A TALE OF FIRE AND ICE

Burning Resolve

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***

"DO YOU know what you're saying, Irene?" Duke Prescott, her father, asked her. He seemed shocked by her declaration a while ago. "You're going to overthrow the Moonchesters once you find the truth? We don't even know if the Great Fire Tree really exists."

"It exists," Irene said confidently. "I don't know why but my gut feeling is telling me that the Great Fire Tree really exists. And my instinct is telling me that I have to find it."

"Are you planning to use the "truth" that you'd find and use it against the royal family?"

"Father, to be honest, I thought I should mend the Fire Mages' relationship with the Moonchesters," she admitted. "I have the heart of the Supreme Fire Mage but Lisa vowed his loyalty to the throne. I know that he will choose me over the emperor. But it would mean he'd betray His Majesty for me. And I don't want Lisa to end up as a traitor."

"That's true. Captain Lisa is the one who's going to be in a tight position," the Duke agreed. "I feel bad but even though I had my memories when the emperor told me about the prophecy, I would have still agreed to marry you off to the captain. A direct request from His Majesty would be hard to reject. And the prophecy was made public so had we turned down the request, our family would have suffered heavily. We could have been accused of treason as well."

That was true.

The prophecy came from the High Priest himself. His Eminence said that Lisa's child would be a special existence to the empire. Had House Prescott refused to marry her off to the captain, they would have been scrutinized.

Being accused of treason was possible, too. After all, turning down an offer that would apparently bring prosperity to the empire would have been a disservice to the royal family. Plus, high-ranking nobles like them had "noblesse oblige."

Noblesse obliges meant that privileged people like them had the responsibility to act with generosity and nobility towards the less privileged. So when House Prescott was chosen to fulfill the prophecy for the good of the empire, they weren't really in the position to refuse. If they did, they would have been a disgrace to the nobility while the commoners would have hated them.

[It's really hard to be the enemy of the royal family.]

"I don't regret marrying Lisa, Father," she said. "And I will protect him."

"What's your plan, Irene?"

"I'll forget about my foolish thought of fixing our relationship with the royal family," she said. "Aside from the fact that the princess killed my mother, I also realized that the emperor would definitely not forgive me for burning Her Royal Highness to crisp. I unwittingly declared war against them but I could no longer take it back. And after hearing the truth about Mother's death, I know for a fact that I couldn't bow my head to them anymore. I have to fight or else, I'll lose everything."

[Again.]

"I understand your feelings, daughter," her father said carefully. "But it wouldn't be easy. You know that, don't you?"

She knew that.

To be honest, when she returned to this time, she never thought she would be fighting against the royal family. All she wanted was to have a good and decent life with Lisa and Winter. But it was time to shed her naivety.

Plus, it wasn't like she had nothing to fight against the royal family. Aside from her special heart, she still had the knowledge from her first life.