"Did you have to do that?"
Athusa felt cold and it had nothing to do with the explosive display of magic before her.
There were no incantations, no formations cast at all to draw upon and direct mana, it had happened so quickly as if a passing disaster. The storm of wintry magic would have been awe-inspiring perhaps had she not been shocked about the callousness and swift brutality of the kills. The Star Seeds truly were a different class of magus and Prince Eucemon was above other Star Seeds she had seen before at the magic institute.
She suppressed a tremble, refusing to appear afraid.
"Ah." Eucemon noticed anyways and seemed unaffected at all as if they had merely been in conversation all along. "Lady Athusa, you mustn't catch a cold."
He walked back towards her: she stilling, rooted in place, as he slowly approached. Eucemon, picking up his fallen cloak, shook the brush of frost from the cloth with a languid grace, so casual, as if it was the most ordinary thing to do before drawing closer to carefully place the cloak about her shoulders. She could not suppress the flinch from his touch: warily eyeing his hands. With a raised brow, he noticing her discomfort, stepped back.
"Did you have to do that?" She repeated herself again, as she steadied and drew the cloak closer to her body. Her voice became a little angry. "They had families waiting for them too."
"They were targeting you." He said simply.
A weak, haggard and pained groan interrupted. It sounded like from one who could keep quiet no longer.
"No!" She cried out as Eucemon turned towards the apparent survivor, hand outstretched, and she caught his arm. "Stop."
His brow raised again questioningly. She was not his Link - she had claimed she needed time to consider his proposal - yet here she was issuing an order? Did that mean she was accepting?
"They were bought." She persisted, pleading. "My uncle is the one who is at fault and the one who should be punished."
But he did not lower his arm, sharp silver gaze still trained on the heavily injured would-be assailant.
Why did she feel so disappointed? What was she expecting?
"No pupil of my father would resort to this."
She expected better from a student of her father's.
"Even if they had second thoughts at the last moment," Eucemon's tone was even, "their coming back here was already a crime."
But he did lower his hand.
"His Majesty the King - my father, he was concerned for you."
The king after all was the only one in the realm with the right to finalize the territorial successors and anoint them. Athusa may not have presented herself before the king yet, may not have been anointed as the next duke, but she was indeed the sole rightful heir to the duchy. The Randall branches had no right to conspire to deprive her of her inheritance.
But rather than consider the implications of his words, she felt only disappointed that Eucemon had indeed come here on a mission and not of his own choice.
"Concerned?" Athusa echoed hollowly. The King had not even shown at the funeral. How could he be concerned, especially if the likely culprit was his other son? Even if the monarch treasured the friendship with her father, in the end the one at question was the royal heir apparent. It was not to say she did not trust His Majesty, it was just that she had no expectations.
"Athusa." Eucemon met her eyes. "I'm not entirely ineligible for succession, do you remember?"
She does know of it. Her father had said as much too of the queen dowager's terms and the original considerations behind their betrothal. Hurt flashed across her face.
"I thought you were here because you cared for my father." It stung to realize it could all be merely a calculated political ploy.
Silver eyes widened.
"Athusa-"
"A fitting ruler," she insisted on, "does not act without investigating first."
He seemed chastised at that and turning, walked towards the surviving assailant.
"What are you going to do?" She demanded. "Stop! I forbid further killing in my house-"
But he merely knelt down. The ice that had punctured the injured assailant would-be's side like harsh lances dissolved into water. She drew closer as he worked, recognizing from her lessons with the Cardinal from the Holy Kingdom healing magic at work.
The human body was delicately composed of crystalline water. He was mending the injuries, quite quickly too, perhaps down to a level that the eye could not even see. But when he was finished, he struck the assassin in the neck, cleanly knocking the other unconscious with the blow.
"My lady!" Carlene had come by from the commotion, armed with her daggers, gasping seeing the state of the hall, the men neutralized, and the one Eucemon was now dragging by the collar.
"Oh..." The maidservant finally said weakly. "This will be difficult to clean up..."
"This one goes to the dungeons." Eucemon indicated. "You were not vigilant to protect your master."
"Who would think that scum marquess would consider such a thing?!" Carlene snatched the unmoving body, looking as if she wanted to hit the assassin again even while he clearly was already unconscious - if not for Athusa's disapproving look trained on her hands.
"I'll… go place him in the dungeons." The maidservant muttered at last.
Eucemon followed, like a faithful shadow, as they both continued on to Athusa's office. This time they did not exchange a word at all. Through the night, Carlene returned, bringing hot cocoa and snacks. Athusa half nods, half listening as Carlene speaks of hiring some guards again, perhaps the adventurer's guild will have some figures of honor at a good price. The prince had taken a chair before her, seemingly slowly dozing off, but she knows he wasn't truly sleeping from his uneven breathing.
She worked through the propositions submitted from the duchy territories, inking commentary and stamping what was finalized. She doesn't recall when she drifted to sleep but when she roused slowly - her whole body aching from her position in the chair - the sun was already up.
A tray of food was neatly settled beside her papers but out of reach that she may accidentally knock it to the ground in her sleep. Eucemon was nowhere to be seen.
She could not help but smile a little.
"Carlene would have never forgotten I don't like my coffee black."
Slowly getting up, she went to her office door and even slower opened it. Eucemon startled awake, nearly falling in.
"Come in. Let's eat."