Prime Minister Lucius of the Trakia Empire arrived at Count Alias’s mansion with an escort of roughly thirty guards.

  He offered his condolences to Quintus and prayed for the princess’s soul at her tomb.

  Of course, the princess wasn’t actually buried there, and no epitaph had been carved.

  In this country there were no strict rules about burial—earth interment, cremation, whatever—but in the Alias domain cremation was common. The bones were crushed and scattered, so nothing lay beneath the stone. The tomb was simply a place to remember the dead; only the name was engraved.

  Lucius said he was charmed by the land’s simplicity and asked if he might stay for a while.

  Quintus accepted and gave him the guest residence.

  That same evening, the household was gathered for a dinner in Lucius’s honor.

  The servants had been nervous ever since they heard the Imperial Prime Minister was coming, but once the meal began, Lucius turned out to be surprisingly easy-going. The dinner ended without incident, and everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

  After that he held several private meetings with Quintus, and the two men seemed to grow quite close.

  As the man who ran the politics of a vast empire, Lucius possessed knowledge and information on an entirely different scale—both in breadth and depth. Quintus said he had learned a great deal about finance as well.

  On a personal level, Lucius showed no arrogance or high-handedness whatsoever; instead he was open-minded and carried an air of relaxed confidence.

  Quintus was deeply impressed and spoke of him in unusually high terms.

  Then, about two weeks later, Quintus heard something strange.

  It concerned the annexation of Tricia—and because Lunaflare was involved, he came to tell her in person.

  The Kingdom of Tricia was a small nation that the Kingdom of Aristera had swallowed up eighteen years earlier.

  Located southeast of Aristera, it had been a trading powerhouse that made enormous profits through maritime commerce.

  To secure those rights, the previous Marquis Valerius—two generations back—had, with the backing of the Kaios royal family, taken the Trician princess as his eldest son’s wife.

  Ever since, the Valerius house had absorbed Tricia’s trade routes and reaped massive wealth.

  The royal family, alarmed by how much power the Valerius house had gained, increased pressure on the Trician royals. That pressure became the spark that ignited war.

  It was said that a single mage had decided the outcome: the moment fighting began, the enemy’s central army was half-destroyed, forcing an immediate ceasefire and Tricia’s surrender.

  The king of the time committed suicide, and the survivors and nobles were announced to have fled to the Empire.

  However, according to Lucius, not a single Trician noble had actually sought refuge in the Empire.

  He had investigated thoroughly; there was no mistake.

  Moreover, a memorandum had been signed at the ceasefire.

  Tricia would become an Aristeran protectorate, and the positions of the king and nobles would be guaranteed. That memorandum was later turned into a formal treaty.

  The documents still existed, bearing the signatures of both monarchs, and Lucius claimed he had seen them himself.

  The person who had delivered those documents was a surviving member of the Trician royal family—the seventh prince Critias, who had been only five years old at the time.

  According to him, the Trician king and all the lords had been murdered by the Kaios family, and every last asset seized.

  His demand was the restoration of the Kingdom of Tricia. In exchange, Tricia would submit to the Empire. That, Lucius revealed, had been the true objective of the previous war.

  “At the time, Marquis Valerius opposed opening hostilities. But the royal family surrounded his mansion and kept him under house arrest until the war began. The confinement lasted until the annexation was complete.”

  Lunaflare spoke from the couch. She was lounging deep in the cushions, legs crossed, chin resting on her hand.

  “The previous Marquis naturally opposed it—his eldest son’s wife was the Trician princess. Forcing the war with military pressure must have made the relationship between the Kaios and Valerius houses absolutely toxic. And if the entire royal family was wiped out, then Christina, who married into the Valerius house, would be the legitimate heir to the Trician throne. Father, if you were in that position, what would you do?”

  “I would think about revenge and reclaiming the territory.”

  “Exactly. But in reality, he married off his eldest daughter Clarissa as the late king’s queen. However, last year the late king died in battle, followed shortly by the deaths of the first prince and first princess. The current first in line for the throne is now Miredias IV of the Valerius Marquis family.”

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  A long silence settled over the room.

  “What do you think the Prime Minister’s real purpose was in coming here?” Denaris asked, stroking the cat.

  “Good question,” Lunaflare smirked.

  “The Prime Minister says he wants to buy my medicine.”

  Lunaflare laughed.

  “That’s obviously just an excuse. He has another goal.”

  “I haven’t answered yet. Want to speak with him directly?”

  “Please arrange it.”

  “Fine. But I’ll take a commission.”

  “Two percent?”

  “Three.”

  “Nothing for three percent? Nice business.”

  “That’s how nobles operate, apparently.”

  Lunaflare gave a wry smile.

  ◇

  The following evening, after dinner, Lucius visited Lunaflare’s mansion.

  She had chosen the hour herself, but since it was inappropriate for a single woman’s residence, he brought his wife along.

  “This is my wife, Minevia.”

  She was considerably younger than him.

  “Welcome.”

  Lunaflare greeted them warmly.

  The wife had brought locally produced wine as a gift, which was gratefully accepted.

  “What a lovely fragrance. May I ask what scent this is?”

  Lucius showed interest in the aroma.

  “It’s from a flower called evening primrose that blooms in my homeland.”

  “What a mysterious scent—neither too sweet nor cloying, yet somehow fleeting.”

  “Did you make it yourself?”

  The young wife asked.

  “I used to, but now I leave production to my employees.”

  Lunaflare promised to show them later and offered them seats.

  Servants brought wine and light refreshments.

  “This is apple wine made on our estate.”

  The servant poured the sparkling liquid into tall, slender glasses; bubbles rose instantly.

  “I hope it suits your taste.”

  They raised their glasses and drank.

  “Oh, this is excellent. The grape wine was good, but this is wonderful in its own way.”

  “Thank you.”

  Lucius looked genuinely pleased.

  “I’m a provincial lord myself and produce liquor, so this is fascinating. The taste changes depending on the region. Comparing them is one of life’s little pleasures.”

  “What kind do you make?”

  “Barley distilled spirits. My homeland’s main industry is agriculture, so coming here reminded me of home.”

  “Are you enjoying your stay?”

  “Of course. It’s difficult to leave the capital without some pretext. If I could, I’d love to spend my days quietly reading back home.”

  He took another sip.

  “Actually, I came here with a purpose. There was someone I wanted to meet.”

  “What kind of person?”

  “That’s precisely why I’m interested—because I don’t know.”

  Lunaflare tilted her head.

  Lucius leaned back in his armchair, stroking his beard as he continued.

  “I also run a grain wholesaling business. There’s a certain trading company that always buys at rock-bottom prices. They appear the moment the market bottoms out. Quite infuriating, wouldn’t you say? They snatch it cheap and vanish after selling high.”

  This man was skilled at discussing matters without revealing his political position. Quintus’s high opinion of him might be spot-on.

  “I grew curious and investigated. It turned out to be a foreign company—the Tsukiyama Trading Company based in the port city of Ternova, Aristera.”

  The moment Lunaflare heard the name, she understood.

  This man had come to see her.

  To assess what kind of person she was.

  “They didn’t deal only in grain—they traded all sorts of goods and turned reliable profits. Yet for some reason they stayed in the shadows. I found it strange. If they moved more aggressively they could grow far larger. When I sent people to look into it, I discovered that every employee was a graduate of a certain research institute. That institute didn’t produce any particularly brilliant talents; its graduates were scattered across Aristera, living perfectly ordinary lives. I became interested in the teacher of that institute. What on earth was she trying to accomplish?”

  Lucius reached for his glass again.

  “That teacher is an outstanding mage. Yet none of her students live as mages. They hold commonplace civilian jobs—noble servants, shopkeepers, transporters, farmers, soldiers, every walk of life. It occurred to me: what if all those people were connected? If they were gathering information on noble households, military movements, market trends… and if they could transmit that information instantly with magic… perhaps this was an intelligence network.”

  Lunaflare listened with complete seriousness.

  “If that teacher was collecting all that information, what did she intend to do with it? Her business was modest, she showed no desire for political power… I wanted to ask her directly what she wanted.”

  Lunaflare smiled.

  “If it were me, I would answer that I am searching for ways to use magic effectively outside of military applications. To find a path where mages are not treated as weapons of slaughter.”

  “Why would you seek such a thing?”

  Lunaflare did not answer.

  “Because of the Akarina Plains?”

  “Yes. That was… regrettable.”

  Lucius smiled.

  “I’m glad I met you and heard those words. I wanted to understand you in my own way. A mage in another country capable of annihilating an entire army is a threat. If I didn’t know the person well, I might have proceeded on mistaken assumptions. That would benefit neither side.”

  “Indeed.”

  “Just hearing that made this journey worthwhile.”

  “You mentioned interest in my medicine?”

  “Yes. It’s not entirely an excuse—only half.”

  “Then please take this. It’s effective for the skin. Just apply it before bed.”

  She set a small glass bottle of the cream and a tiny bottle of evening primrose essential oil on the table.

  Lucius accepted them with thanks and left.

  ◇

  Early the next morning, a messenger from Lucius arrived.

  He wished to visit at once.

  It seemed the hook had been set.

  I replied that we would be waiting, and he appeared almost immediately.

  “Thank you for last night. This may be sudden, but I would like to purchase that skin medicine. Would that be possible?”

  “Did it work?”

  “My wife is raving about how extraordinarily effective it is. I’d love to buy some.”

  “Very well. The bottle you used last night was the concentrate diluted one hundred times with distilled water. One bottle of concentrate for one gold coin—shipping extra?”

  “Perfect. I’ll take it. But why don’t you sell it in Aristera?”

  “I do sell it—as a magic potion.”

  “You’re joking… that was it?”

  “Yes.”

  “Why did it become known as a magic potion?”

  “During a prolonged war, one of my aides complained about rough skin, so I gave him a bottle. Instead of applying it, he drank the whole thing. It worked, and word spread.”

  “Amazing… By the way, if it’s not rude to ask, how much do you charge in Aristera?”

  “The Mage Division buys the hundred-times dilution for ten silver coins per bottle. We’ve confirmed effectiveness up to two hundred times.”

  “I see—so you can sell different strengths and still make a profit. Incidentally, what do you do with the evening primrose essential oil?”

  “I use it as incense, mix it into soap, or add two drops to beauty serums.”

  “How much per bottle of essential oil?”

  “One hundred silver coins.”

  “Understood. I’ll send a formal order shortly. Thank you in advance.”

  “I have about thirty bottles in stock right now. Would you like to purchase them?”

  Lucius said yes and left. Shortly afterward a guard arrived, paid thirty gold coins, shouldered the wooden box, and departed.

  Later it was reported that this beauty serum went on sale in the imperial capital under the name “Luna Beauty Serum” and became an explosive hit.

  The hundred-times dilution sold for ten silver coins each; noble ladies competed to buy it, according to the Tsukiyama Trading Company.

  A postscript added that hair-growth effects had also been confirmed.

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