[Lifespan Remaining: 21 days, 22 hours, 16 minutes.]
"Damn it, Noct..." he muttered to himself, drying his hair with a soft towel. "You’re not a kid anymore. Why the hell did you get so worked up over something so trivial?"
Noct set the towel down and began to dress himself in the comfortable clothes that were already provided. Beginning to head down toward the dining hall, his mind kept lingering on the conversation.
’Does she really know something about Mother’s death? How come nobody has told me anything about it then?’
"Whatever..." Noct sighed. "It’s in the past and had nothing to do with me. I need to focus on the present. And...apologize to Noelle later."
By the time he arrived, Stella was already seated. Only two places had been set at a table long enough to host an entire adventuring party. Instead of the extravagant dishes that Noct had predicted there would be, it was just a simple meal, probably to Stella’s request.
"You took your sweet time."
"The house is too big."
Stella smirked and moved the handful of documents beside her a bit further away, gesturing toward the seat next to her. Noct lowered himself carefully, though the wounds on his body didn’t really seem to care.
She watched him for a second before raising a hand, dismissing all the servants. With just the gesture, the entire room was now completely empty, which was a far cry from what Noct could’ve done even at the main estate.
They started digging into the food, but halfway through, Noct realized that Stella was pretty much just nibbling on anything she touched. Instead, her eyes were completely focused on the documents beside her.
"Something up? You look like you could use some sleep."
"Don’t even get me started..." Stella said softly, setting her fork down and leaning back into her seat. "The royal capital has been a mess these past few days. Well, in no small part to your escapades as well."
Noct scratched the back of his head awkwardly. "Is it about the succession war?"
"How did you...?"
"Well, Finn was part of my group during the examination. I got the gist of it from him."
She let out a small sigh. "Yeah. Both princes in contention have been making moves. Axel has been meeting with military officials more frequently, while Roland has suddenly developed an interest in every merchant guild’s office in the capital."
"That doesn’t sound particularly unusual."
"It wouldn’t be, if they weren’t also trying to fill every available position with their own people."
Stella tapped one of the documents beside her. "A provincial administrator retires, and three different nobles suddenly have the perfect replacement. A trade dispute reaches my office, and someone feels the need to remind me how generously a particular guild has contributed to the kingdom."
"Sounds annoying."
Well, Noct knew that as Vice-Minister of Civil Affairs, Stella probably couldn’t just write ’I don’t like your face’ on an official rejection notice. Though judging from her expression, she was probably tempted to do so many times.
"But why now?" he asked. "Finn told me that everything was fine and dandy. What gives?"
In the game, the princes’ rivalry had suddenly escalated around this point as well. Whatever had triggered it happened off-screen.
"That," Stella said, "is what I would like to know as well."
’Even someone in a position as high as Stella’s didn’t know?’
She looked at one of the papers beside her before continuing. "One of the princes getting impatient, sure. I can understand that. But both at the same time? Something has to be up."
Noct reached for his glass, taking a sip of ale. "Axel still has the advantage I assume?"
"He’s the Crown Prince. The royal army supports him, as does most of the high nobility."
"Because he likes conquering things?"
"That’s a rather crude way of putting it."
"Am I wrong?"
"...No."
At least that part was easy enough to understand.
More territory meant more land to distribute, more positions to fill, and more opportunities for the people who had supported him to receive something in return.
Naturally, those people would want him on the throne.
"Roland has the merchant guilds," Stella continued. "Most of them, at least. His policies are more appealing to people who would prefer to conduct business without wondering whether their trade routes will become battlefields."
"And the great families?"
"Valliant and Sylvaine."
Noct’s fingers tightened around the glass, watching the liquid inside slosh around. ’Sylvaine...huh? Isn’t that quite the coincidence?’
"Are we undecided then?" he continued. "If I remember correctly, Arcadia should be neutral to both princes."
"Father is on friendly terms with Prince Roland," Stella replied. "Mostly because his mother and ours were friends back during their church days. There’s goodwill between them, but that’s why many speculate that Arcadia is on Roland’s side as well."
That explained the two biggest factions, but Noct probably knew more about the royal family of Rexford than Stella could’ve guessed. There were three other children, with Lysandra, the eldest princess, having the support of most of the Magic Towers within Rexford.
That was why many thought that she would be trying to join the succession war. Finn and the youngest princess, Cecilia, were both currently attending school, so neither had any interest.
But that wasn’t all, King Richard de Rexford had all of these kids with different wives. So all of these mothers would have political sway, even if their children didn’t want to. And well...House Arcadia was in a similar situation.
"What about Vivienne?"
"House Montclair supports Axel."
"And Father is supposedly supporting Roland," he muttered. "That must make family gatherings quite pleasant."
"Yeah," she nodded. "Which is why I’ve been having a complete headache trying to monitor her actions. A few favors from such a big name like Arcadia are sure to go a long way, even if our patriarch knows nothing about it."
"And after Altaire, we can’t afford any more trouble," Stella added. "We exposed our own heir’s involvement in a disaster on our own territory. Now, Prince Axel’s faction managed to get a foot into management, sending an emissary there to ’help’. Surely Amelia is going to have a great time."
"That’s absurd," Noct shook his head. "Surely Father would’ve rejected it? He was called to meet with the King after all, wasn’t he?"
Instead of answering, Stella dug through the stack of documents in front of her before she pulled out another one and gave it to him. Noct skimmed the page, only to stop at the royal seal above.
"Father is going to return to the Northern Frigid Lands?!"