Amelia PoV
"Sure. With the queen here unable to exert her power over all her 'rightful' lands, fighting the Grand Dukedoms like mine, he gets to rule over Kaguya with ease. Even you are careful to not offend him," Eizan explained, a knowing glint in his eye as he looked between me and Vadim. "He's managed to carve out a comfortable little kingdom for himself in the heart of the neutral territory. A strong, unified ruler of Kuroriku would mean he'd lose much of his independent authority."
My jaw tightened. He wasn't wrong. The High Priest's true intention were hard to read. He did well at portraying himself as a man of the people. Even I wished to believe it to be true and that his political maneuvering was merely pragmatism at the service of sanctity, but a part of me always suspected a deeper, more self-serving ambition beneath the placid veneer. He was a master chess player, and Kaguya City was his board.
