Lilia's gaze moved slowly.
It had been quite a long time since she last visited the Roam Duchess's private chambers. From some day onward, the room's owner had stopped calling for her entirely.
That was likely around the time Maxel began to lose his standing in the imperial palace.
"I'm so happy to sit face-to-face with you like this, Mother."
"You must be exhausted from all the baseless rumors. I've been so preoccupied with Aneli that I've neglected you. I hope you don't feel resentful."
The Roam Duchess's voice was gentle. However, Lilia no longer placed blind trust in her outward appearance alone.
There was a time when she believed she had the people of House Roam in the palm of her hand. However, through the recent series of rapidly changing events, Lilia had learned a great deal.
The biggest realization was that Roam was a far more ruthless place than she had imagined.
To survive in this treacherous place, she had to protect her regained prophetic ability by any means necessary.
And to keep from losing that prophetic ability, she needed to act more proactively to ensure those prophecies could become reality.
"People are easily swept away by sensational rumors. But I believe people will surely recognize the truth. Rather, it's my own immature behavior that caused Mother worry. For that, I can only apologize."
"No one will dare speak ill of a member of Roam. Your father will not stand for it, so rest easy."
As if she had completely forgotten the talk of reviewing the disinheritance procedure that had circulated until last week, Lilia let out an emotional exclamation.
"Thank you, Mother. And you don't need to worry. I spent time in self-reflection and regained my prophetic ability, so it's actually a blessing."
The Roam Duchess gazed at Lilia, who laughed sweetly, with a meaningful look for a moment. Then she quietly turned her attention to her teacup.
Watching the Roam Duchess's face carefully, Lilia deliberately changed the subject in a bright tone.
"I'm so glad my prophetic ability has returned. The world these days is so unpredictable. Just recently, the Temple made a frightening announcement."
"So they did."
"That a traitor who betrayed the gods was reborn in the form of a Durahan—it's truly shocking."
Lilia put on a sorrowful voice.
"That's why I'm so worried. It seems my little sister keeps getting entangled with the Durahan."
Despite Lilia's continuous words, the Roam Duchess drank her tea without wavering.
Observing her counterpart's expression closely, Lilia continued in a slightly more exaggerated tone.
"Mother, do you know the circumstances of the day my little sister appeared at the imperial palace?"
The Roam Duchess gave no particular answer, but Lilia was certain she was listening to her words.
"The Durahan that attacked the imperial palace reportedly emerged from the Black Tower. But my little sister also appeared from that same place. Why would she appear from the same location as that terrifying Durahan?"
"Aneli is a resurrected one chosen by the gods. It must have been to stand against the rampant evil."
"But according to Lord Maxel, when the imperial knights tried to kill the Durahan, my little sister stopped them, did she not?"
As soon as Lilia finished speaking, the Roam Duchess set down her teacup with a clatter.
The small rattling sound of the porcelain cup against the saucer was quiet, but sufficient to silence Lilia.
"It seems you've already forgotten the great humiliation you suffered at the hands of the Magic Tower's guest at the banquet hall."
At the Roam Duchess's gentle words, Lilia's eyelashes trembled.
"Mother."
"Pointing a sword at family under the same roof is like cutting off your own arm. As sisters, you should foster sisterly affection."
The Roam Duchess, who had lightly pushed away her teacup with her fingertips, rolled her eyes and glanced at Lilia.
"Wouldn't it be right, as the younger sister, to treat your older sister who struggled to return home with warmth?"
Her voice was kind, but no warmth could be found in her gaze.
Lilia, blinking rapidly, could not endure that look and turned her head away first.
'If it were Sister Freesian, she wouldn't have received such a warning.'
Lilia was a stepdaughter, in a position where she had to be much more careful. That fact stirred her emotions.
Pursing her lips and remaining silent for a moment, Lilia forced the corners of her mouth upward.
"I know Father has decided to support the First Imperial Prince instead of Lord Maxel. But that will fail."
"Is that your prophecy?"
The Roam Duchess asked in an even tone. In her tranquil voice, not a trace of agitation could be found.
Lilia suppressed her anxiety and lowered her head a bit more.
"Lord Maxel was destined to become emperor from the start, overcoming adversity. I already knew that."
"So what you're saying is that the Crown Prince is currently facing adversity."
"Taking advantage of Lord Maxel's slump, the First Imperial Prince may temporarily draw His Majesty the Emperor's attention. But that will be brief."
At Lilia's words, the Roam Duchess smiled as if amused.
"Have you forgotten why His Majesty the Emperor's gaze left the Crown Prince?"
"Because my little sister, who became God's resurrected one, bore a grudge against Lord Maxel."
At Lilia's firm words, the Roam Duchess's smile faded slightly. Taking in that change of expression, Lilia spoke again in a stronger tone.
"Lord Maxel did not incur God's wrath—he incurred my little sister's wrath."
The Roam Duchess erased her smile and let the corners of her lips droop in a subtle expression.
It was an ambiguous gaze whose intentions could not be discerned.
"Please help us. Me and Lord Maxel."
Lilia pleaded with her delicate face. Anyone would have their heart swayed—eyes of a gentle and warm green.
But unfortunately, Lilia's specialty no longer worked on the Roam Duchess.
"It is already too late."
The edges of Lilia's lips trembled slightly. After lowering her gaze for a moment and quietly steadying her breath, Lilia composed herself more calmly than before.
She now knew that she could no longer capture the people of Roam with simple appeals like smiles or tears.
In the first place, Roam had accepted her because of her prophetic ability. And now that she had regained that ability, Lilia had no reason to cower.
"Why did the Temple suddenly make such an announcement? Something is going wrong, and it's to set it right."
The Durahan was a rampant evil.
Lilia trusted the Temple's announcement completely. In the future she knew, Durahans were beings that had to be exterminated.
And in Lilia's future, the one to defeat those beings was naturally Maxel's role. In the foresight she had regained, Aneli's role existed nowhere.
If Aneli were truly God's resurrected one, why would there be no trace of her in her dreams?
"How can you be certain whether the monsters bowing to my little sister is God's power or the power of evil?"
"That is a dangerous statement."
The Roam Duchess warned her in a low voice, as if rebuking her.
But Lilia did not easily shrink back. Considering how difficult it had been to arrange this tea time with the Roam Duchess in the first place, she could not simply retreat.
During the precarious times when she might be driven out at any moment, there hadn't even been time for the two of them to share tea together.
The fact that the Roam Duchess was facing Lilia meant she had judged Lilia's words worth listening to.
Lilia spoke again.
"As long as my little sister is being praised as the resurrected one, it's natural for Roam to keep her. But is there any need to establish her as Roam's master? What if it turns out later that my little sister has some connection to the monsters?"
When Lilia shifted to the consistent themes she had been asserting, the Roam Duchess surveyed Lilia with a quiet gaze.
"Are you saying we should call Freesian back?"
At the Roam Duchess's question, Lilia sighed and lowered her gaze.
Freesian had already been pushed out of the mansion once, and in the process, her relationship with Lilia had become slightly strained.
Having watched how Freesian behaved toward her when she lost her prophetic ability, Lilia had no reason to insist on Freesian.
Rather, through those events, she only confirmed that Freesian was too burdensome for her to wield.
But that didn't mean Freesian was someone she needed to grovel before either.
Hadn't Freesian been pushed out even by Aneli?
"Father is healthy, so he can surely guard that position until Seiri comes of age."
"You seem to have tried to use your wits in your own way...."
Picking up the teacup she had set down, the Roam Duchess continued in a cold tone.
"But Maxel was not prepared at all for the imperial power struggle that unexpectedly flared up again."
"Then does Mother think the First Imperial Prince can sit on the imperial throne?"
At Lilia's meaningful question, the Roam Duchess narrowed her eyes.
Lilia spoke to her with a voice full of conviction.
"The First Imperial Prince has the support of Her Majesty the Empress, but he will soon lose that support. I know."
"I'm sorry, Lilia, but we already suffered a great loss by hastily casting Aneli aside."
"Then and now, I simply cannot stand by and watch Roam head down a wrong path."
In the past, Lilia's earnest words might have had an effect.
However, from the moment Aneli resurrected and returned with God's protection, Lilia could not obtain the same absolute trust as before. Aneli's very existence proved that Lilia's prophecy had gone astray.
Knowing this, Lilia was not disappointed by the Roam Duchess's firm attitude. Instead, she calmly spoke of the future she knew.
"Lord Maxel will be sent to subjugate the Belladia Mountain Range."
Perhaps because she heard an unexpected place name, a flicker of interest appeared in the Roam Duchess's eyes.
"Because those Durahans, which the Temple has identified as rampant evil, have established their base in the Belladia Mountain Range."