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–––Luvias’ viewpoint

“Luvias, fancy seeing you here. You’ve never visited my room before.”
“It’s been a while, Magna.”
“I presume you aren’t here to chit-chat though, correct? Tell me what happened.”

Once I sat down on a chair he indicated, he made a signal with his arm which prompted the knights and maids to bow and leave the room. Usually, he would keep the guards for protection during meetings, but since I was his sister, and I went there alone, he figured there was no need for them and it was better to talk one on one.

“So, tell me.”
“To put it bluntly, I need your help. In exchange, I’ll support your campaign for the throne in any way I can.”
“That’s…quite a lot you’re offering there.”

I could see him forcing a smile, but his eyes were deadly serious. He was examining me trying to find even the smallest trace of a lie. This matter was way too serious to joke about. While my father had never said so explicitly, the majority of nobles were under the idea that the first prince Stied would inherit the throne. That was something Magna could never oppose publicly, so instead he constantly looked for alternate ways to gain support. But gaining the support of even just one member of royalty, like myself the third princess, could change the situation greatly.

“…”

His eyes were locked on me, trying to discern what my true intentions were, though as I had no ulterior motives I remained calm. I had only one objective, getting Stied to stop interrupting the hero’s party from working, that was all. The room was silent for a while, Magna studying my face while I remained calm and without worry, almost putting into doubt who was the owner of the room, until I decided to break the silence first.

“Let me tell you all the details, then you can decide to believe or not how serious I am about this.”
“…Speak then.”
“Well, what sparked this entire situation was…”

Magna crossed his arms, deep in thought. I had told him how Stied was interfering with my work in an infantile attempt to annoy me, without certainty that it would stop at that, and how he was the only one with enough authority to help me get rid of that.

“…I can see why you’d come to me. Knowing him, he’ll definitely keep attempting things like that from now on.”
“So you think so too.”
“But of course! I’ve known him for way longer than you have, and you might be too young to know this, but even as children he would constantly pull all sorts of stunts…”

His face clouded over as he recalled unpleasant memories.

“Then…”

He raised his hand to stop me from talking as he continued.

“Still, this isn’t something I can simply agree to so quickly and take everything you said as truth. There’s still the possibility you might be working for him and laying down a trap for me.”

I could see why he would think something like that, so I did not really get mad. This was all too sudden for him.

“So you can’t trust me… Then, should we just pretend we never had this conversation?”
“Don’t jump to conclusions just yet. There are reasons why I can’t trust you so readily. I’ve just never understood how someone can be like you, risking their lives for peace without expecting anything in return. It’s simply too different from how I am.”

He said with an awkward smile while holding his hair back. Now I had a better idea of what was going through his mind. From his viewpoint, it was hard to trust someone who offered a lot while receiving very little in return. Knowing that made my next move easier, I just had to raise my ambitions and he would be satisfied.

“How about this then. You stop Stied from getting in my way again, and in return I’ll publicly support you as the hero of the country, doing my best to get you instated as king.”

His face remained the same. This was still the same deal I offered earlier, but I was just getting to the additions.

“Then the day you become king, you’ll give me a territory of my own, and we’ll never interfere with each other again. Does that sound good?”
“Hmm…that’s better. Now you sound more trustworthy than someone claiming to have no ambitions. Though I’d still like you to explicitly renounce any chance of claiming the throne for yourself. After all, if you succeed at defeating the Demon King you’ll have proven your worth as a hero and could stand at the same level as me and Stied.”
“…Alright. I never had an interest in the throne either way. Though if you ever turn against us and hurt any of my party’s members, I’ll come straight here and slice your throat, so keep that in mind.”
“Hmph…I’ll be careful. I know how dangerous you can be, and I’m aware that if I ever become your master’s enemy, no battalion would be able to guard me. And I’d never be so stupid to let go of such a good shot at getting the throne in the first place.”

It sounded like he chuckled at first, but his voice did not sound entertained at all. Though I did smile hearing that even he was scared of my Master. After the mock battle witnessed by all high-ranking nobles, including my father, only a complete idiot would try getting on her bad side. Sadly, there was one such idiot in the palace…

“Can I count on your support from now on then?”

The conversation was nearing its end, so I quickly stood up from the chair. My brother looked slightly pleased, having gained an unexpected ally.

“Sure. As long as my authority allows it, I promise to help you in any way I can. Just remember to support me when the time comes.”
“Of course. Now if you would be kind enough to do something about the complaint placed against my party’s members I’d be pleased. My hands are pretty much tied while they’re gone.”
“I know, I’ll see what I can do right now. Though seriously, what was that idiot thinking…getting rid of the Sword of Truth. He really is a handful. Hey!”

After his reply, he called to the knights and maids that waited outside the room. He gave them a few indications, which should free me from the annoyance given by Stied. Anything related to politics was outside my comfort zone, so I decided to let Magna take care of all the fighting behind the scenes, while I took care of the material threats looming over our world.