Thief of Time

“…Why is he staring at me?” Schwarz sidled over to Dia. “Great, he’s staring even harder now. Can someone tell him that I’m scared? His gaze is painfully sharp, and I feel like a thief for some reason!”

“Hmm. Maybe because he thinks you’re dangerous?” Farah asked.

“I’m very harmless, though?” The bartender shivered.

Dia looked at her currently mute uncle, and then tilted her head. Uncle Rubia definitely looked a bit like a bird of prey right now, waiting to gouge out something or someone, and it was true that he was positively glaring at poor Schwarz. Was it possible that he sensed something from the apparently harmless bartender? Or did he realise that Schwarz was a purveyor of alcohols that could double as poison?

“Maybe you can pull out a drink and give it to him,” Dia suggested. “He likes drinking.”

“Oh. Great. Another Nero. Like I needed any more freeloaders in my life. Wow. My alcohols are overjoyed.” Schwarz held his head. “No. Just no. If this guy turns out to have a liver harder than Claud’s defences, I’m going to flip out. He’s not going to take a drink from me.”

“Then that’s your problem,” Dia replied, before looking around. They were currently in the front garden of the Lustre Palace, which was absolutely huge and had fields of different types of flowers. There was also a lawn for the odd occasion when her father wanted to have a picnic, and…

She smiled as a memory drifted past her. For a moment, she could feel a smooth patch of cloth under her bare feet, a warm set of hands holding her and feeding her younger self. The sandwich that her mother packed was one of a kind; the bread was grainy and fluffy, with the grilled meat in the middle roasted to just perfection.

Dia could hear her mother telling her to ‘Go ahh’, and—

Her eyes stung, and she looked away slowly. Thankfully, no one had noticed this little moment of weakness, since it would have been hard to explain, and she dabbed at her eyes nonchalantly.

This was her own memory. It didn’t seem like much to anyone — Dia knew that much — but the memories of a bygone past, when her mother was still around, burned hot in her mind. The palace, as bright as it was, had lost a layer of light ever since her mother left, and…

“Dia?” Farah patted her shoulder. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing. Just thinking about something,” Dia replied, before shaking her head. There was something else that needed to be done first, and until she revealed the truth, there really wasn’t any reason for her to dwell on the past just yet. However, despite so many days, Dia hadn’t found a good opportunity to tell the others who she was yet. It also didn’t help that when she did try to tell them that she was the real deal, the others had automatically assumed that she was just playing her role…

Of course, it wasn’t as if they would believe her anyway. Dia had tried floating the idea a few times, but all of them simply patted her head or nodded at her reassuringly, before claiming that her mistress would return…

Dia was dead certain that the only way they would believe her was if her father welcomed her back personally, complete with full fanfare.

Well, you could just have gotten Uncle Rubia to vouch for you, right?

Ignoring that last thought that had strayed into her head, Dia wondered how her father would react to news of her return — Uncle Rubia definitely sent the message ahead — and a hint of excitement filled her mind. How about her brother? What kind of compensation would she and her family get from Emperor Grandis regarding this incident?

Before long, their little party arrived at the palace, where the guards were already formed up.

“Um…why are there so many guards?” Risti asked. “The last time I checked, there should only be four guards on duty at the palace entrance. There’s like fifty of them here, nearly the full complement of sixty-two guards that are on duty…”

Uncle Rubia twitched.

“Oh! It’s Commander Sapphira, and Commander Relda!” Risti rubbed her hands. “Odd. The usual protocol is to only have one commander on duty and the two as reserves, so what are they doing here?”

Dia hid a smile as the currently mute knight commander twitched again.

“Maybe they’re here to welcome back the princess’ double. She did carry out a meritorious service, after all,” Farah replied. “Where’s Princess Dia, though? It’s weird that she isn’t here.”

Risti bobbed her head. “True. Heck, the dukedom’s palace guards are out in nearly full force, and in full dress too. Do you know that their standard issue equipment is actually made up of artefacts? I have the records of their transactions too.”

Shooting a glanced at the very alarmed Uncle Rubia, Dia cleared her throat. “So, um…anyway. The guards are definitely here to welcome me.”

“We can tell,” Schwarz replied. “Damn. Looks like you really did a good job. I bet the princess talked you up when she returned.”

“No, I did not talk myself up.” Dia held her head. “Look, what I told you guys a few days ago isn’t actually me trying to be…uh, a good double. Rather, there was never—”

The sounds of metal crashing onto the floor tore her next words apart, and everyone turned to look at the palace entrance. There, a stately man, his hair as black as that of a young man, walked towards her, through a path flanked by kneeling knights. The sunlight reflected off their armour as he walked through the path slowly, in complete contradiction of his standing as a father and of Dia’s as his child.

Power — the kind she had seen from Farah a few times — radiated with his every movement, and she gazed at her father in silence. This…was probably the only way he could apologise.

Dia found herself somewhat lost for words. She didn’t quite know what to think at this juncture, despite so many rehearsals. She hadn’t expected her father to head out personally, for one. And…especially not with that subdued, apologetic expression.

“My dear daughter.” Duke Lustre sighed. “Welcome back.”

“Father…”

She could feel the others turn to look at her once more, but Dia put them aside for now.

The anger that she had initially felt, the disbelief, the pain — all that had vanished long ago. All that was left was a faint relief, but as to what she was relieved about, Dia herself didn’t know either.

“Welcome home, Dia.” Her father smiled. “I’m so glad you managed to stay safe, although you could have returned a year ago. The warrant was withdrawn and everything.”

“Withdrawn?”

“After everything that damnable Thief of Time did, it was natural. I sent someone out through the Moons and got him to petition the Emperor to withdraw the arrest warrants for you and everyone concerned,” her father replied.

“…I haven’t forgotten that you chose my brother over me, though.” Dia tried to smile. “No. That you chose his skill over me.”

He let out a sigh, and then waved his hands once. Energy covered the two of them, along with the others and her uncle. Her father waved his hands again, and the barrier shimmered once more.

A sense of desolation settled into her bones.

“…What if I told you that your brother had used Future Sight the moment Ruler Umbra died?” her father asked. “And that he foresaw a future that had to be averted at all costs? And that to avert it, you had to move in a very specific pattern, be guided in an extremely convoluted way, and then end up with the Moon Lords with the status of a founding member? Did you really think that the old crone just happened to be there for no good reason, when she’s a Profiteer? And as a Profiteer, why would she carry Experiential Potions?”

“What?”

“What if someone sent her there, ready to receive someone and to guide them in a particular way?” Her father shook his head. “You needed to be sent out. I do not know why, but he was particularly insistent on you leaving. In fact, I…even have a written record of what he predicted.”

He took a deep breath. “You’re going to renounce your claim to the dukedom, first and foremost. Second, you are going to leave with the Seekers of Life after a week. The people with you are a bartender of dubious origins, the countess of Farah County, and the daughter of the Folder Association’s President. The Holy Son of the Black God is currently busy in…a certain house with Kemata, the Thirteenth Bearer of Destiny.”

Dia blinked. “…Do you have spies out in the Nihila Sovereignty?”

“I wish.” Her father shook his head slowly. “Your brother also said that you would become the Salvation Star, obtained from killing the Sixth Bearer of Destiny. And you are about to turn to Risti and ask her for her opinion. And that Commander Rubia has been asked to act like a mute. And that you weren’t quite yourself in the one month leading up to the incident at Duke Istrel’s treasury, whatever that means.”

Whatever that means…

Dia held her head once as the implication of those words sank in. There were many things that her father had said that would have been very hard to find out, but the fact that she had somehow travelled back in time during her Second Tutorial had remained an eternal secret.

She turned to look at the others, who had gotten past the initial shock of that little revelation very well, and were already looking thoughtful.

“What do you guys think?” Dia asked.

“I think we have a lot to say later,” Farah replied. “But…your father is almost certainly telling the truth. I think we should talk about this in a more appropriate location. After all, we do need to introduce ourselves once more.”

Her father nodded. “Now is not the time for niceties. Come.”