―"Eli?"
― "Yes, little prince?"
―"Elisabeth?"
― "What?"
― "Talk to me, please. I can't stand it when you act like usual when there's surely something wrong."
― "Come on, you won't understand anything. You're still just a..."
― "A what, this time?"
― "No, nothing. I need to train."
But Rias has taken his sister's hand. He doesn't look away from her.
And convinced that Rias will stop her no matter what, Elisabeth sighs before telling him:
― "I've been demoted. Are you happy?"
She points toward the great temple of Inamia on the other side of the palace.
― "I can't even see my mother consecrated as duchess. What else do you want me to tell you?"
― "But how is it that you've been demoted? There aren't thirty-six people who can challenge your place despite..."
― "Despite?"
― "Well, I think you're too young for it."
― "Ah, that's why I've been demoted. I just told the truth and I'm told I'm too young to understand. I don't understand my role, so they place me even lower to meditate on it."
― "But what truth did you actually tell?"
― "You ask too many questions, little brother. And besides, it's a very sad reality that a big sister worthy of the name should never show her brother."
She strokes Rias's head and then says:
―"Sorry you had to see me cry. I can't be strong 24/7. But everything's fine now. I'll just take a day off. And after that, I'll talk to Mother about all these injustices."
This time it's Rias who sighs.
― "But what injustices? What are you talking about?"
― "I told you that you wouldn't..."
―"No, what I understand is that you joined the tax collection precisely to fix injustices."
― "And I'm going to do it."
― "Oh yeah? How, tell me. Your plan suddenly intrigues me."
― "And why are you getting so worked up?"
― "Because this collection model is the best compromise between developing our territory and not making the people suffer."
― "Oh yes, you seem to know about it. So why, when I saw a family begging a soldier, did the soldier coldly rob them?"
― "Well, what would you prefer? That she spare them? What about her report to her superior?"
― "What? You think the same way too? And the superiors—what's their excuse?"
― "If that soldier spares that family, what about the others? Maybe you want to erase the tax altogether?"
― "Ah... anyway, you wouldn't understand anything about what I feel."
― "Yes I would. You feel misunderstood because Mother talks about Anna all the time, and I understand your frustration, but that doesn't give you the right to break an already established order."
― "What established order? All we do is vulgar paperwork that serves no purpose."
― "Oh my... I hope you didn't say that out loud in front of everyone."
― "If I said it, it's because it's the truth."
And at that, Rias collapses to the ground. He covers his head with his hands. He scratches his hair. And Elisabeth doesn't understand his behavior at all. She doesn't know why it's such a big problem. And yet for Rias, it seems to torture him. So she asks.
― "What?"
And Rias stands up and looks Eli in the eyes.
― "Eli, it's not about what you said. It's about where you said it."
― "What does all that gibberish mean?"
― "Do you remember when we played dominoes? And I knocked over one piece and the rest fell too?"
― "Yes, and?"
― "You've been demoted because you risk being the first domino."
And she says nothing more. She still doesn't understand much, but this time her intuition tells her she may have done something she shouldn't have.
...
And so, the day of Diamond's consecration arrived. She, along with the soldiers, arrived early on the main road. Because of her small stature, Elisabeth couldn't form part of the line.
― "Don't forget, ladies. Watch out for the tumult. Don't let any possible disorder occur. Is that clear?"
― "YES, MA'AM!"
― "IS THAT CLEAR?"
― "YES, MA'AM!"
― "WHO ARE WE?"
― "WE ARE ORDER!"
― "Good."
And just like that, the people begin to draw closer as the trumpets sound. Now there's a crowd. Now there's the noise of acclaim. And then Diamond Fort de Rush, accompanied by the Empress of Excissil, her husbands, escorted by several mage knights, and of course the army's music section. Diamond, in scarlet white attire, greets the crowd from the carriage. And the crowd responds with cries of joy and acclaim.
― "Look, it's Her Excellency Diamond."
― "She's still as beautiful as the first time I saw her."
― "And to think she's going to take charge of the eastern part of the empire now."
― "We're in good hands now."
And Eli smiles upon hearing the women's discussions. And she watches her mother atop the carriage. She has always admired her mother, and at this precise moment, she would have given anything to be at her side. But for a certain reason, she cannot.
And during this moment, she notices that neither Rias nor Anna were present. She wonders if it's solidarity... "No, it's surely just Rias's social phobia. And Anna, being a mother hen of a sister, can't leave him alone for a minute. And me, I'm stuck in this banal position, still doing banal things: stagnating, observing, holding my position."
But just then, right nearby, someone began shouting in the crowd:
― "AN EXCISSIL OR A RUSH—DEEP DOWN, IT'S ALWAYS A NOBLE WHO KNOWS NOTHING ABOUT THE WORK OF THE FIELDS."
Elisabeth, shocked, was about to protest—because a Rush who doesn't know the fields isn't the fields, isn't a Rush, she's a Gliant. But at the moment of shouting, her voice is lost. A sudden reflex stops her: Rias's words. So instead of speaking, she just said:
―"BACK UP! DON'T PUSH THE SOLDIERS."
But the crowd seems to grow more agitated still.
―"Yes, that's it: oppression! More oppression!"
― "It's always the law of the strongest."
And once again Elisabeth doesn't know what to do. How to handle this enraged crowd. These people who are perhaps already desperate? And their eyes don't lie at all. Why? How?
And then, the squadron leader draws her baton. Shouting all the while:
― "Sorry, but if you cross this line, we'll be forced to use force."
― "So that's all that's left of the women, the valiant servants of Inamia, goddess of serenity? Violence?" replies a woman in the front line.
But the leader answers:
― "A peace without law is not peace—it's just madness."
Then she turns toward everyone and says:
― "LISTEN! I DON'T CARE WHAT DRIVES YOU. BUT IF YOU KEEP AGITATING, WE'LL BE FORCED TO USE FORCE."
Eli, witnessing all of this, finally said to herself: "So that's it. A soldier doesn't ask questions. She obeys. It's as simple as that. My title has nothing to do with any of the rest of this anymore."
But while she watches the soldiers struggling with the crowd that's beginning to calm under the pressure of military power, she notices a very recognizable figure in the crowd. And the woman she's recognized looks agitated.
So Elisabeth entrusts her horse to one of her comrades. Besides, the girl is very surprised because she isn't supposed to leave her post. But Eli did it anyway. She followed the woman she'd noticed. It's difficult to follow her through the crowd with her small stature and the woman's pace. But although the woman is discreet with her steps, Eli is too good to be left behind. And once they're far enough from the crowd, Elisabeth shouts her name:
― "Majiid! Majiid! Hey!"
But the problem is that Majiid isn't the only one who turns around. Another woman ahead of her turns too. Elisabeth understood everything. The woman Majiid is chasing is just as much so. She enchants:
― "Pharaonic Assault, Fourth Form: Desert Storm."
And as the woman runs, her body releases increasingly dense dust. She tries to blind Majiid and Eli, who by reflex run after her.
― "Dragonite's Breath. Infernal Embers."
And Elisabeth unleashes a powerful breath of fire ahead of her to dissipate the dust. Heat swells fluids like air. Which disrupts the storm and dissipates it. But before everything is clear, Elisabeth and Majiid see the woman enter the city's sewers. They follow her. But once in the depths, they no longer see her body. And they try to follow her with their powerful hearing, but the tunnels echo with noise. Now there's so much sound of footsteps coming from all directions, in addition to their own. So it becomes impossible to determine who to follow. Then they stop, and then they hear nothing more.
― "Majiid, but who..."
― "Shut up, Elisabeth. What got into you to call me like that... randomly? You noticed me, but can't you see I'm on a mission?"
― "You're the commander of the royal guard. What are you doing here chasing after these vulgar utopians? It's the job of little soldiers like us to maintain order, not yours."
― "Poor fool. I thought you were a genius like your sister. But I was wrong."
But Elisabeth has had more than enough of being humiliated once again by her sister. She replies:
― "And in what exactly is my sister better than me, huh? Take the time to explain. Because I feel insulted right now."
Majiid sighs first, then speaks in a light tone.
― "Elisabeth, I like you and I didn't want to hurt you by saying that, but what I'm doing here is even more important than what your mother is doing over there. Do you think there are thirty-six women in the empire who can summon you and me?"
She pauses for a moment, then adds:
― "Those tumults you saw in the crowd earlier have already created a public opinion about the nobility: fear, jealousy, resentment, division. Those are enemies far tougher to fight."
She gets down to Eli's level.
― "And what do you think I'm going to do in the meantime? Style my beautiful hair? Put on a show? No! What's in this rat hole is just as important as the charisma your mother imposes over there, even if no one ever sees it in the daylight."
Then she pats Elisabeth's shoulders:
―"And no one should ever know what I'm doing right now. Do you understand, Elisabeth?"
Did Elisabeth understand? Anna's words come back to her mind: "Grow up a little, Elisabeth. Not everything is a matter of force. You'd see that some people can bring down an empire with whispers." And then what Rias said: "Eli, it's not about what you said. It's about where you said it. Do you remember when we played dominoes? And I knocked over one piece and the rest fell too? You've been demoted because you risk being the first domino."
―"Yes, I think so. I even understood it too well."
And while she looks for the way out, Majiid continues with lessons for Eli:
― "Sorry, little one. You have potential, but there's a time and a place for everything. Just let things breathe sometimes."
― "Sorry again about your prey."
― "Don't worry about that. There's no point lamenting what's past. Use it as a good foundation for your future."
And once they're outside, Majiid takes Elisabeth's small hands and tells her:
― "Well, I'm off. But know that I expect great things from you. Don't let yourself be brought down, okay?"
And Eli just bowed her head, as a sign of respect toward Majiid.