Under the Oak Tree

Max walked around the room, praying fervently, hoping that her narration of what really happened would miraculously settle the mediation. However, it seems unlikely that her hopes will be fulfilled as she heard the occasional shouts of angry voices from the meeting room.

She bit her lip anxiously. Just imagining her father telling conspiratorial lies against Riftan to frame him made her nerves boil.

She opened the door of the room where she is at to look down the dark hallway—towards the door that leads to the meeting room. The second meeting was tripartite, so there was no way of knowing what was happening since everyone else was barred from entering the meeting room. Max restlessly paced back and forth. Uslin, who was leaning silently against the wall, suddenly opened his mouth.

“I don’t think they’re going to ask the lady to testify anymore. Why don’t you head back to your room first and rest?”

Ruth, who was nodding off as he sat in front of the fireplace, raised his head in alert.

“I agree. The lady should head back to her room first. Even if we all stay here, it wouldn’t make a difference on the outcome.”

“I wish you would care about the situation for even a bit, but…” Uslin frowned displeasingly at Ruth and sighed deeply.

“The wizard’s words have a point. I’m afraid they won’t finish talking until dawn, so you may go back to your room and rest. They might take all night discussing.”

“They’re going to stay up a-all night?”

When her eyes widened in surprise, the knight smiled bitterly.

“This is the method His Majesty often uses to defeat his disobedient subjects. He is as vigorous as most knights, he can hold out until his opponent is exhausted, and when that moment comes, he takes advantage of that. “

“Don’t worry too much. His Majesty can argue for two nights in that state! The same goes for the commander. The Duke of Croix will soon raise a white flag of defeat.”

Even Elliot chimed in and expressed optimism. Max sighed at their naivety. They knew nothing of the Duke of Croix.

As long as he’s persistent, her father won’t lose to anyone. Two nights would be an easy endurance. He could continue to endure, even if he vomited blood. What’s more, it could even get frantic. He would be very riled up by now, spitting out all kinds of slander and insults.

Max rubbed her forehead. Seeing this, Uslin took the cloak hanging from the wall and walked over to her.

“I’ll escort you to your room.”

Then, he opened the door with a determined expression, as if to make her take a break no matter how much she protested.

Although it seemed that she would not be able to sleep after returning to her room, the truth is that she was also feeling very tired from being on her toes all day. She thought it would be better to lie on the bed and get some rest, so she reluctantly agreed.

As she was leaving the waiting room, she saw a dim light from the end of the dark hallway. Max stopped in front of the door. Princess Agnes walked silently with Simon, the royal wizard.

After seeing their faces, Ruth crept into a corner of the room as if he was avoiding a plague. Uslin looked at him like he was a pitiful man and then walked over to the princess.

“What brings you here at this late hour?”

“I came here because I have something to say. Can you give us a moment?”

The deep eyes of the princess flew over Max. Max hesitated and stepped aside the door’s entrance, gesturing a welcome. At the silent invitation, the princess breathed a sigh of relief and led Simon to the room.

Max took a step back and looked at her rigid face with a tensed eye. The fireplace was burning in the waiting room, and on one side of the room were Ruth, Elliott, Uslin, and two other members of the Remdragon Knights.

The princess looked around, seeing their faces one by one and finally fixed her gaze on Max. The princess looked more exhausted than ever, and there was a hint of concern in her blue eyes. Max asked impatiently as Princess Agnes gave no signs of opening her mouth, even after a long time.

“Wa-was there any…problem that came up?”

“I think this conversation will be very long. May we take a seat?”

Hearing that made her hair stand on its ends, but Max managed to control herself and guided her to the table. Then, the knights who were waiting, quickly brought her a chair.

“Thank you.” The princess smiled stiffly and sat down.

Max sat across from her and tightened her grip to the hem of her dress. ‘But why did she bring Simon with her?‘, she was staring doubtfully at the wizard who was silent behind her, when the princess began to speak.

“I’m sorry that I could not be of any help in this situation. After the duke filed the charges, I did my best to avoid it, but the influence of the Croix family is truly terrifying. All the nobles who occupy at least one position in the Drachium Palace are on his side.”

She sighed, as she brushed her tousled hair from her forehead to the back of her ear.

“I think most of the nobles have already been bribed by the duke. If a formal trial will really be held, I won’t be able to influence them.”

“I-if the duke puts pressure on Anatol … y-you promised to look out for and protect Riftan.”

Max could hear her desperate heartbeat. The Princess had a perplexed look on her face then she continued to speak.

“It may seem insufficient in Maximilian’s eyes, but me and my father are doing our best to protect Riftan. However, the royal family must be fair in its judgement no matter what. Without sufficient justification, we cannot eradicate pressure from the nobles and actively side with Riftan. That is why we have intervened urgently before a formal trial takes place.”

“The commander has enough justification,” Uslin broke into the conversation impatiently.

“The Duke of Croix inflicted harm upon Lady Calypse. On the contrary, we came here not to make the problem bigger. Shouldn’t they be grateful?”

“That is the principle of the Knights. Nobles won’t think that way.”

The princess put her hands on the table and squeezed them tightly. Then, she slowly parted her lips, as if she were choosing the right words.

“As everyone knows, the legal status of women is not that high. No, to tell the truth, it’s miserable. A daughter is the property of her father and a wife is the property of her husband. Even if the Duke of Croix did inflict harm on Maximilian… if we can’t prove that the harm he did was life threatening, the Duke would have to pay a few pennies at most in compensation. On the other hand… it is a much more serious crime for a knight to infiltrate a castle and attempt to kill the lord.”

“That doesn’t make sense! It was the duke who provided the cause in the first place! So, do you mean that he had to stand still and do nothing even after witnessing that?”

Elliott raised his voice with an unusually exasperated expression. The princess shook her head as if she completely understood Elliot’s stance.

“I also believe that Riftan did nothing wrong. But the trial is a fight of justifications. Whedon’s law, as well as the law of the Roem era, is disadvantageous for Riftan. In that sense, the duke has more witnesses and countless nobles behind him. If the trial is conducted in this way, the deprivation of Riftan’s knighthood cannot be avoided.”

Max’s vision began to blur and her ears began ringing. Max shook her head in despair. Somewhere in her confused mind, she heard Elliot’s desperate voice.

“In that case, why did you help in preventing a war? Wouldn’t it have been better to have solved this with warfare? How could the royal family treat the commander like this…!”

“Elliot! Enough. The royal family is doing their best!” Uslin looked at Elliot with a stern expression to stop him. But Elliott looked at him defiantly, as if he couldn’t bear his anger.

“Which side is Sir Rikaido on? I really can’t make sense of it. The commander will lose his title because of such a despicable man! Is Sir Rikaido unaware of how dedicated the commander is to Anatol? We cannot let the blood and sweat that the commander shed for 10 years go to waste. I would rather go to war as planned in the first place!”

Elliott’s face was burning in fury. Before Uslin could retort, the princess intervened in an earnest voice.

“It’s not unreasonable for you to be this riled up. But please calm down a bit and listen to what I have to say until the end.”

Max gazed at her with hope.

“Is there so-some way… to fix it?”

“We have to get the duke to drop the charges in some way. There is no other solution.”

The princess’s eyes shone with determination. Suddenly, she felt a chill down her spine accordingly. The princess stared at her for a long time, as if she was looking deep inside her, and then slowly opened her mouth.

“The cause raised by the Duke of Croix must be turned from the roots for you to win. In order for that to happen, your determination, Maximillian, will be of utmost key.”

Max was confused. Was she saying that she should go back and testify at the trial to defend Riftan? Hadn’t the princess said that the justification for the abuse wasn’t a sufficient reason to attack the duke? Max asked in a hurry.

“If there’s anything I can do… I’ll do it, whatever it may be. Please tell me in de-detail what I should do.”

The princess hesitated for a moment before opening her mouth.

“I’m thinking of involving the World Tower in this issue.”

The unexpected words made Max’s eyes widen. Ruth gave a sarcastic laugh.

“What the hell will you do to attract the World Tower’s attention? The World Tower is a completely neutral force. The World Tower’s law prohibits it from interfering with any internal affairs whatever the circumstance may be.”

The princess sighed and looked at Ruth with a shocked expression, as if he had no right to say that.

“There is only one case where the World Tower interferes with internal affairs to the point that they will go out of their way to bring justice.”

“What could that be…?”

Ruth, who was smirking at the princess’ suggestion, suddenly realized it and opened his mouth.

“Don’t tell me… are you thinking of registering the lady as a World Tower wizard?”

Not only Max, but even the knights widened their eyes at his words. She wanted to reprimand him, ask what kind of nonsense he was saying, but unexpectedly, the princess nodded.

“Nornui will only intervene in a conflict if it involves the protection of a wizard belonging to the World Tower. If Maximillian becomes a wizard in the World Tower, the duke of Croix wouldn’t only be interrogated for inflicting corporal punishment on his daughter but also for the persecution of Maximillian as a wizard. When that happens, the World Tower will immediately dispatch wizards to investigate the matter. And as soon as it is revealed that he has been inflicting harm on Maximillian, all wizards will turn their backs on the duke.”

“B-but… but…”

Unable to keep up with the sudden twist of the story, Max stuttered heavily.

“I do not u-understand. Even if I-I…put my name on the World Tower right now… all of this… happened before I became a wizard. C-can the duke be held accountable…even if it all happened in the past?”

The princess shook her head.

“Of course, they cannot question what happened in the past. I’m going to manipulate the time when Maximillian registered as a wizard in the World Tower and list it as last spring. I’ll make it so that when I visited Anatol, I invited you to register at the World Tower and you agreed.”

“B-but…”

Max couldn’t speak easily and looked at Ruth with a downcast look. She remembered perfectly what he had said to her.

“T-to become a World Tower wizard…I was told that I had to t-train in Nornui…for four years. But my father knows that I have never been to Nornui. It’s only been a year since I’ve been in Anatol… before that, I was never anywhere but Castle Croix.”

“There are many people who register their name on the World Tower first and then go to Nornui to study.”

Simon, who was silent, opened his mouth. Without asking permission to take a seat, he pulled a chair next to the princess and calmly continued speaking.

“The situation may be plausible. The lady listed her name to the World Tower last spring on Agnes’s recommendation, and she was soon going to Nornui. However, to help the precarious situation in which the war against the monsters broke out, the time when she was to enter the World Tower was delayed for a while.”

“Is it possible for someone to be under the protection of the World Tower despite not undergoing their formal training?” Uslin asked him.

The princess nodded.

“Since the moment anyone’s name was registered, they are already protected by the World Tower. And to add to that story, I will argue that Maximillian was sent to Livadon through formal procedures. The knights and the wizards who witnessed your contributions will be held witness. There are more than enough grounds that will help claim that Maximillian is a wizard of the World Tower. Nornui also promised to close their eyes to the point of letting the manipulation of time when the registration was made.”

The story was unfolding so fast until she’s about to feel dizzy. Confused, Max looked in confusion at the resolute face of the princess, the calm face of Simon, and Ruth’s stiff face.

“T-then… I…”

Her throat went dry as if she’d swallowed sand. She squirmed and began to speak as if it hurt.

“I…must go to No-nornui?”

The princess’s face darkened. As she touched her mouth with her fingertips, she nodded strongly.

“At least, for three to four years… once your name is written, you must enter the World Tower as quickly as possible and train to become a wizard.”

Max stiffened. She couldn’t speak, instead, Elliott was quick to reply.

“Is it not possible to just register your name? If she will be away from Anatol for such a long time… there is no way that the commander will allow it.”

“The World Tower has its own rules. Once the registration is made, everyone must obey its rules. There are no exceptions.”

Ruth backed away, his expression grim. Agnes, who was glaring at him with narrowed eyes, rubbed her forehead and said weakly.

“Besides, there is no other way to battle the Duke of Croix. If he discovers that he has been deceived, he will immediately refile his charges. When that happens, he can even accuse us of making false testimonies against the nobility.”