Chapter 74：A Pawn

As Maxwell watched Erika get to work, he began to lose himself in thought.

In particular, he remembered what Michelle said to him during their game of chess.

While Michelle arrived under the pretence of a formal meeting to discuss what the next move of the Confederation should be, they instead lost themselves in a rather lengthy conversation that itself would often lose itself into tangents and other kinds of small talk.

However, it was what they talked about at the very end that stuck in Maxwell's mind.

To this very moment, the memory of Michelle's voice was still very clear in his head.

"Don't even attempt to deceive me Maxwell. You may succeed in lying to yourself, but you can't deceive me."

That image of Michelle's confident smile and relaxed eyes remained vivid inside Maxwell's head even after she left. And with those relaxed eyes she said something that would remain in his mind for a long, long time.

"Maxwell, you can say whatever you want to say and believe whatever you want to believe. You can say and believe that all of your... admittingly heinous acts are all for your little 'legacy.' I'm not going to reprimand you for such a thing. In fact, more power to you.

But don't you even dare attempt to rope me into your line of thinking.

If what you say and believe was true then I wouldn't even be here now would I? You could have used your talents in many other ways than what you are doing now that will still bring you that fame and glory you so desire.

You say that you're revolutionising warfare and the daily life of people and that you're 'guiding' the world into a new era but I say that you're bullshitting.

Admit it, you just love it. The power. The power that comes with our knowledge. The power through our knowledge to shape and alter history and even entire fucking kingdoms and nations as we wished.

Erika, Sicilia, your brothers, all of them, everyone. They are all pawns. Pawns for us to use.

Do you remember the quote 'All the world's a stage, And all the men and women merely players.' Well, I can say with certainty that, that quote is false.

All the world is not a stage, but instead, it would be better to liken it to a playing field, a game board if you will. And in truth, all the men and women are merely pawns to be exploited and discarded once their use runs out.

That's what sets us apart from the rest of this world because we are not of this world.

We never were.

Our very existence in this world alone should not be even possible but look where we are."

It was at that point in Michelle's monologue that she paused to break into laughter before she resumed on her normal pace.

"Ahahahaha! If you really think about it, we are gods.

In this 'new world' we are gods.

If you define gods as beings that dictate the lives of those inferior to them then by that logic, we are 'technically' gods.

We are powerful gods who steer the lives of the ignorant masses.

One word from us can change the fate of thousands.

The only difference between you and me is that one of us at least admits what makes us tick.

What makes us do the things we do.

It is one thing and one thing only.

We do it simply because we can.

Because we want to.

Because it's just too damn fun."

Maxwell doesn't even remember what he said to retort Michelle's claims but what he does remember was that the two of them lapsed into silence once Michelle concluded her monologue. What happened next was that the two of them would continue to play their chess game without saying a single word.

After they declared the draw at the end of the game, Michelle only silently waved Maxwell goodbye before she left.

With Michelle's absence, the silence continued to permeate the air as Maxwell stared at the chess board.

With no one else to interrupt him, Maxwell got lost in thought.

Soon minutes, no perhaps even hours passed as Maxwell contemplated to himself in the complete and utter silence.

Never before has Maxwell ever been so unsure of himself and his beliefs since that game with Michelle.

He thought about what he did.

What he was going to do.

And what he really wanted.

All he knew was that Michelle had to be wrong.

There had to be more to life than doing things 'just because.'

But try as he might, his mental debate within himself would always end in a draw.

Soon, he came to the conclusion that perhaps, spending some time with Erika could be a possible solution to his current feelings of uncertainty.

Perhaps by then, Erika can help him find a solution to these feelings.

Such a thought process and conclusion was what lead to the current scenario of now.

And by Maxwell's own admission it was rather pathetic.

But even with that in mind, Maxwell was still left to wonder.

Left to wonder about Erika.

Did she really mean something to him?

Or was she really just a mere pawn?

...

In another corner of the continent, in the mansion on the cliff overlooking the docklands, a small banquet was being held within the mansion's gardens.

A banquet that was to celebrate the return of a certain someone.

With a glass of wine in her hands, Rose glanced around the gardens which were filled with people which she mostly detested.

Not even Rose knew why she returned to the mansion.

The only thing that she did know was that she returned, and now she had to deal with its consequences.

"And here I declare a toast to Rose!"

"To Rose!"

The one that made the declaration was Rose's younger sister; Lily Phlor Finaflor, who was currently wearing a predominantly white noble dress which emphasised her aura of 'innocence'. The fourteen year old's cheery and bright disposition rose the spirits of all the vassal nobles and influential merchants who were present at the banquet.

It even caused Rose's mouth to curve upwards into a slight smile.

If there was one thing that Rose got out of this banquet, it would be the joy brought to her by Lily's very presence.

Rose had to admit that thanks to Lily, she almost forgot why she even left the mansion in the first place.

Despite Lily's naivety, she was someone that Rose held very dearly in her heart. In other words, Lily was the only person in this damned mansion that Rose actually cared about.

At least this was in comparison to Rose's other sister...

While sipping on her wine, Rose took a glance out of the corner of her eyes at the oldest sister of the 'Finaflor trio'; Orchid Phlorescer Finaflor who wore a predominantly dark red dress with black trims.

And unsurprisingly, Rose discovered that Orchid was likewise also taking glances at Rose out of the corner of her eyes while at the same time taking sips out of her own wine.

While taking sips out of their wine glasses, the two sisters continued to glare at each other out of the corners of their eyes while Lily on the other hand, was off in the background, enjoying the attention of the young sons that accompanied their noble fathers.

In truth, there should be no reason for such hostilities between the two sisters.

They shared the same likes and dislikes and set of interests, and on top of that, neither of them disagreed with that fact. Theoretically speaking the two of them should have perfect chemistry and get along quiet fine. Splendid even. And yet, that just wasn't the case.

And that was because of three things that drove the two apart in the fundamental sense.

The first was a single thing that the two of them could never come on an agreement to. Their stances on how the Kingdom of Portegol as a vassal nation under the Panish Empire. While Rose is fervently against the vassaliation of Portegol, Orchid wholeheartedly supported and endorsed it.

And that was due in part to the second thing that drove the two apart.

Orchid's husband was a Panish noble.

A fourth son of some noble Panish family who 'got engaged' to Orchid before the two eventually married.

However, Rose knew better.

She was sure that their marriage was arranged by the Panish family who wished to make use of their 'useless' fourth son and Rose's now deceased parents. No doubt this was done in order for the Finaflor family to gain more favour with the Panish overlords.

The third thing can actually be answered with one word.

Lily.

The two eldest sisters constantly fought to win Lily over to their side.

And it was at the moment when Orchid finally won Lily over to her side that Rose chose to leave the mansion.

It was only after these thoughts ran through Rose's head that she remembered the exact reason why she returned to Finaflor mansion.

Soon, the memories of Rose's meeting with Sicilia started to flood back into her head.

She remembered what Sicilia promised Rose.

Freedom.

Freedom for her people.

Freedom from the Paniards.

But in truth, it was not the freedom of Rose's people that really wanted but instead freedom for Lily.

Freedom from the poisonous words of Orchid and her Panish husband.

"Rose are you alright?"

Soon, the very subject of Rose's thoughts, Lily approached her. With a sombre sigh, Rose give her answer to Lily.

"No I'm not alright."

Within moments, a look of both surprise and confusion began to form on Lily's face An expression which Rose forced herself to ignore as she spoke.

"I'm very sorry but I must excuse myself. I just realised that I had something to see to. I promise that I'll make it up to you."

Rose managed to ignore the look on Lily's face as she turned around to leave the gardens and eventually the mansion. There was no way that Lily could understand, but in truth, everything that Rose is doing is all for Lily's sake and it was through keeping that knowledge in her heart that Rose was able to once again essentially 'abandon' Lily.

After taking her hood off the racket and placing it over her head, Rose made her way to return to that specific merchant's warehouse in the port district.

That banquet in the mansion gave Rose the clarity.

The clarity to see the truth.

She can no longer stand idly by as her ignorant older sister corrupts the one last thing that Rose truly cared about.

She now knew that she had to do something.

She now knew that she had to make sacrifices.

And that was all thanks to that 'clarity.'

However, that same clarity did not show her that she was about to make a deal with the devil.