personal feelings from the responsibilities of her position.

Franz leaned closer and lowered his voice.

"They’ve succeeded," he whispered. "Or rather... Vanitas did."

Margaret’s eyes narrowed. "What does that mean?"

"Keep your guard up."

He glanced toward the surrounding soldiers.

"In a matter of moments, every blade here will be pointed at us."

"...."