I'd Give Up The World For You

Ira had spent almost every second of his free time the past few months trying to strengthen his magic and be able to use it in battle but he still didn't know if it was enough. This worried him because it had to be. He absolutely had to save Miss Veronica or he didn't know what he would do. 

The problem was he wasn't sure how much danger she was actually in. They were all going off the word of Professor Gallagher as an eyewitness. Professor Lucien seemed to believe her but he had questions. 

He had heard some rather interesting rumors about everything that was going down in the capital. They made him wonder what in the world was truly going on here.

Very few students at the academy were nobles and their status meant nothing here. But there was one in his Biology class and he overheard him talking with another noble the other day about how there had been several executions for treason among the upper nobility and even more arrests. 

Ira wasn't able to hear much of the conversation but apparently one of the former highest-ranked duchesses had directly offended the queen and tried to attack her. Their entire family was destroyed both for that and the duke embezzling tax money. 

He may not know much about how royalty worked in this country but weren't those relatively reasonable things to do? Reasonable for a king anyway. The old one had supposedly been much worse and he wasn't considered a tyrant. Perhaps that was because of discrimination toward foreigners…or the fact that the current king had taken his position by force. 

That wasn't all he had heard either. A few students who were here being sponsored were talking to each other about how their family could afford to send them a little extra to help now that the taxes had been reduced. 

Why would a tyrant bother with things such as reducing taxes for the common people and getting rid of corrupt nobles? That seemed almost like Rukelion Blaze actually cared about the people, which was very different than the story Professor Gallagher told. 

There was also the matter of Miss Veronica's continued letters. Based on tone and handwriting, it was definitely her and she wrote of things with her usual enthusiasm. 

If she was working underneath a crazy king bent on destruction wouldn't the letters have stopped? Or at the very least be more fearful in nature? Though he supposed there were certain things she wasn't allowed to talk about in exchange for her safety. Threats were entirely possible but something still didn't add up. 

Ira didn't know what he was supposed to think. The only way he could know for sure what was going on was by seeing it for himself. That was why he continued training. Because he wasn't sure what to expect and had to be ready to protect his family if necessary. 

But as time went on he was beginning to wonder if it truly was. He got the feeling Professor Gallagher was leaving crucial information out. 

It was entirely possible she didn't know it and was only sharing things from her perspective but there was still a missing puzzle piece here. He was positive of that much and had said so to both Sarabeth and Ciara in confidence. 

Of their little band of rebels, those two were the ones he trusted most. Ciara because of her personality and Sarabeth because she had been the first person he involved in this as a matter of principle. 

Demetria was rather cold and only wanted to get involved because she had lost a cousin in the Aveleenian War and heavily suspected the new king to be involved. Her logic was that since he was former military and had fought there that he did something because her cousin was very strong and shouldn't have gone down so easily. 

Ira had been skeptical of that at first but she held her ground, insisting that he must have wanted revenge against Mirean soldiers in addition to the king and that her cousin had been involved in the destruction of Katalya. If the king knew that, it seemed highly likely to her that he would want to kill anyone involved in what happened. She was primarily going along with this plan because she wanted answers. 

He wasn't so sure she would get them but he certainly wanted answers as well. He wanted to know what exactly was going on in this country and wouldn't get them unless he went along with the adults' plans. 

"I am skeptical as well," Ciara admitted. "I do not know much about this country but if this fire mage is truly a threat to us all I think something would have happened by now on a larger scale. It seems that all he is doing is cleaning up the capital and surrounding noble territories."

"People's motivations can be more complicated than you think," Sarabeth mused. 

They both looked at her in confusion. "What do you mean?" 

"What if everyone is right? It's entirely possible he's bent on revenge AND cares about the common people. Think about it: he's lived as a commoner for quite a long time and has to have married one. And the wind mages couldn't be the only allies he used to conduct his coup. There wouldn't be enough people for that. 

"If he has allies from within the military it's entirely likely he promised them certain things to get them to cooperate. Of course he would have to follow through or they would turn on him. He can't be completely crazy or he wouldn't have been able to pull off a long game like this. He had to have been planning it for years."

Ira was impressed by her logic. He hadn't considered that but it made sense. 

Her words brought another unanswered question to mind. He had been wondering about Mr. Leo's speedy promotion. Wasn't it rather likely he had been promoted because he had been involved in the coup and helped the new king out? 

Knowing the king could have resulted in Miss Veronica landing her current job as well. Those sorts of positions did seem to be more about who you know than what you know. He could have been doing a favor for a friend in exchange for all of his help. 

Someone who had seized control by force would need to get rid of all of the old players and bring in new ones who were trustworthy. Leo May was the hero of two wars. That would make him a valuable pawn to whoever he was working for. It made sense they would want to stay on his good side. 

Rukelion Blaze would want to stay on all of his men's good sides if he was smart. And he clearly was since he had managed to take over the entire kingdom of Mirea without most people knowing about it. 

"I think you're right," Ira admitted. "But what does this mean in terms of the mission? If he isn't as bad as Professor Gallagher says there's no reason to fight him." 

Ciara nodded. "I agree. I believe that seeing things for ourselves is the best course of action to take. If he is not what she says, we do not have to fight him. We can ascertain the safety of your mother as well before making a decision. I know that is your primary reason for getting involved."

It was. He wouldn't care about the politics of a country he lived in but never fully claimed if not for the fact that Miss Veronica was smack in the middle of them by working in the castle. 

"If Sarabeth's theory is correct, she should be safe…but I would prefer to see for myself. It's hard to know what to believe anymore. There is too much we don't know," he said. 

Ciara laid a comforting hand on his arm, sensing his frustration. "It will be alright, Ira. If nothing else, we will make sure your mother is safe. Even if that is all we do in the capital it will be worth it."

Sarabeth nodded with a more serious expression on her face than usual. "I'm only in this to get answers and help you out in the first place. I don't care who's in charge of this country as long as they aren't a threat to the people I care about."

Ira could understand her involvement better than he could understand Ciara's. She wasn't Mirean; she planned to go home to her country as soon as she finished her studies. There was no real reason for her to be invested in what happened here as long as the carnage never reached the academy. 

She said she would help after hearing about what Miss Veronica meant to him when he had been worried about her being in danger. Why though? Why involve herself in someone else's problems unnecessarily?

He knew she was a nice person but at that point in time she hadn't even known him. Why would she bother helping him out when she had no real reason to?