Chapter 97

Refocusing

“She was like the blistering sun, and I was like the waning moon; forever adrift amidst the stars, our love by the devils was hewn.”

Bard Collection

Noah streaked down the familiar streets, sighing, Row in tow. The silent giant walked just two steps behind him, a perfect distance, occasionally glancing left and right, but mostly curiously staring at the slumped shoulders in front of him. Though Noah hadn't lost too much during the meeting, he also gained nothing. Even if he hadn't expected to gain much, as he knew the majority of people there would be unwilling to step away for Olivia, he'd hoped at least for some Crowns. Not only did he not gain any, but he'd also have to pay a hefty sum.

Luckily, however, with the Duke Godwind’s investment as well as the capital generated through Elucido, he had more than enough to pay, but it was still money thrown into the waters. He had no means to use that money in order to entice Ymmir, and his House still remained as elusive as ever.

Still, monetary gains were temporary; he’d learned plenty in the meeting by merely observing those present. Most of the Noble representatives were against Olivia, as they’d most likely already aligned themselves with one of the Royal Children. The surprise was Lymena, though he still couldn’t quite figure out why she went so hard at supporting him – or, rather, why her Father ordered her to go so hard at it.

Furthermore, his biggest worry, aside from the squabbling children of Nobility and the two scorned Princes that tagged along, was the ‘Light Mother’, whose name turned out to be Tymelea. From what he gathered by observing her, she was hardly as indifferent and as aloof as she was putting out. Even if her reactions were minimal, they were there. She, too, seemed set against Olivia’s actions, and her promise to come and heal the Princess most likely had to do with simple probing and investigation.

Noah was beginning to suspect that there was a narrative that was written before he arrived, and everyone is dead-set on living it out – and his attempts to skew and change it were met with heavy hostility. Rather, it feels as though the choice had been made years, if not decades ago, and now the only thing that everyone is doing is trying to wring as many rewards for themselves before taking a step back for whoever was chosen to ascend the Throne.

That made sense, at least to Noah, as that was largely how Royalty worked back on Earth; but the systems designed and implanted in the Lumina Kingdom suggest otherwise. Furthermore, the King himself, the highest hand of law and order, had never implied that the choice had been made. If anything, he implied that it was up to Noah to make that choice, or at least to attempt and skewer the story toward his own wanting.

And, as far as Noah was informed – which, as he was proven time and again, was very little – the only person who could try and write the story behind the King’s back… was none other than the Lightbringer herself, Tymelea. What confused Noah was that even Jovyer called her the lazy and disinterested sort, and, on the surface, she did seem the ilk – yet, she most certainly was not. Could she be behind the assassination attempts? No… she would have no reason to be that stealthy. She wields insane political power as it is, and she’d have no need to do anything stealthily…

He sighed once again, rubbing the bridge of his nose in frustration. At the end of the day, the greatest source of his headaches was the lack of reliable information. Most of what he had learned from the records he’d found in the Palace were straight lies, and he was proven over and over again that those records are woefully unreliable. The problem was, however, that he had no means of acquiring reliable information – at least not yet.

One year is nearly not enough to, simultaneously, try and start a banking empire, familiarize himself with the entirely new and different world, manipulate the Princess of the Kingdom into doing his bidding, and also installing shadow agents at every single necessary corner. Had he been given five years, that would have been doable, but a year was not. No, he shook his head, sighing once again. I brought it upon myself. I was too hasty. Sylene’s death was a variable that screwed everything up. If I managed an alliance with her, in addition to Godwind, Olivia would be in a completely different position right now.

Unique circumstances require impromptu actions, but he had never been good at them. Though he believed he had taken the best choices given the circumstances, those best choices were still extremely lackluster. Now, the things were spinning out of control; he had no capital or connections to stall it and sideline it. We need to slow down, he made a decision. We’ll give up the Holy War and won’t participate at all past Olivia’s select appearances. I need to distance myself completely from the Amber Bank, but that will require finding someone good with numbers. Furthermore, I need to settle down and be forgotten. If anything needs to be done, I can just send Asandra.

He'd taken the central stage too many times, with his actual identity, which limited his movements too much. Eyes were beginning to converge onto him instead of Olivia, where they ought to be. Just as he was bad with making impromptu decisions, he was just as bad, if not worse, at being in the spotlight, the center of attention. He knew very well that that kind of a thing is what gets people killed, and whether he had Dark or not was irrelevant. If it was a matter of survival, it would be a completely different story. He could just pack his bags and vanish, making up identities as he went, using Dark to easily navigate the underground waters of the Kingdom.

But he wanted more from life and most certainly wanted answers when it came to his own plight. He was yet to figure out anything about his circumstances, and if he continued to spark conflicts left and right, he probably never will. At the end of the day, his end goal was not to merely put Olivia on the Throne, or to change the Kingdom-wide perspective on the 'outside' – it was to find out what went wrong, and how he'd ended up separated from everyone else. Perhaps, in a way, that desire was what ignited his somewhat erratic choice-making – were he in his twenties, or even thirties, he could have bided his time.

He would soon be forty-six, though, and years were trickling by like the droplets of rain. He didn’t have long, which was why he felt he had to do everything at the same time, despite knowing the risks were not worth the end result.

By the time he'd returned to their temporary dwelling, he'd steeled his resolve and made a choice to completely vanish until at least the Holy War's beginning. He'd still use his Skyler identity on occasion to prepare pieces for the future, but 'Dacent Noah’ would remain in his studies, never leaving the palace. Despite Myrell’s death, he still had others to pick up after her and, much more slowly than he would do it, spread out his personal information network. He wagered that a year would be enough to inject at least a couple of slaves as servants into each of the major Houses, and though it wouldn’t yield any truly important information, it would be a good start.

Climbing up the stairs and into Olivia’s room, he saw that she was awake, sitting on the bed, eating a stew. Sash was still sitting next to the coffin, while Asandra was looking out the window, drinking. His arrival caused all three to drop what they were doing and focus on him, while Row quickly ran over to another bowl of fruit as he had long since eaten the one he’d taken to the mansion.

“… judging by your expression, you were fucked?” Asandra quipped with a smile.

“… how are you feeling?” ignoring her, Noah turned to Olivia and asked. Though her face was still pale, there were traces of recovery.

“Tired, mostly,” she chuckled bitterly. “I pretty much can’t draw on any Light, and won’t be able to for a while. What happened? Asandra won’t tell me anything.”

“… we lost,” Noah said honestly. “After you passed out, Asandra and I barely managed to get back to the other shore. In the meantime, the giants besieged the Fort and did considerable damage, killing tens of thousands of people in the process. In the end, the Lightbringer showed with some other young heroes and defeated the Kindled.”

“…” Olivia bit her lower lip, her face a portrayal of frustration… and guilt. She understood Noah’s implications, as she was hardly a fool. The sacrifices… were meaningless. The nameless would still remain the nameless, regardless of what she had done. If anything, she might have drawn in quite a few of those who otherwise wouldn’t have died.

“It’s on me,” seeing her expression, Noah quickly butted in. “You were simply following me.”

“Yes, but I made that speech, Noah,” she rebutted. “I promised to everyone we’d fight together until the end. They followed me…”

“… they followed their hearts, Olivia,” Noah said, sitting on her bed and grabbing her hand gently, smiling. “Their deaths, just as their lives, are not on you. If you start shouldering so many fates on your shoulders, you’ll quickly find yourself drowning, past the point of rescue.”

“… I’ll make them a stele and carve all their names—”

“No you won't," Noah quickly interrupted. "As a matter of fact, because of the blow to your head, you don't remember anything about what had happened for the past two weeks."

“What?! I can’t do that!!” she exclaimed angrily, ripping her hand out of his.

“You can and you will,” Noah said firmly, remaining calm. “We’re swimming in deep waters here, Olivia. There is already a huge target on your back, and eyes of the Kingdom are converging on you. However much guilt you may feel, and however much it pains you, you still take precedent over them. If you truly want to do it, carve their names into your heart, and once we come out on top, raise as many stones in their name as you wish. For now, however, both you and I will be taking a step back.”

“…” she remained silent, glaring at him hatefully. He sighed helplessly and got up, walking over to a table and picking up a bottle of wine, pouring himself a glass. She’s still too naïve, he thought. Emotions reign her. This will also take a hit on her trust in me…

He’d already known since long ago that Olivia was very single-minded in the pursuit of her dreams. Furthermore, her dreams were ignited by emotions more so than any logical mindset. She didn’t wish to explore the world to discover new technologies and devices… she wanted to do so simply due to the romanticism of it. While that nature of hers made it easier for him to manipulate her, it also meant that each failure on his part would cost him twice as much, as she simply couldn’t reason his choices through her emotional perspective.

He denied her the martyrdom, perhaps her solitary rescue from the emotional hell she feels. However, he didn’t need a martyr. We can still use her disrepair, he took a sip of wine. From the looks of it, she’s ready to break down in tears. For now, I’ll jam it for her, and once we’re back in Elucido, I can just have her break down in front of the masses. Hate will subside and transfer over to the victors. I can still go with the same narrative I warned Jovyer of. While the immediate gains will be minimal, it will offset a lot of losses. Besides, we can use her mental breakdown as an excuse to pull her out of the public eye temporarily and have her focus on obtaining a higher position within the Principality.

At the very least, he mused at the silver lining of it all, her emotions toward him seemed to have calmed down. There was a long road ahead of them, and he could hardly muster the strength to deal with the emotionally obsessive Princess.

The room fell silent once again, as everyone returned to their thoughts. Noah himself began mapping out the remaining year, deciding to follow the plan he sets down to a tee. Though the outline was there, the finer details would take some time. After all, he’d really only be able to get to them once he returns to Elucido and looks at the general picture. For now, however, drinking in the silence and being lost in thought… was relaxing enough.