Marzophine sat with her gloved hands folded neatly over her lap. The faint curl of steam rose from the delicate porcelain cups her secretary had placed on the desk.
Marzophine had known Anastelle long enough to see beyond it. Her eyes, behind all that fire, carried a flicker of exhaustion that no soldier's mask could hide. Marzophine sighed softly and broke the silence first.
"How have you been doing, Anastelle?"
"I've been fine. Or so I thought, until news reached me that my children vanished into a Fluve Field."
Marzophine lifted her cup and blew lightly across its surface. She sipped, the faint smile curling her lips feeling both reassuring and detached at once.
"You shouldn't worry so much. They are the children of a World Commander. Blood like that doesn't die easily."
"I didn't expect to hear it like this. And I didn't expect to be the one standing here. I thought my husband would…"
She stopped herself with a sigh, the sound heavy with weight she rarely let anyone hear.
"But he's ill again. You know how fragile his health has become. If he found out Phaser and Xaessia were trapped in a Fluve Field, he wouldn't forgive me wnd his condition would worsen."
For the first time, Marzophine's eyes softened. She set her cup down gently and tilted her head, observing Anastelle's face.
"You still love him more than anything, even after all these years."
Anastelle looked away, but only briefly. Her lips pressed into a line.
"Of course I do."
"I know, because he is my brother. And because you've never once let him feel the weight of his illness. For all your strictness Anastelle, your devotion to him is… unwavering."
"Don't speak of him as if you understand everything."
Marzophine's faint smile returned, though she let the subject linger no further. Instead, she leaned back and redirected the current of the conversation.
"I'll visit him soon. I'll see what the issue is this time."
Then, with a small shift of her hand, her tone sharpened, returning to the matter pressing them both.
"As for the closed Fluve Field, one of our lecturers was found to have entered the site the day before the students did. He was apprehended, but the Erdicts killed him before we could glean much. It complicates things."
Anastelle's eyes narrowed. "Of course they did."
"Either way, the situation is not without its ironies. The Guardian residing there is the Frostclave Stag. Deadly, yes, but it also means stability. That creature holds domains of order within frost. As long as it presides, there is balance in the Field. Your children are in no immediate danger. What concerns me more are the rumors."
Anastelle's gaze sharpened. "What rumors?"
"The Primal Synsiline Treasures. It seems one of the Azure Sword's clue fragments lies in the Frostclave's domain. Which means Thales Erdict has a much higher chance of succession than he otherwise would have. If he survives, of course."
Anastelle's lips pressed into a thin, cold smile.
"How convenient for the Erdicts."
"And for your children, Phaser and Xaessia are more than capable. You trained them yourself, didn't you? With your own military standards, I daresay they are more prepared than half the second-years in this school."
For once, Anastelle let the compliment pass without protest. She finally lowered herself into the chair opposite the Chancellor, her cape folding around her shoulders as she sat. She took up the cup of tea, delicate in her gloved hands, and sipped. Marzophine tilted her head, curiosity glinting in her pink eyes.
"Tell me, Anastelle. Do you have a good relationship with your children?"
The question caught the Argemenes ruler off-guard, though she didn't show it openly. Her crimson brows knit slightly.
"Why do you ask?"
Marzophine leaned forward, resting her chin lightly against her fingers. Her voice was deceptively soft.
"Because in the First Evaluation Test, Phasnovterich passed everything perfectly. He got every single question correct."
Anastelle said nothing at first, only sipping her tea again, her silence deliberate.
"You know the test's secret. Ten questions are interconnected. Fail one, you fail twenty percent, so the best most students achieve is eighty. But he got one hundred. That's nearly unheard of. Was Phaser always this clever? Wasn't he considered the weak one of your line?"
The faintest flicker of tension passed over Anastelle's features but Marzophine saw it.
"You know better than to believe rumors. My children are mine to raise. Their strengths and weaknesses are not for outsiders to measure."
Marzophine's laugh was quiet,as she swirled her tea.
"Oh, come now. I'm not an outsider. Not to your family. I'm literally their aunt. Well, step aunt to be specific."
Anastelle finally set her cup down with a faint click and leveled her gaze directly at Marzophine.
"Whatever he's achieved, whatever he's become, I will not have you turning it into gossip. He is my son. Remember that."
Marzophine smiled again, closing her eyes briefly.
"Of course, Anastelle. I only meant that perhaps your 'weak one' has grown into something more formidable than anyone expected. Tell me something, Anastelle. Why do you treat Phaser like the weak link in your family? Xaessiarerich's progress is obvious. She can even pressure some third-year students. But Phaser… well, you never speak of him with the same pride."
Anastelle placed her teacup down, refusing to let her hands betray irritation.
"Because it's the truth. Xaessia's talent has always burned brighter. Phaser's progress has been slow. He could not compete with her. He was weak in battle, in training and discipline. He was always a step behind."
Marzophine's lips curved upward in a smile.
"And yet, you've ignored him far too much. Haven't you noticed? Since arriving here, his progress has been remarkable. His combat skills have sharpened beyond recognition compared to when he left high school. He moves faster not because his physical constitution has changed, but as if… whatever chains were binding him have finally snapped."
That struck something in Anastelle, though she did not show it immediately. Her crimson eyes flicked to the side, narrowing slightly.
"Snapped, you say?"
"Yes. It isn't just me. I'm not one to lend my ear to childish rumors, but I hear things, Anastelle. I hear that Phaser has broken ties with his sister. That, in itself, is shocking. The twins always moved together. To hear he's standing apart makes me wonder what's changed in that boy."
For the first time, Anastelle's composure wavered. Her eyes sharpened, her lips parting just slightly before she closed them again. Her hand tightened on the arm of her chair.
"Broke ties?"
Marzophine smiled thinly and sat back, her hat tilting.
"You'll have to wait until they return to find out for yourself. If you're still here to greet them."
"Don't mock me, Marzophine. I am not the incompetent mother I once was. I am… different."
That earned a soft, melodic laugh from the Chancellor. She placed her teacup back into its saucer with a click.
"Anastelle, you've always been the same. Cold, strict, brilliant and consumed by your military instinct. If it weren't for your husband tempering you, your children might not have survived your intensity. For all his weakness, my half brother keeps you from losing yourself to your own severity."
The words cut deeper than any blade, but Anastelle did not lash out. Instead, her silence betrayed her. She tilted her face slightly away, but the faintest flicker of softness crossed her eyes.
"You love him more than anything. That is why his sickness worries you so much, why even now you carry the weight of restraint on your shoulders. Because without him, you would not stop yourself. And perhaps… your children would have borne the cost of that."
Anastelle could not deny it. She exhaled.
"You are right. I have pushed too hard. I have let my own hand weigh more heavily on one child than the other. Xaessia's brilliance blinded me. Phaser… was left in the shadows."
"Then don't underestimate him any longer. A boy who can score a perfect hundred on the First Evaluation when even the brightest minds falter at eighty doesn't deserve to be called weak. Do you know how rare it is for a student to answer every question correctly? And Phaser did it as though it were simple arithmetic. He is not the weak one in your family, Anastelle. He never was. He only lacked your eyes upon him."
The room fell silent for a long while, the only sound the faint clink of porcelain as Marzophine refilled her cup. Anastelle's gaze lingered on the surface of her own untouched tea. Perhaps for the first time in many years, she felt… uncertain.