Only three days remained until the Selection Ceremony that would determine the succession to the throne.
Since morning, Alecia had been staring at the registry of noble houses spread across her desk. Red marks denoted the houses supporting her brother, while blue marks indicated her own supporters. Those that remained uncommitted were left blank.
The numbers alone painted a bleak picture: six to four.
Until five days ago, they were supposed to have been nearly equal.
Alecia hadn't simply stood by. She had visited the estates of families who refused her audience. When told a house head had returned to their domain, she tracked down the heirs left in charge of the family’s decisions. She introduced new merchants to houses whose funding had been severed. For those using border disputes as an excuse to distance themselves, she offered arbitration plans that could be implemented immediately, rather than after her coronation.
As a result, two houses on the verge of defecting had held their ground, but not a single house claimed by her brother had returned to her side. It wasn't because Alecia’s terms were poor. The more she inquired, the more apparent it became: her brother had already systematically sealed every escape route.
Promissory notes for debt-ridden houses had already been acquired by merchants allied with the Prince faction. For houses hiding the misconduct of their successors, her brother held the evidence. For houses lacking food in their domains, grain to survive the winter was already being hauled in.
If Alecia tried to offer better terms, she would be pouring the royal family’s wealth into her own personal conflict. If she ordered threatened houses to return by force, their families and citizens would be the first to suffer the consequences.
It would have been easy to simply blame those who had abandoned her.
However, doing so would not increase her support.
"Tomorrow morning, I will meet with Earl Ferness once more... In the afternoon, send messengers to the three neutral houses. Tell them it doesn't matter if there is no reply; I wish to speak with them directly."
The secretary, while recording the schedule, looked at Alecia with concern.
"Your Highness, you have hardly rested these past five days. If only for tonight, you should retire early..."
"If my brother would wait for me while I slept, I would gladly rest. But time is a luxury I don't have. Only three days remain. I cannot afford to make even the houses remaining here feel uneasy."
Her voice was as steady as ever.
Nevertheless, once the secretary withdrew and the door closed, Alecia slumped back into her chair.
She had no intention of losing.
Until the Selection Ceremony began, she would speak with every house. She would investigate what her brother had offered and reclaim what could be reclaimed. She would unite the remaining forty percent and seek support from at least one neutral house.
There were still things left to do.
However, believing one can win is different from ignoring what will happen in the event of defeat.
If her brother became King, she didn't believe the houses that supported her would be allowed to maintain their current standing. He likely wouldn't do something as crude as immediately seizing titles or domains. While ostensibly granting a generous pardon, he would remove them from important roles, wither their trade, and let their power erode bit by bit.
—Of them all, Vain is in the most precarious position.
He hadn't just refused her brother's offer and signed a formal contract with her. He had directly rejected her brother's ideals in the royal palace and, in the end, even discarded his respectful tone.
It was far too late for him to claim neutrality.
"I've made him stay with me too long..."
Alecia pulled forward a single document she had kept at the edge of her desk.
It was a document to terminate her contract with Vain, absolving both parties of any further liability. She would not require him to return the five hundred gold coins. The newly granted land would remain the property of House Razgrim. There would be no change regarding the command of the Black Claw.
She would leave it all to him as a reward for his service.
Even if the contract was dissolved, there was no guarantee her brother would completely overlook Vain. Still, if she made it appear that she had commanded him as a princess and forced his cooperation in a situation where he couldn't refuse, the justification for punishing him openly would be significantly weakened.
She would fight to the end.
But there was no need for Vain to sink with her in a battle she had chosen for herself.
◇
It was around sunset when Vain, having received the summons, arrived at the room.
Neither Clarice nor Serena was by his side. Because Alecia had requested to speak with him alone, only Vain had come to the palace.
As soon as he sat down, he eyed the cup that had been prepared.
"No tea today?"
"You always scowl when you drink the palace tea, don't you? It's a light vintage, but I had some wine prepared."
"It seems you've finally figured out how to handle me."
Normally, she would have snapped back at his arrogant tone.
But today, she couldn't find the will to smile. Vain seemed to notice. He stopped his hand as it reached for the cup and looked down at the document placed before Alecia.
"So, what is this about?"
Alecia picked up the document and slid it across the desk toward him.
"I want to terminate our contract here."
Vain didn't touch the paper immediately.
"What? What do you mean by that? Are you forfeiting the throne?"
"No. Tomorrow I plan to visit the houses that left, and I have meetings scheduled with the neutrals. I will unite those who remain and fight until the very last second before the Selection Ceremony begins."
"Then why are you cutting me loose?"
"Because my decision to keep fighting is separate from my decision to keep dragging you along with me."
Alecia met Vain’s gaze without flinching.
"I'm sorry for dragging you this far. You only wanted to rebuild your domain, but I pulled you into this mess with my brother. Keep the reward. The five hundred gold coins, the new land... you don't have to return anything. I will take full responsibility for ending the contract."
"Even if you cut me out, there's no guarantee Regnard won't come after me, you know?"
"I know that! That's why I'll make it appear that I coerced you into helping. I'll leave a record in my name stating that you were ordered by royalty and couldn't refuse. Even my brother can't ignore public opinion if he attacks an earl for no reason, can he?"
Vain finally picked up the document.
Alecia hadn't prepared this on a whim. She had even included a clause, sealed with the royal signet, ensuring that no disadvantage would come to the Razgrim domain after the dissolution of the contract. There was a chance it could be overturned if her brother took the throne, but it was better than leaving him with no protection at all.
"Just to confirm... you really are going to fight to the end, right?"
"Yes. I admit the odds are against me. But I haven't lost yet! And I have no intention of giving up and abandoning those who have stayed with me."
"Then what is the point of this document?"
"There's no reason to demand the same level of resolve from you. I chose this for myself as a princess. Marquis Dalgren and the others are staying by the will of their respective houses. But you? You were just a man hired for a reward."
In that moment, Vain’s fingers stopped moving.
Alecia pressed on.
"You've already done more than enough. You rejected my brother's contract, took on a ruined domain, and taught me something invaluable through Serena... I realized I shouldn't use a contract to bind you to a dangerous path any longer."
Vain read the document in silence.
The gold and the land would remain his. Even if Alecia were defeated, he would not be held accountable. His cooperation was officially recorded as an order from the princess.
For him, it was an exceptionally good deal.
He could safely distance himself from the losing side and walk away with all the profit. Alecia had assumed that Vain, being the man he was, would verify the benefit and accept it immediately.
However, as he read, the expression drained from Vain's face.
"Alecia, let me confirm one thing."
"What is it?"
"Did I put my seal on our contract because you threatened me?"
"Of course not! But if I hadn't asked, you never would have entered this struggle with my brother—"
"I was the one who read the terms. I was the one who decided to take the five hundred gold coins and the land, and I was the one who decided to lend you my strength."
His voice was dangerously low.
Alecia only then realized that Vain was beginning to seethe with anger.
"I'm not saying your judgment was wrong! It's just that the situation has changed, and while there's still time—"
"Does a change in the situation change what I saw in you?"
Vain set the document back on the desk. He didn't slam it, yet the sound of the paper hitting the wood echoed like a gunshot in the quiet room.
"I didn't sign that contract for the terms alone! I signed it because I saw that you were better than Regnard and worth making Queen. And now you’re telling me to take the money and run?"
"I’m not telling you to run. I’m trying to protect you—"
"Don't take a choice I made for myself and act like I was just some helpless bystander you dragged into it!"
Vain slowly raised his head.
"If you terminate the contract now, you turn me into a fool with no judge of character—someone who was baited by gold into following a losing princess without a second thought!"
Alecia caught her breath.
In Vain's eyes was a fury different from the one he had directed at the First Prince. It wasn't the look of a man being looked down upon; it was the look of a man whose agency and conviction were being denied by the very person he had chosen to support.
Vain pushed the termination document back across the desk with a single finger and spoke with cold intensity.
"Don't mess with me."