Well, this was unexpected. According to the letter, not only had Helian woken up, but she was fairly certain she knew who put her to sleep.

  And it wasn’t my brother.

  I’d been unable to find any evidence of his involvement at this point – which only cemented his guilt, in my opinion – and Atropa’s investigations had led nowhere.

  So, was I mistaken all this time? Was there no point to any of this?

  But it was too late to go back now. And in any case, it would be wrong to go back. I had been ignoring the truth because it was easy, and I was comfortable, and it was someone else’s problem.

  But it was never someone else’s problem. He’d been blackmailing Gen this whole time and threatening his wife. He’d probably killed dozens or hundreds of people who got in his way while I was hiding.

  I had to do something. Haruko wouldn’t be able to rest properly until I did. I owed it to Mother, and to everyone else that bastard had hurt.

  Most of all, I wanted to strangle him with my bare hands. So what if I didn’t have the excuse I thought I did? No excuses were necessary. His guilt was undeniable. Everyone knew he was a piece of shit; they just chose to ignore it because it was convenient to do so. Since he hadn’t shed tears at her funeral, I’d teach him how to cry, and weep, and sob. He’d beg for my forgiveness, and I wouldn’t give it to him. I’d make certain in a hundred years no one would even remember his name.

  Aifé roused me from my thoughts. “Rosa, are you alright?”

  “Hm? Oh, sorry, I was just thinking. I’m okay. I’m great actually, because this letter says that Helian-”

  “Your hands are shaking, Rosa.”

  So they were. I hadn’t noticed. She was always very observant, and now that her eyes worked again – thanks, Frost – it was hard to sneak anything past her. “There’s no going back.”

  She nodded. “That’s true. Are you regretting it?”

  “No, there’s no room for regrets. Even if he didn’t make Helian sick, this is still the right thing to do. I’m just… not sure what’s going to happen. Many people will get hurt.”

  “That’s how these things always go. Don’t let your fears stop you from doing the right thing… as long as you really are doing the right thing.”

  Her warm smile was reassuring. “I know. I have to stay the course even if I’m afraid.”

  She shook her head. “That’s not it, Rosa. Doing the right thing could mean changing course. The right thing might not be what you want to do. It could be the opposite.”

  “What are you saying?”

  “Justice isn’t always satisfying, Rosa. And vengeance can make things worse instead of better. I know what you want is the latter, but you might regret it forever. Do you understand?”

  “They’re the same thing, Aifé. At least when it comes to him. You know that.”

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  “But it won’t ever be that simple. It can’t stop with him, can it? It’s not all just him. The people who work for him and knew what they were doing, will it be vengeance for them as well? What about the ones who didn’t realize, but were still a part of it? Will it be justice or vengeance? What about their spouses and children?”

  “That’s…”

  “You can’t ignore it. You can’t look away. He’s just a symptom of the disease, and the disease isn’t easy to cure. You could spend the rest of your life fixing this and not be finished. You may have to punish people you thought were your friends, and people you care about might get hurt in the process. You may make mistakes and punish people who were truly innocent all along. Justice is like that sometimes.”

  “What if I’m not interested in justice?”

  “Then you’ll regret it for the rest of your life. I know you will.”

  I sighed. “Father really should have sorted all this out.”

  She nodded. “He’s always been a coward, though, and the task would have fallen to you no matter what.”

  Father had been badly ill for some time – whether it was because Sonem had poisoned him or simply due to old age, I couldn’t be sure – which meant the succession battle would soon become a matter of real concern instead of abstract politics. The moment Father breathed his last, my elder brother would begin to slit the throats of every last person who posed a threat to his future rule.

  Solana and everyone close to her would naturally be near the top of his list of targets. Her house had long opposed the royal family on most matters, and her politics were in direct opposition to Sonem’s in almost every way. The moment he took power he’d begin attempting to undo Father’s policies, and she would oppose him no matter what.

  Until he got rid of her.

  So that couldn’t be allowed to happen, and to prevent it, I’d have to get rid of him. As soon as possible.

  I was tempted to simply stroll into the palace and take his head off. Or perhaps turn him to ashes, if Virtue could be convinced to go along with my whims just this once. But things were never that simple, and Aifé was right to bring this to my attention.

  Even if I killed him, that alone would not solve the problem. The men who had allied with him, and the men who worked for him – all of them would have to be dealt with as well. That meant I would need allies. I would need resources, and I would need the public’s support.

  ------

  “I feel like I have no idea what I’m doing.”

  Solana laughed. “That’s the nature of leadership, Rosa! If you ever find yourself truly confident, you can be certain that there’s no hope for you, and you’d best check under your bed for hired assassins. Fear and uncertainty are what keep our attention on the task.”

  “Speaking of the task, what do you think my chances are with the nobility council? Be honest.”

  She frowned. “I’d say probably 40 percent at most, likely closer to 30. Some of the rest are just cowards, though, so you could probably convince them to take your side if you were persuasive enough.”

  I nodded. “That’s not much worse than I expected, but it’s definitely a problem.”

  “For at least a few, you could probably get away with having them killed – they’re not popular back home, naturally – but that’s no guarantee their replacement would support you, and the ensuing turmoil would probably delay the succession process.”

  Yes, these matters were never simple. “That’s true. Perhaps the answer is to make them recuse themselves, so the pool of votes is smaller?”

  Her eyes lit up. “That’s a fantastic idea! It’s like blackmail, but legal. The evidence would cease to be useful afterward, but once you’re queen that won’t matter too much, as you’ll be able to revoke their titles. I’ll understand if you see fit to revoke mine, by the way.”

  This wasn’t the first time she’d mentioned it. I suspected Solana desperately wanted an excuse to abandon her duties and spend the rest of her life on vacation with Selene.

  “The easiest excuse for that would be to prove they’re in league with my brother, right? If he’s paid them off or blackmailed them, that makes it obvious that they’re unable to be impartial, and we can quickly proceed with the vote. Once that’s resolved, he’ll be nothing more than my older brother. And my older siblings have passed quietly before without any objection, so what’s one more?”

  Solana frowned. “Rosa… don’t talk like that.”

  “Sorry, you’re right. I just have to keep myself sane somehow.”

  A series of rapid knocks on her door interrupted us. “Duchess? There’s a messenger waiting at the gates.”

  She stood and opened the door. “I’ll head out to meet them immediately.”

  The butler shook his head. “The messenger is here for Lady Rosa, Your Grace.”

  I had a bad feeling about this.