The Villainess Will Not Bring Dishonor To Her Family

155 - Choosing a Future

"How did you figure so?"

I put Wolfram under a bit of pressure. I know of Alstair and Gilbert's less honest sides only after Lily pointed it out, but even then I had no idea they'd try to do something like that. Not even Lily did.

Wolfram looks about uncomfortably and ends with his gaze on Claire and Soleil who are taking care of the injured.

"You know how we talked about how Lily had talked about tattoos when we were kids? Well, it kind of went into fashion between all three houses. When an assassin was caught with a tattoo that didn't really have the hidden flaw each of us put in we started suspecting foul play."

He sighs.

"They'd apparently started getting lazy, so the assassins weren't actually initiated as part of our soldiers. They started doing that after, of course, but it was enough... with enough torture now that we could sort away their lies we eventually found their link to some house Salender spies. When Headal provided us with a hint that this lead all the way to the crown we were doubtful for a bit, but let's just say that it made too much sense with all of our history considered..."

A momentary feeling of nausea washes over me. Wolfram is saying this so casually, but if it is true then the royal family split House Stanbell into three and caused hostility between them... but why? I furrow my brows in thought and cross my arms.

"Silver."

He interrupts my train of thought with the answer.

"We would effectively have monopoly on silver within Ristaze. With it being tradition that anyone coming of age gets silver tableware out of what seems necessity at times, the price of silver would be a lot higher than it is now. We'd likely be richer than House Salender too. On top of our huge territory across the northern border I suspect we were simply a threat."

He glances past me to the princess with a cautious look.

"...Why didn't you tell me about any of this?"

When Wolfram looks to me it's with that same cautious look.

"I intended to at first, but honestly you had enough to deal with in keeping secrets, and you were already cautious of the crown prince. Besides, you never told me about Lily."

I wince a bit at his retort.

"Young Lord Eric Celeste, Lord Stanbell representative of House Silbell and House Windhall, Lord Listere, Young Lord Soleil Listere and Miss Claire Talwen."

Despite her tiny size the princess speaks up with a loud and clear voice as she gazes over us with those ghostly eyes.

"My name is Emilia Blyenberg Schwarthertz, first princess of Ristaze."

She takes a moment to let that sink in for all of us. Wait... Blyenberg? If I recall correctly then that is not the queen's maiden name.

"I thank you for your assistance in dethroning my corrupt father and brother, and saving the hero Child of Scorog from the terrible fate they wished to bring upon him."

I feel my stomach clench together in discomfort as I start looking over the piece of the puzzle that is this princess Emilia.

Why did I have no idea that she existed. Of course she wouldn't have been presented to the public before the age of five... but they should at least have announced it... not that I recall if any such thing was done with Alstair. However, it makes me feel uncomfortable.

Why is Headal supporting her?

Some of the ghosts that ended up joining the battle belong to Headal. Their insignia is clear. Some of them are dressed as you'd expect bodyguards. Their armor is mostly ceremonial. That said, several of them aren't dressed as soldiers but as diplomats... the probability of the princess being manipulated by Headal is too high to disregard.