"Your Majesty we've received word that Sindarian forces have launched an attack in an attempt to take our port."
"Your Majesty! We should use the Scarlet Night Mastermind to send a message to those that would attack us! He has no family or ally to rescue him, it would be easy—"
"No your Majesty! Doing so would only prove to the High Council that we follow the mercilessly barbaric ways of the former Empress—"
An abrupt crash silenced the courtiers.
"It's far too early for you all to forget who gave you those positions of yours."
Sin's domineering gaze made the courtiers cower, not a single one willing to meet his eyes. It had been 11 long years since Illya was taken by the High Council. The last thing Sin had expected when he returned with Avarice and Gabriel was to find himself being crowned Emperor of a defeated empire. It was a day he became intimately familiar with the shadow of regret. Could he have done something more if he went with her, would his presence have changed anything at all? He didn't know, but what he regretted the most was that he wasn't even there to say goodbye.
Albus had taken him to the Asylum to see if they could see her one last time only to find it gone. He was sure it was the Council's doing. Ri-is and Sin worked tirelessly to try and find evidence of the council's underhanded involvement in everything but could never come up with anything concrete to present to the people. Sin wished dearly to just reverse time and re-write the events that took place, but he couldn't. Time didn't wait for anyone. The most important thing at the time was dealing with Li's relentless attacks on Solaria.
Since the assassination of King Sana, Li had established herself as Sindaria's saviour, determined to avenge their fallen monarch. Fending off attacks in the midst of an abrupt change in power was not exactly a smooth start to Sin's rule but it couldn't be helped.
Nikiro lifted Sin's fist off of the throne's armrest, the edge of which had been sufficiently shattered when he slammed his hand down.
"I have something to report on the attack on the port."
Sin dusted his fist off and watched as Nikiro stepped back down to stand in front of him. "Go ahead."
"As you know, the Solarian resistance was stationed there when it happened. Princess Isabelle has reported that her squad was able to stop their attack. Sindaria's forces have retreated from the port. As for the patrol squad, Egan mentioned that he's been finding statues that have mysteriously appeared overnight. There are statues from the village all the way to the hanging garden ruins and out into traveling paths that lead in and out of Solaria."
"Statues?"
Nikiro sighed, knowing Sin would not like what he was about to say. "Yes. We don't know who created them but we believe them to be the work of Sindarian supporters."
"Why's that?"
"...Well...the statues are all of the former Empress kneeling in shame, depicting her defeat in Sindaria."
The courtiers didn't think it possible, but the look on Sin's face became even more grim. Knowing what Sin would say next, Nikiro spoke up again before he could get even angrier.
"When we found the first statue, we took it down but by the next morning it was there again. Underneath the statues are runes that seem to revert the statues to how they looked when they were placed at their locations, meaning we can't destroy or get rid of them without finding a way to break the magic on the runes first."
"Have we made progress on that then?"
"Unfortunately no. Prince Avarice had a look at them and determined that the runes contain a magic far more ancient than anything native to these parts. He wasn't able to decipher them. The resistance has since prepared to make a trip to the Temple of the Ashen Eyes to ask for assistance."
"I see..." Sin stood, the fabirc of his robes fluttering around him like a gentle breeze. As he stepped down from his perch on the throne, not a trace of the once easy going Prince from all those years ago remained. The air around him was darker and more sinister, in ways that made him almost unrecognizable at times. "So Sindarian supporters are trying to make a mockery of us. I will leave this matter to you, as for the attacks, have Astrid set up a barrier in the water around the coast to trap them should they return. That will be all for this morning's Assembly, I have other matters to take care of."
Sin began walking out of the throne room, but before he could reach the exist a rather bold courtier spoke up.
"Actually there is one more matter that requires your attention your Majesty."
Sin glanced at the courtier from over his shoulder. "And what would that be?"
The courtier shrunk under his gaze, fiddling nervously with his fingers. "W-Well...discussions on how to improve Solaria's stability have been a topic of much importance as of late and we feel...umm...w-we feel that..." The courtier glanced at his associates, none of whom were willing to step up and support him. It was clear to everyone else that this poor man was sent to take the fall for them.
"Speak. I do not have all day," Sin warned.
The courtier flinched at the sound of his voice. "Ahh! Well...we feel that it is necessary to look at other options for securing Solaria's power among the other countries. Since it has taken this long for things to improve even a little, we would like to suggest marrying a Princess from Qahil or Meer to form an ali—"
"No."
"B-But your Majesty-"
"I will not repeat myself."
Without another word, Sin left, Nikiro following closely behind. Once they were no longer within earshot of the riled up courtiers, Sin slammed his fist into the wall. Nikiro once again took his fist and dusted it off.
"Stop that. You'll hurt your hands," he said gently.
"They know of what happened with Dez and they still dare to insist such things!"
"Don't resent them too much. They're just stressed. Same as us."
"I'm not going to sacrifice myself, much less anyone else's daughter by forcing them into some political marriage. We can barely manage our own resources, how do can they think that adding someone else's into the mix would help? The only people willing to make an alliance with us are people who want to take advantage of us, almost all of mom's allies have been suppressed or butchered like the Eclipse Order..." Sin's rage left him and was replaced with resignation. "...I dunno...maybe I'm just not doing a good enough job...Ea would know what to do...he was always better at this stuff than me."
Nikiro placed a hand on Sin's shoulder. "Don't say that. Your guidance is the only reason Solaria's been able to stay afloat all this time. Don't sell yourself short," he said reassuringly.
Sin's steely gaze softened and he gave Nikiro a weak smile. "I...guess I'll believe you for now."89Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoCBz9J6POL
