In the Student Council Room at midnight.
"Which will it be, Wendy? Tea or coffee?"
"Whatever Brave is having."
"Coffee it is, then. I shall brew it myself."
Having accepted her role as Edward’s theatrical partner, Wendy provided us with a wealth of vital information.
First, she explained the nature of Bloody Week. They were a guild of assassins catering exclusively to the Royal Family, the Houses of the Dukes, and the Houses of the Marquesses—an organization that had existed since the kingdom's founding.
"I was once the second daughter of a Count," she began.
Recruits were selected from the Magic Academy’s most exceptional graduates—specifically those with no inheritance prospects and those deemed difficult to marry off. Once they were initiated into the group, their past memories were magically suppressed, fading away until they were eventually forgotten.
"So, what are these enemies who tried to stop me actually planning?" I asked.
The Return of the Miracle. The Unveiling was scheduled for this month.
Wendy had been ordered to convey those specific words to me. They were getting sloppy if they thought a few cryptic lines would be enough to keep me at bay.
"The Unveiling of the Saint," Wendy said.
"I see."
I’d had an inkling, but it was good to have it confirmed. Wendy continued her report in a detached, professional tone.
"House Pentagram and House Slash intend to install Patricia Kindred—who has been studying in the Continent Duchy—as the Saint. Their goal is to use her status to usurp the control authority of the Guardian Barrier from the Royal Family."
"Usurp it? How?"
"The Royal Capital’s Guardian Barrier was a creation of the Ancient Sage. As his direct descendants, House Etherdam holds the administrative rights. It is the sole reason they have prospered for nearly three hundred years."
Wendy looked at me, as if checking to see if I followed the implications. I did. The Guardian Barrier was the ultimate symbol of the kingdom. Because of it, they had flourished for centuries without a single successful invasion, providing a sense of absolute security for over a million people.
The population density in the capital was genuinely insane. It was a byproduct of having too many nobles with nowhere else to go. In a world without wars or territorial expansion, the only reward the Crown could offer was a title. This entire societal structure was fundamentally broken.
Digression aside, if Wendy was correct, the only reason House Etherdam remained the Royal Family was their monopoly on the barrier's control.
Edward spoke up to supplement her explanation. "Just as she says, there are records of this in the books within the forbidden archives. The neighboring Continent Duchy was originally one of the Four Sacred Dukes. They were branded as enemies after a failed coup in the past. At that time, the territory that revolted was stripped of its status and driven out of the kingdom by the Crown."
Since then, the Houses of the Dukes were no longer allowed to hold directly managed territories. Consequently, almost all the nobility had moved inside the protection of the Guardian Barrier.
The Continent Duchy shared a border with the Brave Territory, and we were constantly at each other's throats, but I hadn't realized there was such deep historical baggage. This was knowledge that had never appeared in the game. I’d assumed the Duchy was just a generic antagonist nation designed to attack the capital, but they actually had a legitimate grievance. And as a former ducal house, they were well-acquainted with House Brave. It was the same old story of arsonists pretending to be the fire brigade.
Regardless of their history, I steered the conversation back to the barrier.
"In other words, the Royal Family can effectively do whatever they want with a single word?"
I didn't fully understand the barrier's selection criteria, but did it mean anyone outside the capital who showed hostile intent was automatically branded an enemy of the state? It was a powerful tool—frighteningly so. If the other dukes held their own territories, the Crown could use the barrier as leverage to threaten them. Conversely, the Royal Family didn't want the dukes to have land for fear of internal rebellion. Their interests were perfectly, if cynically, aligned.
"It is my family’s greatest hubris," Edward sighed. "Before the Guardian Barrier was created, House Etherdam was merely one of the Four Sacred Dukes. Simply because we carry the blood of the Sage who built the thing... we have become a stagnant, boring clan."
I wondered briefly who the king had been before the Sage’s era, but I had more pressing questions.
"Wendy, is it even possible to steal the authority over the barrier?"
"It is," she stated, taking a sip of her coffee. "The barrier was originally... Ugh, bitter. This is far too bitter. I require sugar and milk."
Why did she even choose coffee, then?
"Just talk."
"The barrier was originally created by the Sage by utilizing the physical body of a Saint—"
It was a staggering revelation.