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{Part Two: Azure Moon} Chapter Twenty-One: Empty Heart I

At the start of the next moon, You make your way up to the cardinals' room. Seraphine speaks to You along the way.

Seraphine: I bet that we're going to have to talk about what happened during the previous battle... So much took place at the end before the enemy forces retreated. Now that Magnolia's had time to think about it, we have a lot of discussing to do.

You nod your agreement as You arrive in the cardinals' room. The Blue Lions are already there.

Magnolia: Alright... That's all of us. I guess that we should discuss what happened at the end of the last fight.

Nora: Yeah, we've all noticed that you've been acting off as of late. Go on and tell us what happened when you saw the enemy commander.

Magnolia: The one leading the charge was the person who killed my father... He said as much himself. He had already killed one king, and he wouldn't hesitate to do it again. He was from Albinea.

Cassia: I can't say that I blame him for growing angry enough to resort to violence... The previous king of Faerghus did such cruel things against the people of Albinea.

Aestlyn: I guess that he's still trying to exact his revenge against the royal family. Magnolia isn't like her father, but he doesn't have a way of knowing that.

Karim: Yeah. Many nobles are aware of her actions to help Albinea, but few are truly confident in the fact that she has Albinean blood. Perhaps that would be enough to change his mind.

Magnolia: I don't know if it would have done that much, if I'm being honest... He already made his choice about how he feels about me, and I don't think that I would have been able to change that. Still, even if he's upset with the way that Faerghus has operated in the past... That isn't going to stop me from making sure that nothing like this happens again.

Reese: Of course it won't stop you. We know how you are, and we're aware that you're trying to fight for change both within Faerghus and outside of it.

Luciana: I suspect that the leader of the enemy faction... You said his name was Marcus, I believe... I think that Marcus was working with the other Malice groups primarily out of convenience.

Illona: I bet so too. You know, he would have probably been forced to work with the other nobles that were trying to overthrow Faerghus for their own gains, but since we've gotten rid of most of them, that gives him free reign over his actions now.

Kyle: We're going to have to stop him before he completely tears apart the country, but... He's fighting for what he thinks is right. That much I'm sure of. He wouldn't be doing all of this if he didn't think that it was right.

Magnolia: I imagine that it isn't an uncommon sentiment among people from Albinea to hate Faerghus as a whole. I would feel the same way in their situation. In fact, there's a reason that I've been such an unpopular ruler among the nobility.

Reese: You've worked against the way that the country had functioned before you took the throne. That's not a bad thing at all.

Magnolia: In another world... I believe that we could have worked together to make this world a better place. In fact, I'm sure that it would have been possible. Instead, we find ourselves as enemies.

Nora: What are you going to do then? Are you going to fight against him even though you know how he feels?

Illona: I don't know if diplomacy would even be possible at this point. The damage has been done on both sides of the conflict. As much as I want for us to reach a mutual agreement, I don't know if we can.