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“So, you’re telling me that the empress isn’t actually a demon,” Tafel said, narrowing her eyes at the merchant.
The bald man wiped the sweat off his brow with his handkerchief before nodding. “There’s no doubt about her being a human.” He wet his lips with his tongue before sending a glance towards his guards. They were just as uneasy as he was. Just where did all these weirdos pop out of? First there was the girl with the talking skeleton, and then there was the girl with horns and purple eyes who called herself a demon.
“And the empress is called demon lord because people think she’s evil, not because her class is demon lord,” Tafel said, the hope in her eyes dimming.
“That’s right,” the merchant said. He leaned forward and whispered, “The empress is actually a dark knight. Her strength is powered by blood and souls. The previous emperor had seventeen children, all of them competing for the throne. Once the emperor died, it took the demon lord less than half a year to ascend to the throne. The palace tells us all the other heirs suffered from unfortunate accidents and passed away, but everyone knows the demon lord killed them.”
Tafel heaved a sigh, her eyes completely dull. “Here I was, thinking I found a lead,” she said and clicked her tongue. She turned towards Vur, who was eating food out of the merchant’s cart, and bit her lower lip. “One day….”
Alice tugged on Tafel’s sleeve. “After hearing about this empress’ crimes, what do you think?”
Tafel tilted her head. “What do you mean? What crimes?”
Alice’s brow furrowed. “You know, raising taxes so much that the citizens are dying of starvation, killing her brothers and sisters to take the throne, forcefully seizing property of citizens in the name of helping the empire.” Alice nodded. “Doesn’t that make your blood boil? Don’t you want to beat her down for being such a tyrant? You want to, right? Let’s start a war.”
“You’re crazy,” Tafel said, her expression blank. She glared at Mr. Skelly. “This was your idea, wasn’t it? Why are you always trying to goad me into doing things by using Alice? Don’t think I forgot how you tricked us both into invading elven territory.”
“Normally, you’d be right,” Mr. Skelly said. “But this time, it really isn’t just my idea. Alice sincerely wants to start a war.”
“The empress is abusing her powers,” Alice said. “The people are oppressed and dying. I don’t want to stand by and watch when I have the ability to do something. We might not be from this continent, but that doesn’t mean we can’t relate to the natives here.”
Tafel knit her brow. “Honestly, she might be called the demon lord, but how can you take sides in a conflict after hearing only one point of view? What if there’s a good reason for the things that the empress is doing?”
“She committed fratricide,” Alice said, placing her hands on her hips.
Tafel snorted, crossing her arms over her chest. “She was forced into a situation where she had to fight for her life. If she didn’t rid herself of her opposition, she would’ve died. Is it wrong to want to survive?”
“It wasn’t just to survive,” Alice said. “If that were truly the case, she could’ve let them live and imprisoned them or something. You heard the merchant; the empress grows stronger through blood and souls. She killed them for herself when she could’ve spared them.”
“What do you know?” Tafel asked, her eyes narrow. “Someone born in a normal, happy family can’t possibly understand the struggles of the royal family. How could she imprison her brothers and sisters? Every heir has factions behind them, each hoping the heir they’re backing would ascend the throne. Imprisoning one person can draw the ire of a whole faction. Besides, there’s no proof this empress was the one who killed her brothers and sisters in the first place. She could’ve been lucky as her brothers and sisters killed each other and just happened to be the last one standing.”
Alice wrinkled her nose. “Oh, yeah, sure. She just happened to be the last one standing in a bloody conflict without taking part in it, okay.” She rolled her eyes. “I wouldn’t expect royalty to understand the plight of us normal, happy people. Have you ever gone hungry in your life? Have you ever eaten dirt because you haven’t had anything to eat for weeks?”
Tafel and Alice glared at each other, sparks flying between their eyes. Mr. Skelly sidled over to Vur, poking his side. The skeleton cupped his bony hand over his mouth and whispered into Vur’s ear, “I think you should mediate.”
Vur swallowed the chunk of random fruit in his mouth before asking, “Why don’t you?”
“Whenever I say things, they both tend to get angrier,” Mr. Skelly said with a nod. “That’s why you have to do it before the party falls apart.”
“The party won’t fall apart,” Vur said as he reached over and grabbed a handful of grapes. He and Mr. Skelly watched as Tafel and Alice drew their weapons: a mumbling sword with a half-closed eye, and a kite shield. “Once one side wins, the other will submit. That’s how dragons work. I bet Tafel’s going to win—she already won once before.”
“Uh, no,” Mr. Skelly said. “They’re not dragons. If things get too out of hand, they might grow to hate each other. You see, when men fight, they might cut off each other’s limbs, but the next day, they’ll have made up. When women fight, they cut straight to each other’s hearts and rip apart internal guards, exposing all insecurities for the whole world to see, and they end up loathing each other for the rest of their lives.”
“You’re worrying too much,” Vur said as he placed the grapes to the side and took a few steps towards the two women. “But fine, I’ll mediate.” He placed his hands on Tafel’s and Alice’s weapons, halting them in place. They glared at him, causing him to shake his head. “You two shouldn’t be fighting.”
“Whose side are you on?” Alice asked. “You’re going to take her side, aren’t you? You’re royalty too.”
“Don’t judge Vur like that,” Tafel said, her voice icy. “He wasn’t born as royalty. He lived a normal, happy life amongst dragons.” Her expression faltered for a second as Alice gave her a look that made her feel silly. “B-but Vur’s still going to take my side, and that’s because I’m right! He’s not taking my side because he’s royalty. He was a commoner too, but he knows I’m making the most sense between the two of us. Isn’t that right, Vur?”
Vur sighed. “The empress should step down.”
Alice’s eyes widened before she gave Tafel a smug look. “Hah. Even your husband thinks you’re wrong.”
Tafel bit her lower lip. “Vur….”
“But there’s nothing wrong with the taxes the people are paying right now,” Vur said, staring off into the sky and nodding as if he were a sage.
“Huh?” Alice raised an eyebrow.
“There you go,” Tafel said to Alice, her voice trembling as she turned towards Vur. “There’s nothing wrong with the taxes, but I don’t see why you think she should step down.”
“Isn’t that obvious?” Vur asked. “The empress can’t be the ruler because this land belongs to Grandma. She’s the real owner of this continent. All taxes should go to her as rent.” He nodded again. “Both of you are wrong, so there’s no reason for you two to fight. See?”
Tafel and Alice stared at Vur as Mr. Skelly slapped his own forehead.