Chapter 87: The End of the Federation Trip

"Accept his offer, Dmitri."

A voice cut through the chaos of the roundtable. The man who spoke slammed his fist against the polished wood, pale, aged hair swept back from a striking pair of blue eyes.

If not for Lucius, he might have passed for the protagonist of this story. He certainly had the looks for it.

Ivan Volkov. In the novel, he’d barely appeared beyond a few lines of exposition near the arc’s end. But those few lines had mattered: he was the original assassin, the man who took control of the Federation after the Chancellor’s death.

It was good that he was siding with me.

"Agreeing would doom the Federation!"

More voices joined the fray, nobles and technocrats shouting over one another, arguing as though the Chancellor’s life weren’t hanging by a thread. They didn’t seem to care much about him at all.

One noble even unsheathed the sword at his hip, clearly deciding to take matters into his own hands before the table, or the Chancellor himself, could reach a decision.

I stopped him before he took a single step.

"Wait for your peers, idiot."

A rope of light snapped around him, and he toppled to the ground, trussed up like a mummy. Harmless.

"That seems to be the final straw for the Chancellor.

"Fine! I’ll accept!"

Even the man who had authorized the operation wasn’t willing to die for it. Better to live as a pariah, endure constant assassination attempts to ensure he never rises to power again, and still retain a chance at survival than to die here, with no hope left at all.

The fate of the Federation was the furthest thing from his mind right now.

"Good. Then I’ll be leaving."

I turned around. Ivan looked disappointed. It made sense; leaving without waiting for the actual paper draft was idiotic. How was I supposed to ensure that whatever I asked for would actually take place?

But I’d already done enough. By now, the Chancellor had lost all his authority. And as for who had the most legitimacy and skill to assume the new chancellorship? Ivan, the man I wanted to assume control anyway.

"What do you mean you’re leaving?"

"Simple, I’ll leave it to you."

Ivan’s expression shifted, surprise flickering across his sharp features before settling into something more measured. He hadn’t expected me to hand him the reins so cleanly, or to walk away before the ink was even dry.

"You’re trusting me with this?"

"I’m trusting you to want what’s best for the Federation."

I brushed the soot from my sleeve, already turning toward the fireplace I’d crawled out of.

"And right now, what’s best for the Federation is a Chancellor who isn’t a liability. That’s you."

The other nobles erupted again, but the protests had lost their teeth. They were arguing because it was expected, not because they believed they could stop what was happening.

The Chancellor sat slumped in his chair, his face grey, watching his authority dissolve with the quiet desperation of a man who’d finally run out of moves.

Ivan’s voice cut through the noise.

"Enough. We’ll draft the formal apology tonight. The divinity program is dissolved as of this moment. Anyone who participated will be handed over to Leonis for judgment."

"You can’t just—"

"I can. And I will."

Ivan’s blue eyes swept the table, cold and commanding.

"Unless someone here wants a war with Leonis. At least with the kid’s terms, we have a scapegoat and can still survive as a sovereign nation."

"You’re saying to put all the blame on the Chancellor?"

"It’s the only way to spare the country. At worst, we’ll get sanctions, but we’ll survive."

Silence.

I didn’t wait for it to break. The fireplace opened onto the tunnel network, and I stepped back into the darkness, leaving the council chamber behind.

? ? ?

"They sure work fast..."

I walked the perimeter of the Citadel. The academy hadn’t wasted any time rounding everyone up, with even the locals and Federation citizens pitching in.

They had no idea about the operation, either.

It looked like Anna and Lillith’s earlier duo effort had paid off, too. Every single person they’d rounded up in that gruesome warehouse was now here, with Anna seemingly leading the effort.

The professors looked pleased, though some were decidedly more confused about how Anna had managed to round up so many guilty parties at once.

But something more interesting caught my eye: Lucius and Celeste standing beside Anna.

More specifically, Lucius had a sharp red bloom on his cheek, as if he’d just been slapped hard.

"Wondering what happened while you were gone?"

Aqua walked over, looking worse for wear. She’d wrapped herself in a towel, most of her clothes likely burned away by her dual elements and the fighting.

"Yeah..."

"Well, Lady Rose heard all about your little speech from Lady Crimson, and how Lord Lucius reacted. Long story short, he got slapped pretty hard by Lady Rose."

"And Lillith herself?"

"She’s lying low for now. Most people who saw her vampiric state were out of commission, but it didn’t hurt to play it safe."

"And you’re just fine knowing she’s a vampire?"

"Knowing you’re supporting her, I’m sure she isn’t a problem."

"You trust me that much?"

"I’d be dumb not to, Lord Brimstone."

Well, would you look at that.

I let the corner of my mouth curl upward, just enough to be noticeable without being smug. Aqua caught it anyway and rolled her eyes.

"Don’t let it go to your head."

"Too late."

She snorted, adjusting the towel around her shoulders. The gesture was almost self-conscious, a rare crack in the composed exterior she’d maintained all week.

The dual elements had left their mark: faint scorch marks along her forearms, a thin layer of frost still clinging to her hair, her breathing steady but shallow.

We stood in comfortable silence for a moment, watching the cleanup effort. Federation guards moved in tight formations, escorting bound operatives toward the waiting carriages.

Anna was still directing traffic, her voice carrying across the courtyard with the kind of authority that made people listen. She’d always been good at this, organizing, coordinating, making sure nothing slipped through the cracks.

It was the same skill set she’d used to plan my study sessions and coordinate with Trish and Lillith. She just had a bigger canvas now.

Lucius stood nearby, his cheek still red, his expression caught somewhere between guilt and stubbornness. Celeste had her hand on his arm, speaking quietly. Whatever she was saying, he was listening.

"Think he’ll actually change?" Aqua asked, following my gaze.

"Maybe. He’s not a bad person. Just blind."

"And you’re the one who opened his eyes?"

"I guess."

Aqua laughed, a real one, not the sharp, sardonic thing she usually offered. It suited her better.

"You’re strange, you know that? You could have just killed him. You could even let Lillith handle it. Instead, you talked him down, made him listen. Nobody does that, let alone someone as vulnerable as you just hours prior."

"I just didn’t want blood on my hands."

Aqua seemed to soften at my reply.

"Wow, okay..."

"Don’t buy it?"

"No, I do."

Good, because it definitely wasn’t the truth.

Lucius was the protagonist. That meant he had to live. There was no other reason. I didn’t hate him, and I also didn’t like him. I was just being pragmatic.