Alstair Schwartshertz's Point Of View

I stare quietly at the violent scenery in front of me.

Lionel is covered in blood... again...

The tea set has been shattered against the ground after the table got flipped over in the struggle... chairs are tilted over and the maid's arm is still holding a knife, though it has been separated from the rest of her body.

Lionel tested out the tea and thoroughly cleaned the cup before I had a chance to drink... apparently he noted that something was wrong, and the maid lunged at him with a knife... again today he used an arm to block the attack... again today he got injured and poisoned at pretty much the same time...

My nerves are flossed, and Lionel's even more so. He is in all ways the most dependable man I've ever known, right from childhood. He's the one guy I never thought could be rattled seriously... but Lionel is exhausted. He blanks out during class and goes to sleep before everyone else, and his temper is flying high.

He even stared taking out his stress on miss Talwen, who appears to happily just take it. On the other hand he is avoiding Lily... though, I understand why.

If he slips up in front of Lily, then she will rip him apart. Lily has a near zero tolerance to verbal attacks after all.

"Let's go to the bath and get you cleaned up," I try to speak softly. I realize that he has just about reached his limit. The moment Lionel gets the letter to go home for war, he might snap.

No matter how much time I make him relax he's getting paranoid from this... and I am too. I barely eat, and neither does he.

"Yes, your Highness."

...

On the day of the entrance ceremony I crossed a line with Lionel I never should have. I never expected the sort of welcome I got... one drenched in blood... I was nearly killed four times in one day... and by the fifth time I snapped and asked Lionel to do something I shouldn't. Of course I apologized and made Gil do it instead... but Lionel has been cautious since then.

"Your Highness."

Gil appears without the fake smile he usually plasters on. It is a bad sign... and Lionel straightens up as if to prepare for his next job.

"What is it?" I try to respond calmly and ignore the scenery around me.

"Miss Talwen and Lily have been kidnapped. We went to check up on their private meeting and found them missing. Lily appears to have been leaving recognizable traces by their tea table but there is no sign of struggle."

He glanced to Lionel when he said that last phrase, so I did as well. He frowned more than he usually did.

"Why did they have a private meeting?"

I turned my attention back to Gilbert.

"My guess would be Helena Fox. She has made a few attempts at swaying Claire politically, and so Claire probably went to Lily who has put Helena in her place before."

In other words, she went to someone with more experience? A good decision. You can't always know everything about the situation, and some things will be out of your expertise. In those cases you go to advisors for their help.

Still, to kidnap both of the queen candidates... is it Headal trying to start a war for good?

"Furthermore, we found one of the Listere family's servants killed in the south wing, and signs of struggle. We haven't been able to locate Soleil, so we suspect that he has been kidnapped along the girls."

Of course, Gil's words change the situation drastically...

If they have both Soleil and Claire, then they'd likely try to get Claire on their side and torture Soleil for all his knowledge on our light magic. Soleil may not be blessed by light, but he still knows just about everything. He has always been quite obsessed with light magic after all.

...while I would have suspected this to possibly be another trick to keep me from getting near Claire Talwen, the second queen candidate, it wouldn't make sense since they took Lily as well... no, what is more surprising is that Lily has been dragged into this. According to Gil she hasn't been attempted assassinated even once since she entered the academy.

I can't suspect Lily either, since Lily is doing her best to wriggle out of our engagement, just like a cat that does not want to be held.

So in the end we are back to them trying to bring Claire to their side?

However, Claire isn't that naive. If she went to Lily because of Helena's ideas, then she should be able to resist their temptation as well.

"Have the soldiers sent out. We need to find them before their kidnappers leave the country," I order Gil. I want to let Lionel rest.

I have no doubt that it is another country interfering. We are under pressure from Headal, and both the northern and southern country have attempted to interfere with the selection of a new queen... more specifically... they seem to want me not to choose Claire...

Gil bows.

"As you wish. I will make sure an order is delivered. The Celeste knight students have already moved out as well, and we will be joining them in the tracking."

He pauses to watch me carefully.

"The place they were kidnapped is miss Claire's favorite spot in school, so we assume Lady Lily was brought along to delay the alert."

I pause at that, but proceed to quickly leave the terrace.

"In other words, depending on their intention for Claire, they may choose to dispose of her?"

Gil nods and looks at both of us as we move away from the corpse and blood.

"How cold Lionel, you don't look worried at all. Do you hate Lily-Chan?" Gilbert changed pace in a heartbeat. Though... I can't say I am uninterested.

If it hadn't been for Lionel's interest in Claire, then I would have courted her on my own...

"I do not," Lionel responds simply. Gilbert doesn't give in though.

"Oh~ then, do you love Lily-chan? You appear to have been jealous towards her new escort knight," Gil chimed without any sense of timing.

Lionel merely raised a brow.

"No. I respect her, but that is the limit of my affection. The reason I paid her attention then was something else." Disappointingly he responded emotionlessly.

I expected Gil to continue along that line, but he skipped to another one.

"Then, do you love Claire-chan?"

Lionel's eyes narrowed, and then for a moment he looked at me... then away again.

"So you don't."

Lionel was about to lie just now... so Gil stopped him... I had noticed as well, so I understand.

With my life like this I want to come home to a loving fiancé and future wife who will smile at me sincerely and let me escape from this reality for a bit... and Lily Celeste... is the opposite sort.

Despite her cute and almost angelic appearance she can give off when she behaves, she is quite the opposite. No matter how bad a day you have, if you screw up she will verbally execute you. You have no idea how many ladies she have humiliated verbally because they picked a fight with her, or whispered behind her back. There is no mercy whatsoever, and a polite and suspicious look to me at best...

No matter how sly she is, how stubborn she is, or how good a match she would be for the position... she is a woman I cannot fall in love with.

I have tried. Doesn't work.

I would prefer Claire any day, and Gilbert knows that. He told me that he is slowly giving her a sense of reality as well, and even Lily is making an apparent effort in teaching Claire about the duties of nobility...

Claire would bring me peace in the storm.

But if Lionel is in love with Claire, then I'll accept Lily at my side.

I owe Lionel that much.

But if Lionel doesn't love Claire, then why does he want me to end up with Lily? He too has been making quite the effort in leading me away from Claire after all...

He is officially the only one inter-politically that wants me to end up with Lily. Everyone else interfering want me to end up with Claire...

Gilbert leaves with a satisfied hum, and Lionel's mood gets worse. Being a target of Gil's plans is exhausting. He usually never means bad, but he can be incredibly annoying.

Meanwhile let's pray for the safety of those three. At least neither Gil nor Lionel appear to be worried, so the odds may be better than I expect...

Just as I think that, Lionel pulls me back roughly as yet another substitute teacher brandishes a knife at me.