Ritt didn't enjoy killing people. The mages had forced him to do it on a number of occasions, and the act had always left Ritt feeling very hollow inside. But if it was for Sien’s sake… then he could take down any number of people, no matter who they were.

  Yes, the mages had made him do so many, many awful things…

  He could still vividly remember them cutting off his fingers while he was fully conscious, and watching them attach them onto some other person, hoping they would successfully bond onto others’ bodies and cause them to become Padins like him. He could still see the poor test subject twisting and turning, waking up out of the anesthesia due to the terrible pain that just the addition of his monstrously changed digit to their bodies caused. It was a reminder of how inhuman he’d become, watching them squirm and writhe to death, unable to handle what they’d done to him.

  Or what of the many people the mages carved up in front of him, all to test how horribly injured of a person he could save? Ritt had been forced to make wound after wound on himself, pouring drop after drop of blood as he channeled his magic on the poor test subjects, all in the hope that his pain would be their salvation. Even while he kept trying to remember that it was all for the sake of the country’s bright future, he could never get used to watching the slow agonizing suffering of the people in front of him. He’d felt awful at the beginning when he hadn’t been skilled enough with his magic to save the desperately begging subjects. It was for the best that he eventually learned how to handle his healing perfectly; Ritt never truly got used to the feeling of failing to save a life.

  And even then, everyone he’d failed to save had been a stranger to him.

  How would he feel if he had to watch Sien, the one ray of sunlight in his life, flounder and fail silently, all because of the Emperor?

  ~~~

  Ritt awoke barely feeling like he’d gotten any sleep.

  After Sien calmed him down and practically forced him to go to bed, Ritt had a particurly fitful rest, his dreams almost overflowing with the horrors of the past. Perhaps it was because of the uneasy, almost grim feeling that the dreams left behind, or maybe it was because of his renewed resolve to protect his only treasure, but Ritt had stuck closely to Sien all morning. It was to the point that Ritt was only one step away from grabbing onto Sien’s sleeves, like a crying lost child would have.

  Of course, Sien noticed Ritt’s odd behavior, but after the trials of yesterday, he thought Ritt deserved to act as clingy as he liked. They would have to be separated for a while soon anyways, as the morning meeting was about to take pce, and Ritt wouldn’t possibly be allowed to come along, so Sien was rather thankful for the close time together.

  “Mmm… You know, Sien…”

  As they slowly made their way towards the pace’s meeting room, Ritt, who had been subtly frowning ever since they left their room, suddenly spoke up, breaking the somber silence they’d been in.

  “... I think I want to wait for you here, instead of in the room.”

  The awful memories he’d had to review in his dreams st night, combined with the fact that he still didn’t trust royalty by any amount, made Ritt feel vastly uncomfortable being anywhere away from Sien’s side. If he couldn’t be in the same room as Sien, then at the very least he’d wait on the other side of the door, where his keen hearing might be able to detect a trace of him.

  And if, for whatever reason, it seemed that Sien suddenly needed his help, he would dash in there immediately and rescue him.

  “Huh? But what if-”

  “I’ll do my best to not allow His Majesty the Crown Prince to try to pull a trick on me like st time.”

  Ritt knew his words wouldn’t amount to much if the prince of the country he currently resided in decided to order him, but Ritt was also aware of the fact that Sien didn’t seem to be treated as any less powerful in this country than the prince was. From the show that Sien put on yesterday in the ballroom, no matter how much Ritt didn’t agree with his actions, it should have been more than clear to both the prince and his ckeys what would happen if they continued to harass Sien’s pet.

  “Yeah…”

  Sien pulled an uncomfortable, awkward face for a moment, but then sighed and shrugged his shoulders as if having given up.

  “Reece is gonna join us for this meeting anyways, so it’s not like I have to be too worried about him getting to you… I guess just make sure you ignore any weirdos who come sniffing around you or try to talk to you, okay? And if you change your mind, feel free go right back to my room and wait for me there. Oh, and if you need food then feel free to ask one of the maids! But don’t talk to them for too long, or-”

  “I’ll be okay, Sien. I’ll do my best to keep out of trouble.”

  The soft, sweet smile that Ritt was beaming onto him immediately shut Sien up. His mind worked overtime trying to memorize the look on Ritt’s face, stewing over it so hard that he barely registered what was said for the first few minutes of the meeting.

  ~~~

  The meeting hall was filled to the brim with cabinet members, all high tiered aristocrats who were tasked with the protection and prosperity of the nation. And at the back of the room, sitting upon a slightly raised throne that seemed to be judging all of them, the Emperor sat, looking like a hardened authority that wouldn’t tolerate hearing of anything but pertinent business. The attendees spoke of a great many topics for hours and hours on end, but Sien only gave a small fraction of his attention to them, responding only when he felt that he absolutely had to. But when the topic of Brisillica finally came up, Sien almost visibly perked up in his seat.

  “Hmm, it seems the next item on the agenda is Brisillica. There had been reports for quite a while about them busying themselves with forbidden magic. Our spies had confirmed years ago that they were trying to make some kind of uber weapon for them to use against us.”

  “Ah Gods, and? We’ve known for ages about their hateful attitudes towards us. Did something new actually come up, or have they finally given up and realized that they stand no chance?”

  Sien’s eyes narrowed threateningly in the man who’d just spoke’s direction, angered by the interruption. He’d never cared once about the Earl’s bored interruptions before, and even found them a welcome break from the monotony in quite a few of the past meetings. But now he didn’t have a single bit of patience for anything getting in the way of him knowing more about Ritt like he’d been looking forward to.

  Quite a few nobles present noticed the murderous gre, many of them shutting their mouths and cowering, aware of Sien’s heinous reputation. The Earl could only cough awkwardly, unsure of what he’d said wrong to trigger the monster’s wrath, and quickly motioned for the previous speaker to continue talking.

  “...Ah… Ahem, yes, well… Yes, there has indeed been a development… From what our spies are reporting, it seems that something that the mage tower had been keeping top secret has either been stolen or somehow managed to escape. They’ve dispatched many forces to search for whatever it is, and have even sent a few spies of their own into the country to look for it.”

  “They must be checking to see if we had a hand in its disappearance.”

  “Well did we? Does anyone have any information about this?”

  “...If it’s something so disastrous that it would cause them to finally win against us, then shouldn’t we have already been aware of it if we had it?”

  “It’s possible we wouldn’t know, if whatever it is looks like something ordinary. We don’t even know if it’s an object or something living.”

  “Is it maybe possible for our spies to-”

  As the council went around in circles voicing its ideas and specutions, Sien could feel the eyes of the Duke piercing into him. It was obvious what the question that they were asking him would be.

  And Sien, in return, just gave him an evil, gleeful smile back, unafraid of whatever his uncle might be guessing.

  It didn’t matter if anyone else found out about the monster he’d picked up.

  No matter what they did, the monster would still, no matter what, remain firmly in his hands.

  “Enough!”

  It seems the constant bickering in the room had exhausted the Emperor. His voice rang out in almost a roar, immediately silencing everyone present.

  “...It seems we’re getting nowhere like this. We’ll have to give the spies a bit more of a chance to work. There will be more reports within the next three days, so there will be another meeting once further information arises. Stay close and be ready; This might be quite the important subject. I expect all of you to arrive here promptly when I call.”

  Everyone in attendance nodded along to the Emperor’s words, even if some of them clearly looked put off or inconvenienced by the fact that they were being ordered to stay on call in the capital. The Emperor looked across all of them, nodding wisely along as he noted their looks of displeasure.

  “Fear not, I’m not asking you to stick around without fair compensation. In two days I’ll be hosting a party in the hopes of finding a partner for my youngest daughter. I’m sure that’ll be more than enough of a motive for most of you to stay in the capital, now won’t it?”