ACT 4
From the time the boy had first appeared suddenly in front of Felicia, she felt something towards him, felt he was special.
It wasn’t something that could be explained rationally.
Back then, he couldn’t speak; he couldn’t fight; he was weak and frail, constantly sick in bed.
Even as the people around them started to laugh at the boy, mocking him and calling him Sköll, Devourer of Blessings, Felicia’s feelings had never wavered, not even slightly.
It wasn’t something she could admit to other people, but thinking back now, there were times when she almost preferred those early days.
At least back in those days, she could have Yuuto all to herself.
Back then, she had also had a kind older brother, whom she was proud of.
Thinking back on it now, those might possibly have been the happiest days of her life.
However, those peaceful days hadn’t lasted for long.
The boy everyone had scorned as good for nothing had quickly risen in rank, one day suddenly becoming the patriarch of their clan. And just as suddenly, Felicia had become the younger sister of a kinslayer.
Following that incident, many eyes were on her... gazes filled with disdain, with silent, mocking laughter, with pity, with suspicion.
Rumors began to circulate that she had seduced Yuuto to gain her status in the clan, that she served at his side because she was serving his needs in the bedroom. If only that were actually the case!
However, even with all of those challenges, even those difficult days had not been unhappy ones for Felicia.
Indeed, as Yuuto’s adjutant, she was almost always by his side always closest to him.
Eventually, an enemy’s magic spell had forcefully sent Yuuto back to the land beyond the heavens, suddenly parting her from him. But then he had chosen her world over his own, returning to her.
And this time, he had brought his childhood friend with him. (Though she was actually the first to arrive.)
The girl from Yuuto’s world was adorable, and charming.
In addition, she possessed a good heart, and the caliber of a true queen.
Felicia could acknowledge that about her.
She could smile in the girl’s presence.
She could treat the girl with kindness.
And when she’d learned that the girl was pregnant with Yuuto’s child, she had been able to be genuinely happy for them.
She had prepared herself for this outcome.
She had resigned herself to the fact that she wasn’t good enough.
She believed that, someday, the terrible pain in her chest would lessen and subside.
However, with each passing day, it only seemed to hurt worse.
In the morning, Felicia was just getting herself dressed and ready for the day when her patriarch’s voice called out to her from his bedroom next door.
“Felicia, can you come in here?”
This was a lot earlier than usual for him.
A bit surprised, Felicia set down her comb and called back, “Good morning, Big Brother. Is something the matter?”
“It looks like Mitsuki’s got a bit of a fever. Could you take a look at her?”
“Ah...! Yes, of course.” Felicia hurried to the door and entered Yuuto and Mitsuki’s room, still in her nightclothes.
This concerned the health of her master’s betrothed, and the child she carried. Felicia didn’t have time to be concerned with her appearance.
Mitsuki sat on the bed. Her cheeks were flushed and her breathing seemed a bit labored.
“Oh... Felicia, good morning to you. I’m sorry to trouble you so early in the morning,” she said.
“Please, think nothing of it. Sickness is something we all must deal with.” Felicia hurried over to Mitsuki’s side, and placed a hand to her forehead.
She was quite hot.
Felicia knew that a woman’s body temperature often increased during pregnancy, but this was far too hot even after taking that into consideration.
“If I may, I will begin the examination.” After confirming that she had permission, Felicia closed her eyes, and used her mind’s eye to read the flow of ásmegin within Mitsuki.
At the very least, she didn’t sense any other ásmegin from another person.
Actually, there was still the lingering aura from Felicia’s own Gleipnir spell. But aside from that, there was no trace of any curses, or other seiðr magic cast by a third party.
“Lady Mitsuki, answering with just a slight nod is all right: Do you currently feel pain in your throat? And in your head, as well?”
“...!” Mitsuki made no sound, but Felicia saw a look of shock pass over her face for a brief second.
Mitsuki nodded. The question, How did you know? was written all over her face.
“I was able to see a disruption in the flow of ásmegin in your head and throat,” Felicia explained.
Ásmegin was the divine energy that was the source of an Einherjar’s supernatural runic abilities, but it was also life energy, part of what defined the existence of living beings.
An Einherjar was host to a remarkably large quantity of ásmegin, an effect which had dramatic results. However, as living creatures, all ordinary people carried a tiny amount of it within themselves, as well.
If the flow of ásmegin within the body got disrupted somewhere, then that part of the body would see poor health.
“Wow, you can figure that kind of thing out from sensing ásmegin...” Mitsuki blinked several times, clearly impressed.
Mitsuki herself was a twin rune Einherjar, and while she was still lacking in experience in skill, she was capable of casting seiðr magic.
She was probably quite curious about all the potential applications ásmegin might have.
“It is likely that something is causing a bit of mischief in your body,” Felicia said. “However, it does not appear to be too serious, and I think you should recover in two to three days.”
“Something’s ‘causing mischief’?” Mitsuki asked with trepidation. “That sounds scary. What could it be?”
“Ha ha, don’t worry about it,” Yuuto laughed. “Felicia says it’s nothing serious. It’s probably just a normal cold virus or something.”
“Ohh, now I see. So that’s what it is.” Mitsuki accepted Yuuto’s explanation, and breathed a deep sigh of relief.
Felicia had also heard about that so-called “virus” before, from Yuuto. He had once explained to her that they were tiny, tiny life forms, too small for the eye to see, and that they caused illnesses when they invaded the body and disrupted things.
That explanation had shocked Felicia at the time, for until that point she had always believed that illnesses were the work of evil spirits.
“I think I understand the nature of the symptoms now,” she told Mitsuki. “I will go prepare some medicine for you right away.”
Felicia was well-versed in every area, but she was particularly knowledgeable when it came to medicinal herbs.
That was because she had wanted to prepare herself for if Yuuto ever became seriously ill, or if he were ever struck by a weapon coated with poison. She had collected all of the clay tablets she could find with relevant information, and researched them whenever she had a moment of free time.
Judging by Mitsuki’s symptoms, an infusion made with dried mulberry root bark should be an effective treatment. Felicia already had the necessary ingredients in her medicine case in her room.
She immediately began to head for the door, when Mitsuki called out, “W-wait! Please, wait!”
Felicia stopped. “Yes?” she asked.
“If possible, um, I’d prefer not to take any medicines.” As she said this, she placed one hand protectively on her belly.
Once again, Felicia felt a twinge of pain in her heart. But even stronger was the admiration she felt for Mitsuki, for putting the safety of Yuuto’s unborn child ahead of her own relief from pain.
“I see,” Felicia replied. “It is true that medicines meant for adults can sometimes be too strong for a baby.”
“Right,” said Mitsuki, nodding. “I know I might just be worrying too much, though.”
Felicia shook her head. “No, I understand your feelings perfectly well. In that case, we shall limit the treatment to directed prayer.”
“Huh?” Mitsuki gave Felicia a puzzled look. She then turned to look at Yuuto, as if appealing to him for help.
Yuuto gave a wry chuckle, and shrugged his shoulders. “Hey, I know how you feel,” he said. “But, think about it. You’ve seen the power of galdr and seiðr magic for yourself. There’s nothing bogus about this stuff, so you can relax. It actually works really good for pain.” He patted his own stomach with a hand. “Trust me, I would know.”
When Yuuto had first come to Yggdrasil, he had come down with severe stomach illnesses and diarrhea over and over, and each time, Felicia had tended to him, including with directed prayer.
This was the reason that Yuuto often said that without Felicia’s help, he would have died during that time.
“U-um, well, okay. Please go ahead, then.” Mitsuki reluctantly gave Felicia her permission. She probably still didn’t trust in it herself, but she trusted Yuuto when he said that it would work.
Felicia smiled slightly. It brought back memories of Yuuto in those first days. At first, he had been very suspicious of the use of prayer, too.
Felicia returned to Mitsuki’s side. “My lady, please relax your body as much as possible. Try to keep your muscles limp, and your heart calm.” Felicia placed her hands on Mitsuki’s head and throat.
The disruption in the flow of ásmegin in a part of the body was leading to pain and abnormalities developing there.
Therefore, one needed to redirect the ásmegin there into its proper flow. While that might not physically remove a virus from the body, it would at least subdue the pain in those areas.
“Oh Ymir, father to us all. Oh Angrboða, mother to us all.” As Felicia recited the words of the prayer, she began to synchronize her own ásmegin to Mitsuki’s. “Return purity to the flow of... ngh?!”
Suddenly, she stopped and physically leapt backwards away from Mitsuki, panting.
“Haahh... haahh... haahh... haahh...”
“Wh-what’s wrong, Felicia?!” Yuuto shouted. “You look white as a sheet... I-is it a more serious sickness than you originally thought?!”
“N-no, no, it is not that, please do not worry. It is just... Big Sister Mitsuki’s ásmegin was so powerful that it overwhelmed me, and I was almost swallowed up by it...”
It had actually been a very close call just now.
Inexperienced though she was, Mitsuki was still a twin rune Einherjar. The amount of ásmegin energy flowing within her body was incalculably massive.
When Felicia had tried to synchronize with it, it was as if she’d been suddenly swept up into a torrential flood, and in that instant she’d feared that her mind itself would be swept away.
In fact, she suspected that if she had been one second late in disconnecting from Mitsuki, that was exactly what would have happened.
“I am very sorry, Big Brother,” Felicia said ruefully. “It appears that with my meager powers, I cannot help.”
Sigh... Felicia looked down at the ground.
“Hey, how many sighs is that now?” Yuuto asked. “Don’t beat yourself up about it. She’s a twin rune Einherjar, right? There’s nothing you can do about that.”
“I... do know that is the case, but...” Felicia felt grateful for Yuuto’s words, but it wasn’t enough to clear the dark clouds from her heart.
Nowadays, she was constantly being reminded of just how much power she lacked compared to others.
First, she had failed in her attempts to re-summon Yuuto to Yggdrasil with her magic. Then, after his return, she had failed to even put up the slightest real resistance against Skáviðr in a swordfight. Even if it was a mock battle, it had been a humiliating defeat for her as a fighter.
Then, just the other day, she had been taken by surprise and knocked aside by a sudden attack from a newbie Einherjar. And now this morning, she’d failed to even relieve a sick person’s pain, something she could normally do without difficulty.
Felicia was well aware of her strengths and weaknesses as a “jack of all trades, master of none” Einherjar. She understood that her broad skills and knowledge necessarily meant that she would fail to measure up to a true master specialist in any one particular area.
But even so, she’d believed that she’d at least developed herself to a decent level of skill and expertise in the things she could do. Having that confidence broken over and over left her with a feeling of self-loathing that wouldn’t go away.
“Let’s just focus on getting our work done today, okay?” Yuuto asked. “That’s what Mitsuki told us to do.”
“...Right.”
Mitsuki had chastised them both, saying, “If Yuu-kun takes the day off, it’ll cause trouble for a lot of people, right? Go on.” She’d halfway kicked the two of them out of the room.
Ephelia was still in morning classes. Another female servant would be attending to Mitsuki in the meantime, but it was hard not to worry about her.
“Okay! Let us do our best.” Felicia slapped herself on the cheeks a few times to psyche herself up, and then began working through the clay tablets on the desk.
There were a lot of messages that arrived addressed to Yuuto every day.
Reading through them and checking their contents, and then describing the contents to Yuuto, was part of Felicia’s job as his adjutant.
“This one is a missive from the Flame Clan patriarch,” she said.
“Ahh, that’s right, while we were out chasing down the Panther Clan, he was stirring things up with the Lightning Clan.” A slight crease formed in Yuuto’s brow.
According to the reports that had come in previously, the result of that battle had been the Lightning Clan’s victory, and they’d seized Fort Waganea from the Flame Clan.
Yuuto was a dutiful man, true to his word. He felt a bit guilty that his arrangement with the Flame Clan had caused them to pay such a heavy price, considering that all he had given them were a few material gifts.
“I will read the message as written,” said Felicia. “‘We will soon make war with the Lightning Clan. When that happens, we would like you to move in with your own troops, as well. Even just fielding enough to occupy the enemy is enough. No need to actually engage with them in full combat. Signed, Flame Clan patriarch.’ ...Erm, I wonder how this is supposed to be read?”
“Hm, what’s up? Is the writing too sloppy to read?”
“No, it isn’t that, but more like... some sort of strangely-designed seal instead of the name. A personal symbol, perhaps? The format of the message in general was also very odd. It seems this Flame Clan patriarch is the type who loves to stand out.”
“Ohh, right, now that you mention it, the message doesn’t have that formal, ‘Inform so-and-so, I am so-and-so’ part at the beginning,” Yuuto said.
“Yes,” Felicia said. “And if I may speak frankly, I think it is written far too disrespectfully.” She made her displeasure clear, turning aside with a pouting frown.
Yuuto was known as the reginarch, or “great lord,” to many, and in fact controlled multiple nations, which should command respect from other leaders. Sending a message to him with such informal wording was akin to making a fool of him.
Felicia was normally moderate and polite, but right now she was pretty angry about this.
“Hey, hey, it’s no big deal,” Yuuto said. “And we do owe the Flame Clan a favor on this one.”
Whatever her feelings, he didn’t seem to care at all about the lack of ceremony in the document, preferring to get right to focusing on its contents.
That tolerance was one quality that marked him as a truly great ruler in Felicia’s eyes, but it also made her even more angry at the Flame Clan patriarch.
“All right, this is an important matter,” Yuuto said. “Felicia, call together the Steel Clan high officers who are currently in Gimlé for a meeting. We’ll discuss what to do.”
Once Yuuto finished describing the Flame Clan’s message and their request for reinforcements, it was Sigrún who responded first.
“Attacking the Lightning Clan along with the Flame Clan, you say. That sounds just fine, Father. I’m eager to put my skills to work for you.”
During the most recent war with the Lightning Clan, Yuuto had used the “empty fortress” strategy against them successfully at first, fending off any further invasion. But the Lightning Clan had still recaptured all of the territory the Wolf Clan had taken from them after the First Battle of Élivágar River.
If one looked just at the results, the enemy had invaded territory all the way up close to Gimlé, pillaging the surrounding lands. One could say that Yuuto’s side had lost more resources.
For Sigrún in particular, she had faced Steinþórr in combat three times now, and suffered an unquestionable and total defeat each time.
She wanted the chance to avenge her grudge against him, and this seemed like the perfect opportunity.
“Yeah, you’re right,” Yuuto said. “I’m getting pretty sick and tired of always having to go to war with that idiot. I’m thinking maybe this might be the chance we need to shut him up for good...”
Yuuto was nodding in agreement with Sigrún, but then he hesitated. He looked over to his second-in-command, Linnea.
Everyone else in the room turned their gazes toward her, as well.
Linnea thought silently for a moment, staring at a single point on the table in front of her, with a very grave expression.
At last, she looked up at Yuuto and said, “I have to say I’m against it. Right now, the Steel Clan is dealing with a serious food shortage, and a large-scale military campaign will put severe additional strain on the citizens.”
“So it’ll have really painful results, then?” Yuuto asked.
“Yes,” Linnea replied. “Even right now, we are barely scraping by. We would have to start buying up the food on the open market to supply the campaign, and if we did that, we will see more and more people suffering from starvation. Even from a financial standpoint, it is honestly questionable if it’s possible.”
“Yeah, that makes sense, since we’ve been fighting constantly for a while.” Yuuto let out a pained sigh.
They’d need equipment and food supplies, of course, but then there was payment. The soldiers they took to war needed to be compensated fairly for risking their lives in battle. Making war demanded huge expenses.
Since the start of spring this year, they had fought three large-scale military campaigns in a very short period of time. And they hadn’t gained all that much wealth to show for it.
Technically, the Steel Clan had captured a large swath of territory in the western Álfheimr region, but because of their enemy’s scorched-earth strategy, they were currently stuck with even more strain financing its restoration.
The Steel Clan might make a hefty profit from glasswares, paper, and other proprietary products and technologies, but there was an upper limit to what that could cover, and they’d reached it.
“Hmm.” Jörgen frowned. “Still, it would be a waste to let such a great opportunity as this just pass us by.” He crossed his arms and furrowed his brow.
Ever since Yuuto became patriarch of the Wolf Clan, Jörgen had been his dependable right-hand man, using his considerable political and leadership skills to make things work smoothly in the Wolf Clan capital. And he was still lending his expertise to Yuuto now, as the assistant second-in-command of the Steel Clan.
Just like Linnea, Jörgen was fully aware of the difficult situation facing the Wolf Clan and the other clans, but even then, he couldn’t let go of how tempting this chance seemed.
“...Yeah, you’re right.” Yuuto sighed, and rested his chin on one hand.
On the battlefield, Steinþórr was an undefeatable warrior. It was an exercise in futility to try to take that monster head-on.
And so, the best path was to attack Steinþórr’s army from multiple directions, pull his forces out so they were spread over a wide area, and thus reduce the Lightning Clan patriarch’s ability to influence the battle with his own individual strength.
That was the basic strategy for countering the Lightning Clan.
And a cooperative attack with the Flame Clan fit quite neatly into those conditions.
“I beg your pardon for interrupting your meeting!” A young soldier shouted nervously as he hastened into the room.
He made a beeline for Felicia, and handed her a scrap of paper, gave a quick bow to the room, then left.
“Ah...!” As Felicia scanned the message, her eyes went wide.
“What does it say?” Yuuto asked, sitting up straight again.
The air around him grew heavier, and sharper. He could tell from her reaction that it was something major.
“It is a message from Ginnar, who is currently traveling and staying with the Flame Clan,” Felicia said. “He reports that they have launched another incursion against the Lightning Clan.”
“Pff! Ahaha!” Yuuto’s eyes widened, but then he burst out laughing. “Well it looks like someone’s a little too impatient to wait for a reply!”
Across the table, Jörgen was furious. “It is not a laughing matter, Father! He sent us the request, and then advanced his troops without even bothering to wait for our response! He is showing us disrespect!”
Felicia nodded sternly at Jörgen’s words.
Combined with the unceremonious language in the message the Flame Clan patriarch had sent, this was downright offensive.
“Hey now, just calm down, Jörgen,” Yuuto said.
“How can I be calm about this, Father?! This is the honor of the Steel Clan we are talking about here!”
“No, I still think you should calm down and think about this again. He didn’t wait for our reply to his request before advancing his troops. That means he was never even counting on our assistance to begin with.”
“Yes, Father, that is exactly it. They are taking us lightly...” Jörgen began, but Yuuto held up a hand.
“Look, the Flame Clan has already fought the Lightning Clan once. In other words, they’ve seen firsthand the ridiculous power possessed by that idiot Steinþórr. And despite that, they still decided that they didn’t need our help.”
“Ah...!” Jörgen gasped, his eyes wide.
The room went quiet, except for the sounds of several people swallowing nervously.
Felicia slowly raised a hand. “Perhaps this... and the disrespectful tone of their message... simply means that they overestimate their own strength, and underestimate that of the Battle-Hungry Tiger, Dólgþrasir. Could that not be the case?”
Felicia had fought Steinþórr firsthand on the battlefield, and she knew all too well how superhuman his power was.
Along with both the current and previous Mánagarmr, she had been one of the seven Einherjar who had tried to surround Steinþórr and fight him all at once. He’d repelled them easily, and it was almost a traumatic memory for her.
It was simply too hard to imagine that a monster like that would be defeated on the field by anyone other than Yuuto.
“I can’t deny that possibility,” Yuuto said in response. “But, fortunately, the request says all we have to do is put in enough troops to help divert and occupy the enemy’s forces. That would be enough to satisfy the debt we owe the Flame Clan. Whether the Flame Clan wins their battle or not, the Lightning Clan will suffer losses for certain. That’s plenty good for us.” Yuuto’s lips curled into a grin.
Ordinarily, Yuuto was a kind, and warm person who wanted to avoid war as much as possible. But from time to time, he showed this more ruthless side of himself.
Of course, if he hadn’t had that aspect of himself from the beginning, he wouldn’t have been able to conquer the lands from Bifröst all the way to the Álfheimr coast.
“Linnea!” Yuuto called.
“Yes, sir!”
“How many soldiers could you feasibly mobilize before it becomes untenable?”
“Umm... let’s see.” Linnea thought for a moment, doing calculations in her head. “Two thousand... no, we could put three thousand into play, I think.”
Felicia didn’t react aloud, but inwardly she was astonished by this.
She’d gone over the majority of the data related to the food supply issue, and had an understanding of the situation. Rather than “scraping by” as Linnea said, it seemed more to Felicia like they were already at the point where they didn’t have enough to get by.
And now Linnea was saying that even in this situation, she could find the resources to mobilize a force of three thousand soldiers. Honestly, it didn’t sound believable at all.
But this girl didn’t make empty or dishonest boasts. If she was saying she could do it, then she could do it.
“All right, then. Rún!”
“Yes, Father!”
“You’ll lead the three thousand into Lightning Clan territory. But remember, you’re only trying to distract the enemy. Don’t go in too deep or fully engage. And especially if that idiot shows up, you get out of there immediately.”
“Yes, sir!” Sigrún’s response was brisk as ever, but Felicia’s keen senses still noticed the very tiniest hint of a delay.
It wasn’t that Sigrún didn’t understand the difference in strength between herself and her enemy. She surely knew better than anyone that she couldn’t defeat Steinþórr.
But although she knew that fact, it wasn’t the same as being able to accept it.
She’d just heard Yuuto, of all people, basically tell her that she couldn’t win against Steinþórr. Sigrún had sworn herself to Yuuto as his sword, and it must feel shameful to be unable to strike down his enemy.
Yuuto, for his part, seemed to see through to what Sigrún must be feeling, for he came close to her and put a hand on her head, stroking it gently.
“It’s not that I don’t believe in your strength. In fact, it’s because I do rely on you so much that I don’t want to take the chance of losing you in this petty little battle. Okay?”
“Yes, Father!” Sigrún shouted her reply with all of her energy.
A bystander might not see anything different in Sigrún’s appearance, for she had her usual stone-faced expression. But Felicia knew her well, and she could tell that the girl had completely regained her spirits.
Doesn’t take more than a little reward to motivate her, does it? Felicia thought.
Of course, Felicia herself often found her happiness and disappointment hanging on Yuuto’s remarks just as often, so she had no room to criticize.
Suddenly, Linnea spoke up, her voice shrill and quavering a bit. “U-um, Big Bro—I mean, Father!”
“Hm? What is it?” Yuuto asked.
“U-um, getting the supplies necessary for three thousand soldiers is actually a pretty hard thing to do.”
“Oh. Hm, then should we reduce our force to two thousand, then?”
“Ah, no! Um, what I mean to say is, I am going to work really hard!”
“Yeah, thanks. I know it’s going to be hard for you, but give it your best, all right?”
“...Right.” Linnea seemed to wilt, her shoulders drooping.
Yuuto tilted his head, confused at why she looked so disappointed.
Chuckling, Felicia decided to speak up. “Big Brother. Lady Linnea is hoping that you will pat her head, too.”
“Huh?” Yuuto paused, then looked back at Linnea.
Linnea’s face started getting redder and redder, and she looked down bashfully.
But after a moment, she seemed to gather her resolve, and looked up again, meeting Yuuto’s eyes.
“Y-yes, if you would, please!” she shouted.
“U-uh, right. Well, I mean, fine with me. But if you want to ask for a favor, there are better things you can ask for, you know.” Yuuto seemed mystified by this situation, but he walked over to Linnea, and stroked her head, gently ruffling her hair.
Yuuto couldn’t see Linnea’s face under his hand, but Felicia could. She looked as happy as she could ever be.
“I suppose this is just more proof of the quality of Big Brother’s character,” Felicia mused to herself, smiling gently at the scene.
Linnea and Sigrún were the clan’s strongest masters of martial combat and administration, respectively. But they were willing to give everything of themselves for the promise of a pat on the head.
Ordinarily, high-performing officers would receive expensive material rewards, or land, or special titles and privileges. But the Steel Clan was enjoying the benefits of great talent at quite the bargain price.
Once the meeting was over, Yuuto had some spare time, so he and Felicia went to check on Mitsuki together.
Felicia opened the door ever-so-slowly, and looked for any movement coming from the bed. If Mitsuki was sleeping, she wanted to do what she could to not wake her up.
The bedroom was dark, but one of Felicia’s abilities as an Einherjar was impressive night vision.
“It would seem she is asleep,” Felicia said.
“Okay, then. Let’s make sure we’re quiet,” Yuuto whispered, as he also peeked into the room.
Sleep was one of the best medicines for most illnesses.
If the two of them accidentally woke Mitsuki up, they’d be doing her more harm than good.
“...?” The servant watching over Mitsuki seemed to sense Yuuto and Felicia. Perhaps she had heard them whispering. She turned to face them, and bowed.
She was a woman who looked to be in her late twenties, with a very calm demeanor. She was also quite beautiful.
Yuuto made his way quietly over to her, and whispered, “Hey, Raphina. How’s Mitsuki looking?”
“She still has a high fever. She finished her supper and went to sleep just a short while ago.”
“I see. Have you been with her the whole time? Thanks for taking care of her.”
“Oh, no, Lady Mitsuki has been so kind as to give my daughter such special treatment, and I owe her so much in gratitude. This is the least I can do.”
Looking at Raphina’s face, Felicia noted how she bore a strong resemblance to her daughter Ephelia. Or, rather, it would be more appropriate to say that it was Ephelia who strongly resembled her mother.
If Ephelia was going to grow up to be just as beautiful as this woman in another ten years... it was almost a scary prospect.
“Good, it sounds like she was able to eat, at least,” Yuuto whispered. He was looking over at a side table, which held a small, empty bowl.
Just as Raphina said, it looked like Mitsuki had only just finished her meal. The empty bowl was still slightly wet.
Mitsuki had really been struggling with trying to eat for a while, but now she was back to eating somewhat normal portions.
Raphina nodded. “Yes, although it seems that cold food has not been very enjoyable for her, either.”
“Well, that’s a given.” Yuuto shrugged his shoulders, a bitter smile on his face.
After experimenting with a variety of different foods, they’d finally hit upon the main trigger for Mitsuki’s nausea attacks. Apparently it was heat and steam.
The humidity and scent of hot, freshly-cooked food seemed to be the cause.
And so, Mitsuki was forced to eat only food that had gone cold.
There was nothing they could really do about it except deal with it, and she was making sure to eat what she was given. But Mitsuki was a girl who loved to cook. By extension, she also loved the taste of good cooking, and warm meals were one of the highlights of her day. So not being able to eat any hot, freshly-cooked food was really stressful for her.
“If we were in Japan, there’d be a lot of food I could get for her that’s really tasty even if it’s chilled. Because of me, she’s having to go through some real hard times, huh?” Yuuto gave a sad smile, and knelt down beside Mitsuki. He stared at her face with worry in his eyes, and then he gently stroked her head.
In that instance, Felicia felt a sharp pain lance her heart.
Patting someone on the head was a habit of Yuuto’s. It was his natural way of showing that he appreciated someone and cared for them.
It was something Felicia saw all the time. There shouldn’t be anything strange about it. Why, just a short while ago, he’d done it to Sigrún and Linnea.
But while Felicia had felt nothing unpleasant watching it happen with those two, right now, she felt a deep and agonizing pain.
For these past three years, Felicia had been the closest person to Yuuto, always at his side. And so, that was why she could tell how this was different.
The way he stroked her hair, the look in his eyes, the expression on his face... they were all a different sort of love than the kind he showed to anyone else.
“Why am I not good enough...?” she whispered.
“Huh?” Yuuto turned to look at Felicia. With a start, Felicia came back to her senses.
She’d just whispered her feelings out loud. What was she doing?!
She hurriedly did the best she could to come up with an excuse. “O-oh, no, erm. I was just frustrated that I am not powerful enough to do something to alleviate her pain.”
It was a terrible lie.
She hadn’t been thinking anything of the sort.
“Are you still going on about that?” Yuuto asked. “Look, a few days of rest and she’ll be fine. You don’t need to worry about it.”
She’d been lying, which was why she wished he wouldn’t respond by smiling at her so kindly.
She also wished he wouldn’t pat her gently on the head like this. It just made the difference between them even more clear.
The thoughts that she was always trying to drive away began circling in her mind again.
Why wasn’t she good enough? Why couldn’t it be her instead?
She knew Yuuto better than Mitsuki did, anyway.
She was more useful to Yuuto than Mitsuki.
She could love Yuuto more, could devote herself to him more completely.
Felicia shook her head, tried to shake those terrible thoughts from her mind, but they wouldn’t disappear.
She shuddered at herself, at how shallow and petty she was being.
Her mind understood the truth of the situation.
She understood that for the whole three years, Yuuto had constantly devoted his love to Mitsuki, and her only.
She wanted to wish the two of them happiness. She intended to do so. She thought she had succeeded.
But now, every time she watched Yuuto interact with Mitsuki, it felt like it was tearing at her heart.
Under the light of a single torch, Felicia climbed the dark stairwell.
This place, Nari Tower, was tucked away in a far corner of the northern end of Gimlé’s palace grounds. It was a prison tower reserved especially for those of high status.
Handling a prisoner of high rank or status too roughly or with disrespect would reflect poorly on a clan’s honor. Because of that, this prison was supplied with higher-quality food and furnishings than could be found in the home of an average citizen.
Of course, entering and leaving the tower and its cells was another matter. Security was extremely tight.
Felicia reached the third story, the top floor, where he was waiting.
“Hi, Felicia. Good job on your work today,” the masked man called out nonchalantly to Felicia from the other side of the heavy wooden bars of his cell.
This was Rungr, the previous patriarch of the Panther Clan.
For years, he had nurtured a grudge against Yuuto’s and the Wolf Clan, and had worked to destroy them. Now, he spent his days locked away in this tower.
His original name had been Loptr, and he was Felicia’s biological older brother.
When Felicia finished all of her work, she would come up here at night to check on him. It had become something of a nightly routine of late.
“The inside of a cell is quite boring, so I always look forward to seeing your face,” Rungr said cheerfully.
It was the same kind, jovial tone of voice she remembered from when he had been the second-in-command of the Wolf Clan so long ago.
She looked at his eyes, staring out from inside his iron mask. When she had encountered him on the swampy fields of Náströnd, those eyes had been bloodshot and filled with a sick anger. But now, they looked calm, as if whatever demon that had possessed him had left.
That, in and of itself, really irritated her.
“I see. Well, I do not look forward to it one bit.” Felicia spat the words at him coldly, scowling.
All because of her brother’s jealous and selfish acts, she had suffered so much, borne such a heavy burden.
Because of her brother, Yuuto had spent his days painfully regretting the past, tormenting himself over it.
And despite all that, here he was sitting comfortably in this cell, grinning. Of course it upset her.
“But you still come and see me,” Rungr said.
“You’re the only living family I have left, even if you’re awful. I don’t really have a choice but to look after you, now do I?”
“Hm? You know, you seem a tad more on edge than usual today. You don’t look too well, either. Did something happen today that upset you?”
“No, nothing at all happened!” Felicia reflexively denied it, but her voice was too emotionally charged. It was the same as admitting she was lying.
This was her brother, the man who had lived with her for fifteen years. Naturally, he would pick up on it.
“It’s got to be something about Yuuto, right?” Rungr asked. “He’s a devoted man, and that might sound good, but he was never good at dealing with how other people feel about him, after all.”
“Don’t you dare insult Big Brother, or I won’t forgive you, you hear?!”
“Ohh, scary. But I’m also right, aren’t I?”
“No, you’re wrong. Really wrong.” Felicia turned aside with a mocking “Hmph!”
Indeed, her brother was wrong. He had it backwards, even.
“It’s got nothing to do with Big Brother Yuuto,” she insisted. “It’s a problem with me.”
“Hm, a problem with you yourself. That would mean, in summary, you haven’t been able to accept the wife he brought back from his home world. And your own shallowness and jealousy is so ugly that you can’t stand it. Does that sound about right?”
“Wha?!” Felicia was dumbstruck. The guess wasn’t just correct, it was precise, too.
She should have expected nothing less of him, though. Yuuto had often said: “His ability to ascertain a person’s weakness and strike at it is phenomenal.” It was an ability that he could use just as well outside of the battlefield.
Felicia couldn’t say anything back to him; her mouth opened and closed like that of a fish out of water.
Sensing he’d won, Rungr laughed. “Heh heh, it looks like I’ve guessed correctly, then. If I could maybe give you some advice, as someone who’s been down a similar path: Don’t go too far trying to seal away those feelings inside, and trying to act like a good person.”
“I’m not trying to...”
“But you are, aren’t you? You can’t forgive yourself for having dark or ugly feelings, and so you refuse to acknowledge them. You try to pretend they’re not there.”
“Ngh...!” Felicia tried to respond, but she couldn’t say anything.
It was because, again, he was right.
“Keep doing that, and nothing good is going to come out of it, trust me,” said Rungr. “Those impure feelings will just stagnate even more deeply inside you, and eventually they’ll rot you from the inside out. You need to be honest with yourself about your feelings.”
“What are you trying to do here?” Felicia asked in a strangled voice. “Let me guess, you want to get inside my head, get me thinking how you want, and then trick me into helping you escape this place. Is that it?”
“Huh? I’ve never even considered doing something like that. This place is perfect for me.”
“Just a moment ago, you said it was boring here.”
“Yes, and that’s what also makes this the perfect place to reexamine myself. There’s nothing else for me to do, after all.” With a wry chuckle, Rungr shrugged.
Trying to argue with this man was like trying to wrestle the wind.
Even back in his days as Loptr, he’d been well known as someone with a personality that was hard to pin down. A man whom you couldn’t tell what he was really thinking. But Felicia had known that her older brother also had ambition burning inside him.
But now, it was like all of that fire was gone. He had the presence of an old hermit, or someone who’d discarded the world.
“We are siblings, after all,” said Rungr. “I can tell. Right now, you resemble how I was back then.”
“I would never, never betray Big Brother Yuuto, the way you did!”
“Of course not. But the one you’re so jealous of isn’t Yuuto, is it?”
“Ugh...!” For the third time in a row, Felicia’s inner heart was exposed, and she couldn’t say anything in response.
She couldn’t help but realize that it was the truth.
And despite it being so simple, she had tried not to see it, had tried to change the subject and make it about Yuuto, or something else. She’d unconsciously been trying not to think about Mitsuki.
She might as well have been trying to tie her heart into a knot.
It was vexing to admit, but it was just as Rungr said.
If she kept going as she was now, the gap between reality and her twisted perception of it would get greater and greater, and at some point, she’d fall apart.
“Well, if my own bitter experiences can teach you anything, it’s that you should actually talk about these things,” said Rungr. “Your feelings get distorted because you lock them up. Sometimes you need to let them air out. You understand what I mean?”
“...I may keep what you said in mind.” Felicia couldn’t just accept this advice from him openly. It felt wrong. So she ended up giving him a response that was less positive, and less honest.
But this was her brother. He was perceptive.
She was sure that he would be able to see right through her, anyway.
Felicia suddenly realized that she’d returned to her room.
She’d come back here without even thinking. Her daily routine had come in handy, at least.
She walked over to her bed as if pulled to it, and sat down.
“He says ‘talk about it,’ but that’s easier said than done.” Felicia stared listlessly up into space.
Ever since Yuuto returned from the land beyond the heavens, he seemed to be shouldering some sort of heavy burden.
Telling Yuuto about these feelings of hers would mean placing even more of a burden on him in addition to that.
Mitsuki had given her permission for Yuuto to have concubines, but once that actually happened, she would certainly find it unpleasant.
And being early in her pregnancy meant this was an important time for her health. She shouldn’t be dealing with any extra, undue stress.
Indeed, if Felicia was going to confess her feelings, she would be better off waiting until a more appropriate time.
“I’m just making silly excuses for myself,” she sighed. “At this rate, it won’t matter how much time passes. I won’t ever be able to say it. In the end, I’m just indecisive and selfish.” Felicia gave a small, dry chuckle at her own expense.
She was afraid.
Afraid that she would lose the relationship with Yuuto that she had now.
If she could continue to hide and suppress her unpleasant feelings, then she could always stay as Yuuto’s adjutant, as his closest confidant. She could stay at his side.
If she came out and spoke to him honestly, and things got awkward or ugly, then she wouldn’t be able to stay close to him anymore. She might not even be allowed to interact with him anymore.
But even so, it was painful to watch Yuuto and Mitsuki being so intimate with each other.
It felt like her heart was being torn in two from the pain, and she also felt the dark emotions churning deep down within her as well, growing worse by the day.
If she kept quiet, then sooner or later, she wouldn’t be able to stay close to Yuuto, anyway.
“What am I supposed to do...?!” Felicia spat out the words in bitter frustration. She was usually a very calm woman. It was unlike her to act like this.
She already knew the answer.
It was just as her brother had said. She needed to open up about her feelings, and then have a serious discussion with them about what to do from here on.
But still, she was afraid of losing their relationship.
She couldn’t screw up the courage to move forward.
She wanted to maintain this lukewarm relationship if she could, as disappointing as it was sometimes.
She just wanted to be together with Yuuto.
She didn’t want to have to leave him.
Her thoughts spun in circles... and then, she heard a voice.
“Oh, Felicia, you’re back?” The door to the room next door opened, and Mitsuki peeked through. She was wearing only her nightclothes.
“Yes, just a moment ago,” Felicia said. “How are you feeling? A little better?”
“Yes, thankfully. I’m back up to full strength.” Mitsuki held up both arms and flexed, giggling cheerfully.
It was just as she said; the heated red tinge had faded from her face, and she looked much healthier.
That happy, carefree smile of Mitsuki’s irked Felicia. But of course, she didn’t let it show.
“Did you need something from me?” Felicia asked politely.
“Yeah, can you come with me for a second? I need you to help me get Yuu-kun into bed.”
“Big Brother?” Felicia furrowed her brow, but stood up to follow.
Mitsuki didn’t seem to be acting like it was an emergency, but this was about Yuuto, Felicia’s beloved sworn brother. Helping him always came first.
Wondering what could be the matter, Felicia entered Yuuto’s bedroom to find him sitting in a chair next to the bed, slumped forward with his face down on the bed, fast asleep and snoring.
Most likely, he had been sitting by Mitsuki’s side, watching over her, and had fallen asleep that way.
“If he stays like this, I’m worried he might pull a muscle or something, you know?” Mitsuki said. “But I couldn’t bring myself to wake him up.”
“I see.” Felicia nodded and gently righted Yuuto’s torso, then put an arm under his legs and lifted him up off of the chair.
She picked him up in her arms as easily as if she were picking up a cat.
Felicia was slender, but she was an Einherjar. Her physical strength was much greater than that of the average person.
“Pfff! Ahaha! You’re carrying him like a princess!” Mitsuki burst out laughing, and then took out her smartphone and began operating it. It started making some clicking noises.
If Felicia’s memory served, that was the noise it made when it was taking “photographs,” still images of a frozen moment in time, forever preserved.
She was busying herself preserving images of her lover being held in the arms of another woman... Felicia truly did not understand this girl.
“I’ll go ahead and lay him down now,” Felicia said.
“Ah, right, please and thank you.” Mitsuki hurriedly put the smartphone away, and then pulled aside the blankets for Felicia.
Felicia gently set Yuuto down into the open space, and Mitsuki put the blanket back over him.
“He didn’t wake up at all, huh?” Mitsuki commented.
“He must surely be very tired. He has always been very devoted to his work, but more recently he has been especially driven, I should think.”
“You think so too, huh, Felicia?”
“Do you mean to say that you do not know the reason either, Big Sister Mitsuki?” Felicia was a bit surprised by this.
She had been sure that Yuuto would have at least told Mitsuki about whatever secret was burdening him.
“Nope,” said Mitsuki. “He won’t tell me anything. Yuu-kun, he has a strong sense of responsibility. But you know him. He also always tends to try to take everything onto himself.”
Mitsuki pouted as she said this and playfully poked Yuuto’s cheek with a finger.
It was a little gesture that should have symbolized how close the two of them were, a sign of intimacy.
But despite that, seeing it made something in Felicia snap.
This was an important issue, wasn’t it?
It wasn’t something Mitsuki should be able to simply joke about.
“If you can’t even share your concerns with each other, then how can you call yourselves husband and wife?!” It was only after Felicia shouted the words that she realized what she’d done.
Normally, she should have been able to respond to Mitsuki with a smile, and follow with some vaguely supportive statement of her own.
But after having that frustrating conversation with her brother in the tower, it was as if she’d lost some of the ability to rein in her emotions.
She needed to apologize, right now. She needed to say, “Please forgive me for saying something so impertinent.” She knew that, but the next words out of her mouth were completely the opposite.
“You are supposed to be supporting him,” Felicia snarled. “If you can’t do that right, then I can’t entrust my Big Brother to someone like you!”
Felicia was saying this to the wife of the reginarch. Mitsuki was someone far above Felicia in station. Speaking to her as if she had a right to decide these things was beyond offensive. It was unforgivable.
And yet... Mitsuki humbly lowered her head to Felicia, bowing deeply.
“Thank you, Felicia. You are truly a kind person. I will take your advice to heart.”
When Mitsuki raised her head back up to look at Felicia, her eyes were full of genuine respect.
Felicia’s conscience burned. She wasn’t anything like the kind person Mitsuki said she was. Her words hadn’t come from kindness or concern. They had come from jealousy. From the feelings within her that shouted, You had the honor of being chosen by Yuuto, and you’re not worthy!
“W-well, as long as you understand, then.” Ashamed, Felicia averted her eyes.
But Mitsuki gripped her hand. “Ever since I came to this world, you’ve always looked out for me.”
“N-no, no, I didn’t really...”
“No, you did! From helping me speak the language, to understanding ásmegin, to teaching me all sorts of little things necessary in daily life. And when I couldn’t eat, you went out of your way to find something that I could keep down. And you even scolded me like this, trying to help me be better. No one else could ever do for me what you’ve done. I can never thank you enough.”
“P-please, stop. You do not need to thank me,” Felicia pleaded. But the words were not spoken out of humility. They were her honest feelings.
Indeed, she had done nothing worthy of Mitsuki’s gratitude.
She’d done none of it for Mitsuki, after all. It had all been for Yuuto’s sake.
“No, that’s unacceptable,” said Mitsuki. “If there’s anything I can do for you in return, I’ll do it, no matter what it is. So you just need to tell me. After all, it’s pretty much thanks to you that Yuu-kun and I could finally be together.”
“Ngh...!” In that moment, the dam in Felicia’s heart broke.
It was the thought that she had spent all of this time trying to help the man she loved, only to help him end up with another woman. She was a fool. A joke.
And she was hearing the confirmation of it from her rival for his heart. There was nothing so humiliating.
“All right, then,” Felicia snarled. “I want you to give me Big Brother Yuuto.”
“Huh?”
“What I want is Big Brother Yuuto. He is all I want. As long as I can have him, I don’t need anything else. And yet, and yet you...! You are the only one that is in his heart. It’s unfair. I love him, too! In fact, I am sure I love him at least as much as you do, Big Sister Mitsuki!”
Felicia was aware the things she was saying were pretty far gone.
But, for some reason, her heart felt refreshed instead of guilty.
She felt like she had finally gotten out all of the things that had been suffocating her.
She was being honest. Speaking from the heart.
Whatever punishment awaited her for it, Felicia was now willing to face it.
“I’m... sorry.” The apology didn’t come from Mitsuki, but from below.
Felicia’s eyes went wide, and she looked down. Yuuto’s gaze met hers.
“B-Big Brother, you were awake?!” Felicia cried.
“Yeah, I’m pretty sure anyone would wake up with someone screaming next to their pillow.” Yuuto scratched his head, then sat up.
“I... I am so terribly sorry. I interrupted your rest...”
“No, I need to apologize here,” said Yuuto. “I knew about your feelings for me. I’ve known for a long time now. And even though I knew, I could never return them; I was selfish. I wanted you to stay with me. So I let things drag on, unresolved. I was being too dependent on you. I’m the one who was being unfair.”
“Yeah. You are unfair,” Mitsuki cut in coldly. “You’re an idiot, through and through. A disgrace to men everywhere.”
She folded her arms and nodded to herself, as if egging on his apology.
Mitsuki added, “And what could you possibly have to be unsatisfied about with someone as beautiful as her? She loves you this much. You need to return her feelings properly.”
“Why the hell are you saying something like that?!” Yuuto shouted.
“It’s important because I’m the one saying it! I’m saying she’s got your wife’s full approval!”
“You know, I’ve known you since forever, but lately, it’s like I don’t understand you at all...” Yuuto put his head in his hands.
He was about to get married next month, and his bride-to-be was telling him to cheat on her.
And this wasn’t a political marriage, but a romantic one.
It was only natural that he’d be confused.
“Is it truly all right with you, Big Sister?” Felicia managed to ask, still half-stunned.
To Felicia, her love for Yuuto was something that she had thought would never be accepted, and definitely never be reciprocated.
She wasn’t in any position to complain about being the second or the third girl in line, as long as she could be his.
Mitsuki giggled. “Yeah. It’s okay. I’ve been saying it for a while now, haven’t I? Oh, but, I do have one big condition.”
“What is it?!” Felicia asked desperately.
If her love could bear fruit, then she was willing to accept any condition to make it so.
Mitsuki held out her hand. “I want you to exchange the Oath of the Chalice with me, and become my sworn sister. Is that all right?”
“Eh?”
“If I’m being honest, Felicia... you’re the woman I’ve always been the most afraid of,” Mitsuki said. “Whenever Yuu-kun talked about you, I was always worried that you would be the one that stole him away from me. I was always afraid of that. And once I met you in person, that fear only got stronger. I can’t compete with you at all.”
“What are you even saying?” Felicia stared at Mitsuki, dumbfounded.
What could there possibly be about Felicia that would make Mitsuki afraid of her?
Mitsuki had the advantage of knowing Yuuto since they were children, and besides, he had devoted his heart only to her. Felicia had never felt there was any room for her to come in and change that.
“There is no way that someone such as I could ever hope to compete against you, Big Sister Mitsuki, can’t you see that?!” Felicia cried.
“Do you even understand what you’re saying? You’re absolutely beautiful, and sexy to boot, and you’re kind, and you’re able to support Yuu-kun both in work and in private. Yuu-kun is surrounded by lots of cute girls, but there’s no scarier opponent than you. And besides, you might not be able to tell, but I can. Yuu-kun’s heart really has wavered about it.”
“Wavered... Big Brother’s heart wavered towards loving me?!” This was completely a bolt from the blue. Felicia would have never imagined it.
Felicia knew more than anyone else just how strong Yuuto’s devotion was to Mitsuki. She couldn’t really believe what she was hearing.
“I was always worried,” Mitsuki said. “Worried that, sure, maybe he loves me now, but maybe at some point you’d finally win him over.”
“Even... even you were worried?” Felicia had always considered Mitsuki to be a fitting queen for a great lord such as Yuuto.
And that was why she’d always assumed she never had a chance against Mitsuki. It was why she was so jealous.
But, at long last, now she understood. Mitsuki was just another girl in love.
“I was... always afraid of you, too, Big Sister Mitsuki.” Felicia followed Mitsuki’s lead, and came clean with her fears. “I was always afraid that one day, you would take Big Brother away from me completely. I was so jealous of you, sometimes I even wished that you never existed.”
This was, in essence, a ritual.
A ritual that would forge these two girls into true comrades.
“Tee hee. Still...” With a snicker, Felicia smiled sweetly at Mitsuki.
Everything she had said up until now had been true.
And what she was about to say next, was also true. She could be proud of that, if nothing else.
“Despite it all, I was never actually able to hate you, Big Sister Mitsuki.”
“I could never hate you either, Felicia,” said Mitsuki. “All I want is for Yuu-kun to be happy. And on that point, I don’t think there’s anything that separates us. And I think that I could fight off anyone else, as long as you’re my ally.”
“Yes, I was also thinking that you, Big Sister, are the very last person I would ever want to make my enemy. Each of us is the greatest threat to the other. In which case, it only makes sense for us to join hands.”
“Right? And if we team up, we can take on anybody. All the girls out there put together wouldn’t scare me!” Mitsuki gave a mischievous little grin.
Felicia found herself unable to hold down a burst of laughter. “Pff! Ahaha, you are quite right. All right, then. Let us exchange the Oath of the Chalice.” Felicia took Mitsuki’s hand.
She felt Mitsuki’s hand squeeze hers tightly in return.
“Okay, I gotta say I feel like I’ve been left completely out of the loop on this,” Yuuto finally interjected. “Am I wrong for thinking that?”
His face was bright red. Apparently, this whole conversation had made him embarrassed.
Mitsuki’s grin grew even wider, as if she’d just gotten a clever idea.
“All right then, Yuu-kun, I’ll involve you. And I’ll give you a very important role to play. Right here, right now, you’re going to be the mediator for our Chalice ceremony.”
“Wait, me?” Yuuto asked.
“Yup. Don’t you think you’re the best one suited for it?” Mitsuki looked to Felicia, who nodded in agreement.
This was an alliance formed to protect Yuuto, after all.
Yuuto let out a long sigh. “All right! All right, then. But Mitsuki, you’re pregnant, so no alcohol, yeah?”
“Ahh, that’s true. But in that case, we just have to substitute something else.”
“Okay. So should I go fetch us some water, then?”
“That’s no good. All right, Yuu-kun! Close your eyes!” Mitsuki commanded.
“What?” Completely confused, Yuuto couldn’t keep up.
“Just do it already!”
“What, is this something I can’t see?”
“Yeah. It’s a special secret between two girls. Now hurry up and shut your eyes!”
“Yeah, yeah, okay. What the hell’s your deal...” Trailing off into mumbling complaints, Yuuto finally closed his eyes.
Once Mitsuki confirmed this, she looked over at Felicia, touched her index finger meaningfully to her lips a few times, then gave a wink.
“Uhh... this can’t be what I think it is, can it?” Yuuto asked.
“Oh yeah, it is. After all, there isn’t any better sacred Chalice more fitting for the two of us to exchange our vow, now is there?”
“You are absolutely right,” Felicia said, unable to keep from grinning.
Felicia knelt down on the bed, and leaned in towards the face of the person she loved most in this world.
Her heart was pounding loudly in her ears, so loudly she worried Yuuto might be able to hear it. But he didn’t seem to notice.
She gave one final glance in Mitsuki’s direction.
Mitsuki nodded once, firmly.
There was no turning back. Felicia placed her lips against Yuuto’s.
“Mm?! Mmmph?!” Shocked, Yuuto’s eyes flew open.
His body reflexively tried to pull back, but Felicia wrapped her arms around the back of his head and pulled him to her. She pressed her lips even more strongly against his.
“Mnn?!?!”
After at least thirty seconds of savoring the feeling of his lips against hers, Felicia slowly released him.
“Wha... but... huh...?!” Yuuto’s eyes were blinking rapidly in confusion. It looked like he still didn’t fully understand the situation.
And the sight of him was so adorable to her, she could feel her love for him building up from inside her chest, overflowing. She kissed his cheeks, his forehead, his nose, all over his face in a torrent she could not stop.
And still, her feelings weren’t sated in the least. She wanted to touch him more, be even closer to him, so badly she couldn’t stand it.
She’d been enduring these urges for three whole years, day after day. She was at her limit. She was beyond it.
“Big Brother, I want all of your love. I wish for you to make love to me as you have with Big Sister Mitsuki.”
“Wha, whaaaat?! No, wait, hold on, Felicia, wh-why are you pulling my pants off?!”
“All right, Yuu-kun, it’s about time you give it up. You’ve already come this far.” Mitsuki was suddenly behind Yuuto, and she grabbed both of his arms and pinned him down.
“Mitsuki, you—wha, what are you doing?! Mmph—” Before Yuuto could say any more, Mitsuki silenced him by covering his lips with her own.
She didn’t stop there; she forced her tongue into his mouth, and stroked it against his.
“Phew! All right then, I think that makes the Sibling Chalice official.” Mitsuki giggled seductively. A string of saliva ran between her mouth and his.
Ba-dump. Right in front of Felicia’s eyes, Yuuto’s manhood throbbed, and stretched larger.
The air in the room changed, as if something pulled taut had finally snapped.
“...Okay. Fine. You asked for it,” Yuuto’s voice bellowed. It was rough and powerful, without any hesitation. “I’ve been holding myself back all this time. But if you’re going to go that far with me, I’m not holding back any more!”
That night, Felicia’s moans and cries echoed countless times off of the walls of the patriarch’s sleeping quarters.
And so, Mitsuki and Felicia became sworn sisters that night.
“Nnn... mmm...” Felicia was awakened by the light of the morning sun coming in through the bedroom window.
She slowly opened her eyes. Yuuto and Mitsuki were lying right next to her. They both seemed to be sleeping comfortably.
Felicia then felt a sharp pain in her lower abdomen. She took a deep breath and let it out in a long sigh of relief.
“It wasn’t a dream...” She whispered the words to herself, as if trying to convince herself of it. She reached out to touch Yuuto, softly stroking his hair.
Of course she could clearly remember everything that had happened last night.
It was just that it had been so wonderful, too wonderful. It was, indeed, what she had always dreamed of. It was hard to think that it could be real.
“Big Brother... I love you with all of my heart.” She slowly moved her head closer to his, and closing her eyes, gently touched her lips to his cheek.
From now on, she would not need to restrain herself. She could be open in her love for him.
That knowledge filled her with joy.
She suddenly sensed someone’s eyes watching her. She looked over and saw Mitsuki’s eyes open.
Felicia immediately fell into a panic. “B-Big Sister?! You were awake?!”
“Yeah, though I only woke up a second ago. Good morning.”
“G-good morning th—agh!” Felicia was so flustered she couldn’t even finish returning the greeting without biting her tongue. She held a hand over her mouth, wincing in pain as tears formed in her eyes.
“A-are you okay?!” Mitsuki asked.
“Y-yes, I am fine!” Felicia replied. “But more importantly, is everything all right with you, Big Sister?!”
Mitsuki looked confused. “Me? I’m feeling just fine. Why?”
“No, what I mean is...” Felicia struggled to find the right words. “Last night, my greatest wish was granted. It was wonderful for me, but, um... I was worried that it might not have been so for you.”
Last night, Felicia had acted boldly, pushed forward by her emotions in the moment. But now that it was a new day and her mind had calmed down a bit, anxiety about what she had done returned.
There might still be consequences awaiting her. Her heart pounded as she waited for Mitsuki’s response, feeling like a prisoner waiting to hear their final sentence.
“U-Um, well,” Mitsuki said, hesitating at first. “Well, yeah, there’s a part of me that didn’t really feel good about it. But I love you, Felicia, and I wanted you to be happy. And I knew that Yuu-kun is the one who will make you happy. So, I figured, that’s just the way it’s gotta be, you know? Ahaha.”
Felicia felt a tightness in her chest. She had been letting her petty jealousy eat away at her from inside, while Mitsuki had been willing to care this much for her despite that.
It was no wonder she could never defeat a woman like that.
Felicia was filled with admiration for Mitsuki’s benevolence, her greatness of character. She got up off of the bed and kneeled down on the spot, placed her hands on the floor in front of her and prostrated herself.
She had already sworn her body, heart, and soul to Yuuto, back when she had sworn the Oath of the Chalice with him.
But she swore another firm vow in her heart in this moment: She would fully devote herself to Mitsuki as well, serving her with love and loyalty.
“Thank you so very much,” she vowed. “Big Sister Mitsuki, I love you too!”
The Lightning Clan messenger arrived. “Sir, we’ve received reports that both Fort Tamanos to the east and Fort Limös to the west have fallen to the Flame Clan! Estimates are that the enemy attacked both locations with ten thousand men apiece!”
“That’s impossible!” The Lightning Clan’s assistant second-in-command, Þjálfi, shouted back. “They’ve already got a host of thirty thousand surrounding us here at Fort Waganea! Even that is absurd on its face, and now you’re saying they’ve got twenty thousand more?!” He ran his fingers wildly through his hair. “How is it possible for him to mobilize such a ridiculous number of troops?!”
As the Steinþórr’s right-hand man, Þjálfi was the one who always had to deal personally with his patriarch’s free-wheeling attitude and the neverending difficulties it caused. Constantly doing so had made it so that he hardly batted an eye when faced with what normal people would find stressful. But now he spat out his words, unable to hide his panic and irritation.
Of course, that was only natural. Steinþórr’s policy was always, “Who cares about the details?” And so Þjálfi was the one who set rules and maintained order in the Lightning Clan army, developed its military plans and strategies, and gave detailed instructions to the generals. Though Steinþórr led the charge, Þjálfi was the one who ran the army.
Because of that, he knew just how extremely difficult it would be to mobilize and transport an army of fifty thousand.
“Where are they even getting the food they would need for that many people?!” he shouted.
The Körmt River bordered the Lightning Clan on their north, and so they received some of its benefits. But even then, they could only produce enough to support an army of eight thousand.
The Steel Clan had absorbed the Panther Clan and the vast stretch of western territory it controlled, but even they shouldn’t be able to supply twenty thousand men.
On top of that, most of the lands between the Lightning Clan and the Flame Clan were sparse, arid wasteland. It shouldn’t be workable to gather supplies in the field.
“And then there are the soldiers themselves,” Þjálfi continued. “They’re not peasant farmers pressed into service; they’re all well-trained career soldiers. It doesn’t make any sense...”
Just two battles against the Flame Clan was enough for Þjálfi to have gauged their skill, and frankly, it left him astonished.
In a previous war with the Wolf Clan, he’d been impressed with how well-disciplined and under control Yuuto’s forces were. But this army surpassed even them.
Sure, the Lightning Clan had managed to fend off two attacks by those soldiers, but that had been entirely thanks to their invincible warrior and hero, Steinþórr.
“I... I honestly don’t know what we should do!” Frustrated, Þjálfi bit down on his lower lip.
There were three enemy hosts now: Center, East, and West. And each one of them was too powerful to deal with unless Steinþórr was leading on the field.
Meanwhile, there was only one of Steinþórr. Whichever enemy host they chose to send him after, the other two would move further in and ravage the Lightning Clan lands.
And then there was the fact that they’d only just barely learned the Steel Clan was on the move. It honestly felt like there was nothing left he could do.
“A-Assistant Second!” Another messenger ran into the room. “An envoy from the Flame Clan has arrived!”
jálfi’s brow furrowed. “...Show him in,” he growled in a low voice.
After a moment, the envoy appeared. He was a frail, white-haired old man with a bent back, who looked to be at least sixty.
The first words out of the old man’s mouth were, “I have come with an offer for the terms of your surrender.”
“Tch.” Þjálfi clicked his tongue bitterly.
This was such a brazen act of disrespect. It was humiliating, and he felt the urge to run over and cut the envoy’s head off right then and there, But he restrained himself, determined to at least let the old man finish his statement before taking action.
Depending on the conditions offered, he was potentially willing to agree to them. That was just how backed into a corner the Lightning Clan was right now.
At the very least, they couldn’t avoid giving up a good amount of land at this point. Swearing the Oath of the Sibling Chalice would also be on the table.
Steinþórr would surely oppose becoming someone’s sworn younger brother, but Þjálfi believed that if it came to that, the best thing for the clan would be to convince him to go along with it for now, and then focus on building up their national strength again.
“My master and patriarch has been deeply moved by Lord Steinþórr’s strength and valor, and wishes to have him as a sworn child,” the envoy said.
“As his child?!” Þjálfi could feel the veins popping out on his temple.
Swearing the vow to become another’s child subordinate was no different from agreeing to become a slave to them.
In Yggdrasil, the word of a sworn parent was absolute. A child had to obey any command from his or her sworn parent, regardless of what it might be.
If your sworn parent commanded you to die, you were fully expected to end your own life.
Agreeing to become a sworn younger sibling was one thing, but taking the oath of a sworn child was absolutely unacceptable as a condition.
The old man nodded. “Yes, as his sworn child. And if you agree to this, my lord patriarch promises that Lord Steinþórr will be given the honor of becoming one of the high officers in the Flame Clan, and...”
Before the envoy could say any more, he was cut off by a wild burst of laughter.
“Heh! Heh heh! AHAHAHAHA!!” The laughter reverberated in the air, filling the room.
It was coming from a red-haired young man, reclining lazily on the throne at the center of the room. As he finished laughing, he slowly raised himself up. “I’ve gotta say, this is a lifetime first for me. Nobody’s ever treated me like this before.”
Steinþórr walked up to the Flame Clan envoy, stopped, and then raised one foot.
BAM! With a sound like a clap of thunder, Steinþórr’s foot slammed down into the hard brick floor with such force that a web of cracks shot out from it in concentric circles.
The old man had been tasked with coming all the way into the heart of enemy land to deliver his message, so he would necessarily have to be someone with a calm head on his shoulders. But this sudden scare was too much for him; he dropped to the ground like a rock, landing on his backside.
“Ha! Does he think this is all it takes to deal with me?” Steinþórr howled. “Does he think he’s got me captured? He can go ahead and have his soldiers do whatever the hell they like in my lands, then. But no matter how much damage they do, and no matter how long it takes, I’m gonna hunt every last one of them down and tear their god damned throats out!”
The air around him billowed as his fighting spirit surged out of him, an energy that overwhelmed everyone in the room.
It was a fitting declaration from the man known as the Battle-Hungry Tiger.
The old envoy looked up at Steinþórr, quaking with fear, his teeth chattering. Steinþórr looked down at him with a face like a hungry, savage beast. He leaned down close, and continued.
“You go back to the Flame Clan patriarch and tell him this: I don’t care how many dogs you’ve got at your heel. I am the Tiger of Vanaheimr, and you will never tame me!”
And with that, the negotiations were over.
When the envoy returned to the Flame Clan, and a messenger relayed those events to the patriarch, he responded thus:
“Is that so? It cannot be helped, then. So it goes.”
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