The Hundred Reigns 173: Lux Vult (3)

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The transition of power was concluded with very little bloodshed. 

Summons were issued to every official and noble of note, from Maublanc to Norbelle, Dassein, and Isabelle Barbatos. The messages recalled them to the capital, informing them that Balzam Magnos was dead and the new Overlord, Simon Magnos, now demanded an oath of fealty from them. It would take them days to return to the capital, and Simon suspected a few would ignore the order, but that was fine. What mattered was that the entire imperial leadership would be informed of the transition and forced to take a stand on it. 

Otherwise, Malphas’ agents in the city were promptly arrested, and Simon dispatched messengers to his sisters offering a meeting to discuss peace with Illusea and an offer of amnesty. He hoped sending friendly messengers rather than guards would intrigue them enough not to flee or fight back. He had plans for them. 

So far so good, Simon thought as he studied the Warrior Crestone in his father’s quarters—now his own. He could almost taste its thirst for battle, and its desire to reunite with Louis. The Crestone constantly tried to escape Simon’s grasp and roll its way back to its imprisoned owner. A match baptized in blood.

The Warrior: The legendary armsmaster, soldier, and martial fighter, whose mastery of weapons and peerless skill lets them overcome any foe.  

Strength S, Vitality A, Agility B, Perception A, Magic D, Intelligence B, Charisma C, Luck A. 

Armsmaster (Passive): Allows the user to quickly replicate and master any Weapon Technique.

Infinite Armory (Active): You can stock up any number of weapons that you own in a unique pocket dimension only you have access to, and bring them out at will; true to its name, it can contain a limitless number of items, but they must be weapons. Should you die, all weapons in your Infinite Armory are released at the spot of your demise.

Equip All (Passive): You can equip any kind of armor, weapon, or shield as if you met the prerequisites, and do not suffer any penalty from them.

Master of Offense (Passive): Your attacks with weapons inflict 30% more damage, and the critical hits damage modifier is vastly increased. 

Level 1 Warrior Perk: Warmaster I (Passive): Gains medium proficiency with all weapons (x1.5 damage). 

A shame I only have one Devour Crestone spot left for now, Simon thought. Master of Offense, Equip All, and especially Armsmaster would have all been worth consuming. Even Infinite Armory, while redundant with Inventory, had the benefit of having no cap on the weapons stocked within at the cost of not being able to store anything else. No wonder Louis became so deadly if these are the Warrior’s very first Perks. 

Then again, Simon gained a Devour Crestone Perk every ten levels or so. Mayhaps he would find an occasion to consume this one too in the near future…

“The castle and Marthrone are ours, but we need a new marshal as soon as possible to purge the army of Louis’ loyalists,” Euphemia said as she poured them each a glass of wine. Sitting in the very room in which her husband had been murdered did not trouble her in the slightest. In fact, she had been so pleased with how their coup was going that a thin smile never left her lips. “I know the perfect person for the job.”

“Please don’t suggest Thalas,” Simon quipped as he stored the Warrior Crestone in his Inventory. “Neither me nor the army will accept him.”

Euphemia scowled. “I was considering Beatrice, the Templar Order’s Knight-Commander.”

“Beatrice?” Simon raised an eyebrow as he grabbed his own cup. “Dassein would be more appropriate. He is a follower at heart–”

“And your brother’s creature,” Euphemia said. “Even if he thinks twice about opposing you, he will keep nominating War Party members into key positions. You want to avoid Louis plotting a coup should he escape custody? Then we must reform the army to be loyal to us.”

“Beatrice is loyal to Mastemo, not us.”

“And Mastemo is loyal to me in turn. His entire side of the Church of the Light’s schism derives legitimacy from my Visionary gifts and its Overlord-backed state religion status. He will not risk alienating us.” The empress sipped her glass. “Moreover, what better way to reform the army to fight the Zodiac Fiends than a Templar?”

She’s not wrong, Simon admitted. Beatrice and her Templar team had nearly managed to defeat a weakened Exodeos, to the point she forced the demon to throw her into an interdimensional rift when he failed to overcome her. She would make an ideal marshal to lead the charge against the Zodiac Fiends. 

However, putting the army in the hands of someone loyal to Mastemo rather than to him didn’t please him in the slightest. The unfortunate truth of siding with one of the court’s parties for power meant he had to give them leverage in return. Simon had to make sure his ‘allies’ wouldn’t gain too much power at his expense. 

I can’t show any weakness to Euphemia, Simon thought. The truth remained that his alliance with the empress was one of convenience. If she sees an opportunity to take me out to put Thalas or Norbelle on the Crimson Throne at my expense, she’ll take it. 

“The four generals will remain in place, as their brands guarantee their loyalty,” Simon argued. “Lauriane will also retain control over the Goetia Research Facility.”

Euphemia glared at him. “Are you insane? We cannot let Louis’ followers stay in command of such critical infrastructure.”

“And they will rebel if we alienate them too much,” Simon countered. “Shabram informed me that Duke Flauros and Duke Barbatos already denied my summons, the former because he’s fearful for his secret elven wife’s safety, and the latter because he remains loyal to Louis. We can’t allow a coalition to form against us. Lauriane will never oppose me so long as I do not give her cause to.”

“Your faith in her is misplaced,” Euphemia countered harshly. “If she has to choose between a bastard and her trueborn sibling, she will always pick the latter.”

Simon’s jaw clenched. While he dearly hoped she was wrong and he knew from experience that Lauriane had been willing to murder their own father for his sake, he had never lived through a reign where she had to take arms against him while knowing he fought for the other side. 

“Then we will have Beatrice increase the army’s oversight over the facility,” Simon countered. “We can simply replace the guards with our own.”

“Yes, that would be wiser. I will suggest a new chief of security to better secure the site.” Euphemia sipped her wine. “I have candidates in mind to replace Patriate. Good men with years of experience and Merchant Vassal Class levels.”

And loyal to you, Simon thought. The empress had a voracious appetite for offices. “There’s no need. Shabram already summoned our new Merchant to court.”

Euphemia didn’t hide her displeasure. “Whom?”

“The mayor of Whispermire, Odette Kano. A talented woman who had the gall to raise a complex manalith mining operation under our nose and the talent to hide it from the authorities.”

Now the empress looked aghast. “You want to entrust the imperial treasury to a smuggler? One without any Merchant Vassal levels?”

“It doesn’t matter. Barthandelus confessed to me that the Merchant is unique among Noble Classes in that it can sell its experience to a successor, the same way a Vassal Class’ levels can be redeemed into Noble ones.” Simon smiled at the empress. “Besides, her criminal past is exactly why she will be a perfect fit for the job.”

The truth was that while there were certainly many good candidates to inherit the Merchant Crestone at court, almost all of them had ties to one party or the other. Simon didn’t trust any of them and would rather avoid entrusting a Noble Class to potential rivals. Odette was a known quantity and already guilty of working with the Cobweb, so the only thing that spared her from death or prison was the Overlord’s protection. She had no ally or noble patron who would be offended if she died. In short, her appointment and prosperity rested entirely on Simon’s goodwill, which ought to ensure her loyalty. 

Finally, the Archer in Uyo would be the first Zodiac to rise, and Odette had been the closest to find the lost city of Rhapta in past reigns. 

“I will not let you staff the High Council with ruffians and whores,” Euphemia warned him with a sneer of disdain. “It is insulting enough to keep Shabram on the Council after her affair with my husband.”

“You don’t have a choice in the matter,” Simon replied bluntly. He had to set boundaries and remind her they were in a partnership, and not the junior kind. “Either I get Kano or Dassein becomes marshal in Beatrice’s place.”

Euphemia glared at him, but her eyes lingered more on his forehead than anything. “You’ve never been to Whispermire nor visited it, so how could you know this Kano?” she wondered, squinting. “You’ve been planning this for a very long time, haven’t you?”

“Mayhaps.” Simon steepled his fingers. “You see it, don’t you?”

“If you mean that black blot of miasma on your forehead, then yes, I do. The sight of it sickens me.” She gripped her glass in disgust. “Balzam experimented on you like he did with Norbelle. It’s why he kept you away from power and under constant surveillance.”

Simon rested his head on his fist. “I take it you did not authorize the spells Firewand cast on Norbelle.”

“How could you even think I would allow that elf to mutate your unborn sister?” Euphemia closed a fist. “I had not yet fully grasped what kind of man your father truly was then. He told me they were meant to avoid complications, and I was too young and foolish to doubt him.” 

“Don’t blame yourself,” Simon said with genuine sympathy. Although he didn’t get along with his stepmother, he knew from Balzam’s letter that his father had been manipulating her since she was thirteen and even murdered her in past reigns to ‘motivate’ Thalas. “He played you from the day you met. He never cared.”

“You know nothing.” 

“I know he isolated you,” Simon countered. “That he desired you from the moment you met, killed any perceived rivals, and even murdered his own wife when she got in his way.” 

“Eleanor… I suspected Balzam had a hand in it years after the fact, but nobody could ever prove it.” Euphemia shook her head in disgust. “How did you learn of that?”

“I had visions.” Simon was better off not mentioning any of Balzam’s letters, lest Euphemia demand to read them. “I was hoping you could help me refine my gifts.”

“What is there for me to teach you? Whatever ‘gifts’ you possess are an alchemical mockery of a true Visionary’s blessings.” Euphemia glanced at the bed in which Balzam died. “Your father was deluded. A third eye is a divine right, not a mere mutation.”

If a third eye is a divine right, then am I a god for unlocking one myself? Simon mused.  

“Then how do you explain my visions? Or the fact I can form eidolon contracts?” Euphemia stared at him incredulously, as if he had been speaking gibberish into an unknown tongue. “Yes, I can do that as well.”

“How would you know?” Euphemia asked with skepticism. “I would have known if Balzam had let you contract with an eidolon.”

True, Simon thought. I need to think of a good excuse that won’t hint to the truth of the reigns. “Would you believe me if I said I contracted them in a past life?”

“No,” Euphemia replied bluntly. “That’s not how it works.”

“For you, maybe, but not for me,” Simon replied, choosing to leave her hanging to keep her off her game. The more wary she was of what he could or couldn’t do, the more concessions he could obtain. “I will give you a live demonstration when Norbelle returns from her trip to Cocagne. Either way, I do possess Visionary gifts and the Overlord Class can cast powerful Edicts, not unlike your Judge’s Laws.”

“You want me to train you, yet you ask for much without offering anything in turn.” Euphemia thoughtfully pondered his words and then set her glass aside. “I will consider it—and the proper compensation—after the wedding.”

Of course she wouldn’t trust him with her knowledge until she gained leverage over him. “How will we proceed with that?”

“We must hold a lavish ceremony alongside the coronation,” Euphemia suggested. “Your father was fond of military triumphs to showcase our empire’s wealth and power. We must dazzle the nobility and people to show this is the beginning of a new golden age for Endymion. A three-day festival with the whole imperial nobility, viceroys, and foreign dignitaries in attendance ought to suffice.”

“You would have the Bard herself sing at our wedding?” The idea pleased Simon. “What about the coronation? Should we have Mastemo crown me like he did Father?”

“No,” Euphemia said immediately. “Either you crown yourself or have the Keeper of the Throne do so. Balzam had Mastemo crown him emperor to showcase the union between our nation and the Church of the Light, but having the High Confessor do the same with his successor will set a dangerous precedent. He will simply anoint us.”

Simon raised an eyebrow. “I thought Mastemo was loyal to you.”

“He is, but his successor may be another matter.” She smiled thinly as she emptied her glass. “Our dynasty’s legitimacy cannot derive from any other power than our own.”

Here was the master diplomat at work. Simon recalled that Euphemia was rather skilled at building coalitions without surrendering much of her power. She and Louis would have covered each other’s weaknesses well had they learned to get along... “And the marriage contract?”

Euphemia snapped her fingers and produced an enchanted scroll which she handed to Simon. “This is a first draft, with a list of potential benefits.”

Simon expected crushing, one-sided terms he would have to harshly contest and negotiate, but they turned out to be relatively fair. First of all, both parties agreed to support and not harm each other in any way, whether directly or indirectly. Simon would also be required to name a child of Euphemia as his heir in his will, and neither party could cheat on the other on the pain of death. 

In return, the contract offered a wide list of benefits by more or less treating them as a single unit. For example, they could see each other’s stats and summon their spouse to their location; healing spells or damage affecting one would have half of the effect transferred to the other; their stats could be pooled together and then equally split, and they could share their mana pools or the awarded experience. Lovestruck looked awfully limited in comparison. 

“I am willing to take the split damage, healing, and mana, alongside the mutual summoning clause,” Simon decided. Sharing stats and System screens risked triggering the Crimson Throne’s failsafe. “This should ensure mutual loyalty. If one goes down, so does the other.” 

“Fair enough. This will immediately let one of us know if the other is under attack too.” 

“Otherwise, I would modify the faithfulness part. I am not taking a vow of chastity.”

“You will,” Euphemia insisted coldly. “I spent over a decade suffering your presence and your father’s whores in my castle–” 

“Our castle.” My castle.

“–and I will not live through another,” Euphemia cut in, ignoring him. “Any bastard you have will be a threat.”

“Can’t we simply say that any bastard I have will be ineligible to inherit my Class and empire?”

“Neither were you supposed to inherit anything, and yet here you are, sitting on the Crimson Throne.”

“True,” Simon conceded the point, “But I don’t think we’ll be capable of maintaining a years long sexless sham marriage without growing frustration.” That was how he and Remedia ended up embroiled in an affair. “This restriction will create rifts our enemies can exploit. Don’t tell me you’ve never been tempted to have an affair during the two decades you spent married to my father. Your Grace is not that dutiful.”

Though she flashed him a baleful glare, Euphemia wasn’t hypocritical enough to deny it. “I was tempted by someone,” she admitted, “But we were both wise enough to understand Balzam would have him killed if we crossed the line.”

“Personally, I don’t particularly care whom Your Grace takes her pleasure with.” This whole marriage was a complete farce and a political settlement in the end. 

“Any affair on either side would weaken our legitimacy.”

“In the short-term, yes, but in the long-term, people will stop caring,” Simon replied. “How about we change the clause to neither of us being capable of having an affair without the other’s permission or acknowledgment? We would keep the door open for a change in the future without harming our current interests.”

Euphemia hesitated a moment, before nodding warily. “I will consider it… but do not expect to finagle your way out of your duties.”

If only she knew about his Titles… Still, Simon didn’t intend to put them to the test unless strictly necessary. 

After that, Euphemia took her leave for the night in order to better review the adjusted contract. Simon steeled himself as his next appointment walked into his quarters.

Lauriane was in for a long overdue discussion. 

His half-sister looked at him slouching in their father’s chair without a word, her lips pursing. Seeing his beloved sister stare at him this way put Simon ill at ease. 

“I may have changed, Lauriane, but at the end of the day, it is still me,” he reassured her. “I am still Simon.”

“I am not so sure,” Lauriane admitted as she warily sat to his left. “Less than a week ago, you were my baby brother doing his best to keep his head down and his nose in books so as to not to draw attention; now Father’s dead, you’re the new Overlord, and plotting with Euphemia to take over the empire.” Her eyebrows furrowed. “You told Euphemia that the Overlord transfers some of the previous holders’ power and knowledge to the current holder, but that can’t explain everything. Were you lying to us all those years? Feigning weakness and biding your time until you could pull a coup?”

“Is that what Louis believes?” Simon guessed, knowing his sister had visited him in his quarters. “I wasn’t lying, Lauriane, but it is true our father kept me isolated because he was afraid of what I could do. The Overlord Class awakened latent and long-suppressed gifts.”

Lauriane’s scowl deepened further. “Visionary gifts?”

“Yes. I unlocked some of my Remembrances.” Which was true, from a certain point of view. “I saw what our father did to your mother. How he strangled her to death in order to marry Euphemia.”

Lauriane looked away in doubt and denial. “Louis said the same, and that he killed our father in retaliation, among other things, but… I can’t believe it.”

“I have proof. Our father walled-in her corpse in a secret passage connecting her room to Anna’s in Castle Carcas after taking her out of the crypt’s sarcophagus.” Lauriane stared at him in utter disbelief. “You can go check and cast divination spells on the body. Her ghost will show you the truth.”

Having two of her beloved brothers corroborate the same story gave Lauriane pause. “I will investigate,” she decided. “However, I hope you didn’t summon me to have me relinquish Goetia to Euphemia.”

Simon shook his head. “A Church Party loyalist will become marshal and you will suffer from increased oversight, but you’ll keep the facility.”

“Then you are wise not to trust Euphemia. She will get rid of you as soon as you lose your usefulness to her, no matter what she promised you.”

“I will handle her,” Simon promised with a sigh. “The truth is that it’s a necessary evil. A great disaster is looming, and we cannot afford a civil war.”

Lauriane’s eyebrows furrowed ever deeper. “What disaster?”

Simon proceeded to give her the same speech he gave Euphemia’s Church Party and which he had planned to share with the High Council’s remaining members later, informing her about the threat of Gargauth’s children, the Oracle’s plots, and most importantly, the looming threat of the Zodiac Parade. 

“You say one such crystal is in the Darkwood?” Lauriane asked, steepling her fingers as she pondered this information. She appeared torn between unease and cautious interest. “It’s a stone’s throw away from the Goetia Research Facility.”

“It should be easy for you to check on its existence,” Simon confirmed. “I have a way of safely extracting it from its seal, but the demon inside will reform once the comet crosses into its constellation.”

“Maybe not,” Lauriane argued. “I have the best minds in the empire on retainer. We can find a way to permanently contain the demon and possibly harness its energies.”

“It is true we can siphon its miasma before the comet arrives,” Simon admitted. He had done the exact same thing with Nodens’ power back in the Sanctuary. “We could build better airships, golems that could increase our agricultural production…”

“Or weapons,” Lauriane pointed out. “We could use one fiend’s power to take down another.”

It’s risky, but not impossible, Simon thought. The fiends weren’t a united front, and Mardok successfully defeated them the first time by exploiting both their divisions and the Noble Heroes’ naivety. We can’t exclude any option yet.

“Let’s focus on studying containment methods first.” Simon gathered his breath and then took his sister’s hands into his own. “Lauriane, I need your help more than I ever did before.”

Lauriane blushed slightly. “Of course I will help you,” she reassured him. “I admit this is much to process all at once, but you are my brother and surrounded by enemies. Louis asked me to support you too. He thinks you will come around to our point of view, given time.”

“I have no desire to conquer the western continent or Illusea, should they agree to a long-term peace. I should negotiate one with them soon.” Lauriane’s smile of fondness—the kind she gave him when he said something adorably foolish—surprised Simon. “What?”

“You have changed, Simon, but you still have the naivety of youth. It’s almost a relief.” She shook her head with resignation. “There can be no peace with Illusea, let alone Lore and the rest of the world. Our struggle with them is existential. Either we’ll kill them or they’ll kill us.”

“It doesn’t have to be,” Simon argued. “There will be no world to fight over if we do not set aside our differences to focus on the Zodiac Parade. I’ll find a way to convince them of this truth.” 

“I hope you are right, Simon, and that I am wrong.” Lauriane took a long, deep breath. “I will secure the Darkwood and… check Castle Carcas.”

“That’s all I can ask for for now,” Simon replied, squeezing her fingers. “Thank you for having my back, Lauriane.” 

“Always.” Lauriane seemed to hesitate to tell him something, before changing her mind. “You are a Magnos, Simon. Never let Euphemia convince you otherwise.”

Simon wasn’t entirely sure what she meant by that, but he nodded in agreement either way. 

Once his half-sister departed, Simon summoned the Keeper of the Throne to his side. He needed to meet with some prisoners. 

“Bring Elaine Malphas to me,” Simon decided. “I will give her an offer she cannot refuse.”

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A/N: the more I write chapters of this arc, the more I feel it might end up being one of the longest yet. We'll see how it goes XD