Days changed in the blink of an eye; another twenty days had passed. The world's atmosphere was anything but crowdy. Many would see this as positive, yet it was the calm before the storm. While the civilians remained clueless about what was about to happen, the soldiers and Warriors were always on edge for the past month. The war was coming close.
Armies from the neighbouring Kingdoms which stood under the banner of Rectusomine were crowding Cresundia. Normally, they would have felt happy for the assistance given that they had lost a lot of powerful people in subjugation missions; however, they didn't feel safe despite the enormous support that they got. They felt something wrong that they couldn't tell pinpoint. Something was eating them from the inside, but that might be just their paranoia.
The feelings were shared with the higher-ups. Although the scuffles that they had for the last two months with the Warriors from Antares were fierce, there was nothing out of the ordinary. Antares had been too passive. It didn't prepare a head start or even bother to spy on Cresundia anymore. Looking at it simply, Antares might be underestimating Cresundia, Layland wasn't such a simple man.
The thinkers of the Rectusomine Army spent days racking their brains trying to figure out what Layland was scheming. They gathered any information about him as much as they could. They wanted to figure him out through his personality. The information led them to the conclusion that Layland was a mindfucker. They became even more paranoid because of that.
What if he is planning to do a simple frontal attack? What if he just wants us to look too deeply into this and mislead us? What if he intentionally leads us to believe it is simple but it is not? What if he is trying to keep us from attacking Antares by making it look unconcerned by our power?
Too many what-ifs filled their heads. Each of them was a possible scenario given Layland's personality and they couldn't tell which one was the most likely. The easiest solution to this matter was to prepare themselves as best as they could, so they could be ready for anything. They did that and therefore they were as passive as Antares was.
"Our scouting teams reported some sightings of the kidnapped Princess. She looks very much alike, but we can't tell if it is the person whom you have been looking for, Your Majesty."
In the palace of the Cresundia Kingdom, sitting on his throne while calmly looking at the photos of the woman who resembled his daughter, the King, Solas dis Cresundia had a sombre look on his face. His white hair made him look like a dying person. His prominent jawline no longer made him look attractive but depressed. Despite his muscular stature, he looked like a vulnerable ordinary middle-aged man.
"When she was here, all I thought about was to whom I should marry her, so I could make my political influence bigger. I was stupid, but I made sure to not make her suffer by making her live the life she didn't want. However, that despicable harlot took control of my mind that day. She made me do what I would never do which brought us to this situation."
A soft sigh echoed through the throne room, followed by a grave silence. The Scouting Legion Commander kept his head lowered and said nothing as he knelt before his King. He felt regret and shame. This was also their fault. Shanifa didn't take control of them, but they failed to notice something was amiss. The situation wouldn't have turned out like this if they were more competent.
"Should we bring her to you, Your Majesty?"
"No. I had ruined my daughter's life. I don't have to also ruin the life of her look-alike. Even if she turns out to be my real daughter, I think it is better to not take her back. Look at how brightly she smiles. I haven't seen that smile since she was eight years old."
"…I understand."
"Though, I want to see her. Can you bring me to her?"
The Scouting Legion Commander lifted his head and smiled softly. The scene took Solas quite aback as those from the Scouting Legion rarely showed their emotion. Everything about them was veiled in mystery. Even if the Commander had worked for Solas for a decade, Solas didn't know how he looked and what colour his hair was as it was always covered by his hood.
It was quite disconcerting as he carefully thought about it, but he quickly put the thoughts away as his daughter came to mind. He stood up from his throne and followed the Commander's lead. Without anyone registering his presence, he traversed through the streets of the Kingdom. He found his daughter in less than three minutes.
"Lunea…you resemble your late mother greatly."
Solas stood petrified as he watched his daughter distributing food to the unfortunate people in the area. She had a bright smile on her face which was reflected by the people around her. The elderly thanked her sincerely and the children called her endearingly. The youngsters looked at her in admiration meanwhile the adults looked at her in respect.
"Big Sis Luna! Everyone has received their food. Let's eat together!"
"Ah, yes. Let's eat together with Gabby and Abby also!"
As everyone came closer to the silver-haired beautiful woman to have a meal together, Solas creased his forehead. He was sure that she was his daughter despite the different name. Her hair which reminded him of the moon was a dead giveaway. He wanted to run to her and enveloped her in an embrace while shouting his sorry, but he didn't.
His daughter had made a choice. She had decided how she would live her life and he had to respect it. Regardless of her situation, he couldn't intrude on her life like he had last time. Therefore, ignoring the bitterness in his mouth, he turned around and left.
"Wait, sir! Do you want to join us too?"
…yet he couldn't move his feet.
"Yes…?"
"Do you also want to join us? We still have enough for everybody!"
Solas' breath was caught in his throat as Luna stood inches away from him. She looked at him the way his daughter did which convinced him more that she was his daughter. Of course, he also noticed the cluelessness in her eyes which pained him greatly. His daughter no longer recognized him.
"I am fine."
"You are? Ah, don't worry, I will not poison you! We can share the same plate if you are that afraid of getting poisoned."
Luna looked at Solas passionately, determined to have him join them. In response, Solas smiled defeatedly and rubbed her head warmly. Luna was quite taken aback but was not repulsed by the gesture. She stood silently until Solas retracted his hand and watched his back as he turned around and left.
Solas was sure of one thing: Shanifa had erased Lunea's memory. He was enraged but also thankful. Lunea was happier than ever. It was heart-wrenching that he could no longer be her father but the new life that she was happy with still put a smile on his face. With the upcoming war, it was better to not take her in. It was better to leave her as it was; unconcerned about the war. What he had to do was win the war and keep her smile.
Heaving a forlorn sigh for the last time, a small smile grazed Solas' face. At the same time, a devious smile crept up Lunea's face.
"It is all according to the plan. Keep up your good work, Neroel." Lunea's eyes shone as she looked at the back of the Scouting Legion Commander.
"Princess Lunea…"
Someone's call made Lunea turn around. A middle-aged man with sharp eyes came out of the crowd. He was one of the important figures she needed to convince. He had the biggest influence and was the smartest among the others. He was the person who made her go through this risky scenario.
"Yes, Mister Crawford?"
"We are convinced that the King is being controlled by someone else now. Given the proofs you have shown us, it is no doubt that the Temple is the culprit."
"Took you long enough," Lunea said nonchalantly with a shrug.
"I am sorry. I don't want to make a wrong step as it involves a lot of people's lives." Crawford bowed respectfully. "Still, I am sorry to say that I can't fully believe the Demons yet. However, I am willing to give you my full support."
"I won't blabber the benefit of siding with Lord Layland. You will see by yourself what I mean later and decide what you want to do."
Lunea's mission in Cresundia was to weaken it from the inside. She could create an internal discord to do that or persuade the people to join their side. If none of them worked, she had to convince some of the people inside to not intervene and remained neutral until the end of the war. Much to her delight, she managed to convince the people to side with them.
It was truly fearsome what propaganda could do to people. She merely propagated fabricated stories that fit their agenda to sow seeds of doubt in the hearts of the people and they fell for it easily. Of course, she was not entirely propagating lies. Some of the things she preached about contained the truth which was why people believed it easily.
"Humans are fickle. You can speak about a thousand good things about them and they will only remember one unpleasant thing you say to them," Lunea recited what Layland had told her. "To win them, you just have to offer a better condition. They won't care which side you are in."
Whoosh!
Lunea's dress fluttered as the wind gently crashed onto her. As Lunea revelled in the sensation of victory, the people in control of Cresundia felt a bad omen coming at them.
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