Daemon looked at Adrian pointing the gun at him, as one would look at an overly insistent beggar.

"You shouldn't take the loyalty of those around you for granted. Because in desperate cases like this you can't rule out that someone will be ready to betray you to save its own skin."

Daemon looked him straight in the eyes.

"If we were talking about Septimus, Oldrick or Athreia it might worry me. But in your case the problem doesn't arise."

"Really? And why?"

"Betrayal involves denying what you believe in or the cause you are fighting for out of convenience or coercion. You believe in nothing but yourself, and you do not fight for anything other than your ambition. You cannot betray me, because in reality you have never been faithful to me. Yours is only an alliance of convenience, which could end at any moment."

Adrian seemed to feel the shock, showing surprise, and Daemon continued: "I'm sure this was your aim all along. Use the Free State to prove your theories and test your talents in both politics and the military, and then take what you learned to where you could make a real difference. With your reputation and prestige, I have no doubt that the Emperor would not think twice about forgetting all your precedents and taking you back into his service."

There was undoubtedly a lot of tension in the air, and yet it was as if the fact that Adrian was pointing a gun at Daemon was a minor detail.

"So you knew it." smiled the young Longinus. "I could have put a dagger in your heart or a bullet in your back at any time if I had wanted to. Yet you still wanted me with you."

"In this, Ademar and I are similar; we're not interested in the past or the origins of our collaborators, but only in how useful they can be to our cause. And you are one of the few resources I would never give up for the world. It was worth taking some risks."

It almost seemed like Adrian couldn't figure out whether Daemon was a genius or naive; and after a few seconds that to anyone else would have seemed like ages, he lowered the gun, smiling.

"Seriously, you should be a little more careful. There are people out there who wouldn't think twice about switch for the winning side if things got really bad."

"But you would never do that, right?"

"As long as I have even the slightest inkling that you can still turn the tables, you can always count on me. It would make no sense to abandon a ship that is taking on water if you are not yet certain that it will sink."

"I guess I'll have to make do with that. So then? What's the situation?"

Adrian turned Daemon's attention to the maps.

"There are patrols everywhere, especially on the roads going east and north. The good news is that none of our units has been locked in the bag. One of my battalions is here, the other here, and two more up here. I have already ordered all of them to gather here in Arendt. They will arrive by the day after tomorrow at the latest. How are the other Corps doing?"

"Not very well. The Third Corps retreated in good order, while the others scattered. Natuli is here, the Fourth Corps is here, while the Fifth is scattered throughout the region. And what's worse, I still have no news from Athreia."

"Basil must have sent her on a wild goose chase on some path to the north-west. We can only hope that she realized she had been deceived and retreated in time. Do you have any news about the bulk of the enemy army?"

"They are heading to Faria. It was inevitable. Three months of marching followed by two major battles paid dearly in the end. Aria will need at least a week to get her men to breathe again."

"Is it really impossible to hope to regain control of the city?"

"The risk would be that all the units still scattered across the region would find themselves isolated. This battle has already cost us many troops, losing any more before the next one would mean an almost certain defeat. Right now the most important thing is to preserve our army as much as possible."

"So what do we do now?"

Daemon stalled for a few moments: "I'll send Thecla to Faria to warn our companions still there. They must all leave through the portal and return to the Castle."

"What do we do with the population? Many of them will want to leave too."

"It is not possible. Right now, we have no resources to support so many refugees. However, tell them not to be hostile. Unless you give her a reason, Aria won't have the courage to hurt her people."

"Not her. But what will the soldiers do?"

The two exchanged a strange look, like a mutual realization that they were thinking the same thing.

"I really hope you're not overestimating yourself, my friend. Because if you're wrong, this whole mess is going to end badly."



Perhaps Aria had been haughty and overly confident all the times she had imagined her entrance to Faria.

She hadn't expected the fanfares or the main street paved with rose petals like her great-great-grandfather's return at the end of the Holy Wars, but what she finally witnessed would also have been hard to imagine.

It seemed that the people, her people, were afraid of her; the people gathered along the edges of the street watched without saying a word as the procession advanced towards the palace, and almost all the windows of the houses had their shutters barred.

If it hadn't been for the usual marching songs of the legions there would have been absolute silence.

Not to mention the glances.

Aria was no fool, and she knew very well what the inhabitants of Eirinn thought of the Empire; but she imagined that being freed from what was in effect a foreign occupation resulting from a lost war would please the citizens.

Instead, now they looked at her as if she, their Grand Duchess, were the invader.

Even the ease with which they had taken the city that had left Aria and her Legates stunned.

They expected to have to fight, but upon their arrival they found the doors open, the garrison evacuated and the population, although clearly hostile, not opposed to the entry of the imperial troops.

"It was Lord Daemon's order." Mayor Suchet explained when Aria met him in the main square to formalize the surrender. "He told us we could do whatever we wanted, but that it would be better not to try to resist and to let you in."

"For what reason?" Eilon asked. «If what you say is true, there were at least ten thousand soldiers guarding the city. They could easily have withstood a siege."

"Faria is still recovering from the wounds of the war. Lord Daemon did not want the three months' work to get the city back on its feet to be wasted in a resistance that would have been in vain anyway, and we agreed with him."

Increasingly confused, once it was clear that the city was actually free of enemy troops and her men were dismissed, Aria wanted to continue with some legates, the devoted Eilon and a small escort towards the palace. When they arrived in the courtyard in front of the entrance, they found the maids and the rest of the servants waiting for them, gathered to wish their Lady a welcome home.

In the center of the square someone had built a statue, still incomplete and therefore covered, surrounded by a flowerbed of white flowers and with three flagpoles behind it; and everyone was surprised when they realized that only on the lowest of them was the flag of the Free State flying, with the ducal coat of arms and the flag of Eirinn occupying the other two.

"What is that rag still doing up there?" one of the legates thundered. "Take it down and burn it!"

"I think it would be best to avoid it." one of the attendants said, taking a step forward

"Alfred...!?"

"Welcome home, Miss. Or perhaps I should say, welcome home, Your Grace. Welcome back to you too, Eilon."

Alfred then turned to Basil and the legates: "Lord Haselworth has never disrespected Eirinn's flag. He demanded that we hoist it every morning, and he never intended to replace it with his own. The Free State flag is flown here only as a sign of respect."

"Respect for what?"

To Aria's request, Alfred responded by removing the cloth covering the still unfinished statue.

"... Father!?"

"It was Lord Daemon who wanted to build this sanctuary. It is a tribute to his Excellency, and the flag of the Free State demonstrates the respect that even Lord Daemon and his allies had for him. For the sacrifice he made in trying to end the war."

"They're just rebel scum!" Basil shouted, "I'm spitting on their respect!"

One of the legates placed his hand on Basil's shoulder, making him notice the more than eloquent looks of the servants.

"General, with all due respect, but I think it would be best to say no more."

Aria turned to the butler again: "You spoke of a sacrifice. What exactly happened?"

"Of course, you don't know it yet. It was not disease that killed the Grand Duke, nor Lord Daemon. It was Victor. Your brother discovered that his Excellency wanted to disinherit him, negotiate an end to the war and appoint you as his heir. Not content with this, once he realized that Lord Daemon could not be stopped by conventional means, Victor attempted to use the Spear of Gaia, and in the process wiped out an entire village full of innocents."

"Victor did what!? And where is he now?"

"We don't know. He fled shortly before Lord Daemon and his army conquered Faria after destroying the Spear."

Aria knew Victor could be ruthlessly determined in pursuit of his goals, but she never imagined he would go that far.

Even the Imperial officers couldn't believe their ears, and tried to convince themselves, without having the courage to say it aloud, that those were all lies.

"What happened to my father's body?"

"Lord Daemon had him buried with all honors in the family mausoleum. You can go and see him if you want."

With her soul and mind in turmoil, Aria then reached the gardens alone in the palace where the ancient pagan temple was located, which centuries ago had been converted into a place of eternal rest for the Grand Dukes of Eirinn.

In front of the closed gate, a young cleric recited daily prayers to calm the spirits of the dead and guide them on their journey to the other world.

"Welcome, Lady Montgomery. Or maybe I should say welcome back. I'm sure your father is happy to see you in good health."

"Thank you. And you are?"

"My name is Sylvie. Sylvie Valera. I am the Archbishop of the Free State, and I have been managing the local diocese since my predecessor was recalled by the Circle to answer for his crimes."

Aria bowed her head.

"For what it's worth, I regret having been my family's accomplice in concealing the powers of the ducal ring. I know I betrayed the Circle, but my father and grandfather made me swear not to tell anyone about it."

"I believe that after all your ancestors only wanted the good of Eirinn when they decided to keep one of the instruments capable of controlling the Spear of Gaia for themselves. But honestly, I'm happy that Lord Daemon destroyed it. As he says, such powers are not meant to be used by humans."

The mausoleum was located right next to the magic portal; Aria had heard about that too, and she had no trouble imagining that she had something to do with the fact that even with Faria surrounded and the streets under control, all of Daemon's followers had managed to escape.

"Did you activate it?"

"Someone needed to stay here to seal it, and I volunteered. I could not leave these people without guidance, nor abandon my handmaiden here."

"I guess there's no point in asking you to reactivate it."

"Even if I did, it would be useless. For the portal to reawaken, two magicians must act on both sides at the same time."

"Your decision to support the rebels could cost you dearly."

"I agreed to help Lord Daemon only on the condition that he would do his best to help the people of this land, and never once did he break his word. If you are as honest as I think you are, you cannot deny what you see around you."

That was the problem.

Aria thought she would find a country devastated by war and a city in ruins, but the more she looked around her, the more she couldn't believe her eyes.

More confused than ever, she placed flowers in front of the mausoleum before sadly returning to the palace.

She couldn't know it yet, but the problems and torments for her soul had just begun.



After a sleepless night, despite her tiredness, Aria immediately got to work: given that the enemy had worked so hard to modernize the city and build cutting-edge activities, it was worth using them.

The most important thing was to increase supplies and recruit new soldiers to compensate for the losses, so Aria ordered a report on the state of the granaries and the formal reconstitution of the ducal army to be launched simultaneously.

In this regard, even before entering Faria the girl had ordered to send for General Lefde, who since the end of the war had been living in a sort of exile in his fiefdom at the foot of the Galath Chain.

"General." she said, welcoming him into her office which had first belonged to her father, then to Victor, to Daemon, and now to her. "I'm happy to see you. You seem in good health."

"I can't complain."

"I heard that Daemon had offered you a role in his regime, but that you refused. This honors you."

"To be honest it was a decision dictated solely by my sense of honor. The policy implemented by Lord Haselworth has never given me any reason to move me to take action against him. Otherwise, I would have been the first to take up arms to oppose his control over Eirinn. If I did not accept any position offered to me, it was only so as not to betray my oath to serve only the Montgomery Family."

"And I offer you the chance to continue to honor this oath. I am about to restore the national army, and I would be very happy if you were to lead it again."

Lefde looked down.

"With all due respect, but I'm afraid I must decline."

"General!?"

"Don't get me wrong, it's not because I don't want to fight for you. But at this point, you should have understood. The people support Lord Haselworth. He helped them get back on their feet after the war. He gave them work and hope, but above all he gave them a voice. If you ordered me to fight against him, I would obey you, but I fear that I would be a General without an army."

And unfortunately, the confirmation of the General's fears arrived at that very moment.

"Consul!" Basil shouted as he threw open the door with a flyer in his hand. "These pieces of paper are all over the city!"

Even if it wasn't a declaration of war, it was close.

It was a call: a call for resistance.