30 – Psyche was absolutely right to be worried about the Princess

As Psyche wondered whether or not she should record her hours spent on the cohort and the Calamity separately, the white-haired girl finally joined the conversation. 

“If there is any paperwork, you don’t need to worry about it—let my people look into it for you.”

Despite her gentle expression and lowered eyes, the First Crown Princess had a presence that was tough to ignore. For starters, she was a head taller than Euphrosyne, and her thick white hair made her seem even taller than that. Adding to this was the fact that her clothing couldn’t entirely conceal her muscular build, which Psyche did find somewhat surprising, as she’d assumed a princess would look a bit more… pampered?

Actually, now that she thought of it, the Young Saint looked pretty strong too.

Psyche, who was herself nowhere close to being athletic and had zero intention of ever changing that fact, silently made the executive decision to delegate all physical labor to these two in the future….

No, wait, how the hell was she going to do that? 

It finally struck her that her research assistants were a saint and a princess. Had President Ianthe scoured the entire campus just to hire the only two people who could pull rank on her, or was this just a coincidence?

Now, to be fair, everything about Euphrosyne screamed ‘people-pleaser,’ so she might be able to get her to do things anyway, but what about the Princess? What kind of imperial would let themselves be ordered around by anyone else, even if that was the entire job description?

Holding back a sigh, Psyche gave the Princess a lifeless look as she tentatively categorized her as ‘dead weight.’

Well, every project had to have at least one member who did nothing, right? As long as she didn’t make things more difficult, Psyche was willing to put up with her existence, albeit with great reluctance.

“Really? It’s not a burden for them?” Euphrosyne hesitantly asked the Princess.

“How could it be?” she replied, extending her long legs to playfully tangle her feet with Euphrosyne’s desk. “I have so many retainers working for me, but I never have anything for them to do—they’ll be happy to be useful.”

Observing this exchange with a critical eye, Psyche thought at Euphrosyne, You’re not dumb enough to believe that, are you? 

“Oh, okay, that’s great! Thank you!!!”

… Maybe her talents lie elsewhere, Psyche thought, trying to remain optimistic. 

It was about this time that Psyche noticed something odd about the air between the two of them. While Euphrosyne seemed to be taking everything the Princess said at face value, the other girl was watching her reactions much more carefully, a deep, almost sticky look in her crimson eyes.

It was less the way one would look at a friend and more the way a starving man would look at a roast chicken.

Not wanting to get involved, Psyche decided to do her best to ignore this.

“Euphy,” the Princess prompted, tapping one of her feet against Euphrosyne’s, “Are the two of you already acquainted? I don’t think we’ve been introduced.”

“Ah, that’s right! Psyche, this is Princess Chione, Chione, this is Young Duchess Psyche—she’s another Hero who’s just agreed to join us.”

The Princess’ pupils contracted at this news, and her expression became colder.

“Oh? You didn’t tell me you were already recruiting another Hero.”

“Eh? Did you want me to?” 

“I was just surprised,” she demurred, warming back up like the previous chill had never happened. 

Getting to her feet, she approached Psyche and extended her hand.

“Hello, Lady Psyche. It’s an honor to meet another Hero.”

Psyche had unconsciously been adhering to imperial etiquette until now, not acknowledging, approaching, or speaking to the Princess until the girl took the initiative to do so herself.

She’d been wondering exactly how much this girl would expect her to bow and scrape before they were allowed to get on with things, but… a handshake? Wasn’t that a little too informal?

Still, she supposed it was better than the alternative, so she pushed down the resentment and revulsion she felt and took the hand offered to her.

“First Crown Princess Chione, the honor is mine.”

Meeting the Princess’ eyes, she did her best to mentally separate this girl from her awful family. After all, if she thought about things objectively, the Princess was actually somewhat pitiful.

Being rejected by one of her own mothers, simply because they weren’t related by blood… Psyche supposed that it must make sense from an imperial perspective, that perhaps Ladike found the idea of Chione inheriting as offensive as Psyche would if asked to give her mother’s title to someone outside of her clan.

That said, even if she framed it that way, she still felt it didn’t justify things. No child could control the circumstances of their own birth, and any parent willing to hold that sort of thing against them was, in Psyche’s eyes, simply unqualified to be considered a parent.

Though she’d unconsciously held her breath the moment their hands touched, nothing strange happened. The Princess’ grip was firm but not uncomfortable, her palms hidden behind soft silk gloves, and she released Psyche’s hand after only a few shakes.

“Don’t feel like you need to worry about etiquette with me—we’re all friends here, aren’t we, Euphy?” 

Then, shooting the Young Saint a fond look, she added, “Of course, Euphy and I were friends first, but you’re still welcome nevertheless.”

Does that matter? 

“How long have you known each other?”

“About a week,” Euphrosyne replied.

“Really… only that long?” Psyche mused, trailing off into thought only to snap back out of it when she realized the Princess’ expression had grown chilly again.

“But you two already seem so close,” she said just to see what would happen, and was rewarded with an immediate thaw.

Goddess above, it’s like turning a light on and off, Psyche thought. You barely know each other yet you’re acting like this, aren’t you embarrassed? Shouldn’t at least one of you be embarrassed?

However, judging by the smug smile the Princess wore as she returned to her seat, and Euphrosyne’s complimentary oblivious expression, Psyche was the only one suffering.

Was the whole semester going to be like this…?

“First Princess, are you here as a research assistant as well, or do you have your own project?” Psyche asked.

“I’m here as an assistant, just like Euphy—although, let’s be honest, is that really what we’re all here for?” 

Feeling a hint of disquiet, Psyche frowned.

“What do you mean?”

“Isn’t it obvious? This cohort is someone’s bid to get the Young Saint and the Heroes together to plan for the upcoming Calamity. I’m sure Euphy intends to invite the next Heroes she approaches as well, don’t you, Euphy?”

The Young Saint nodded, her long pink hair bobbing as she agreed, “Well, yes, that was part of the idea.”

Psyche’s molars squeaked as she ground them.

Oh, absolutely not. The favors she owed Calliope aside, there was no way she was going to let her cohort turn into some sort of ‘Calamity Planning Committee.’ The Young Saint had already agreed to be her research assistant, and Psyche opened her mouth to argue just that only to be beaten to the jump when Euphy continued, “But my main goal is to help Psyche with her project. Maybe whenever there’s downtime we can discuss Calamity stuff, or we could schedule extra time outside of cohort hours?”

Somewhat mollified, Psyche gave up on arguing for now. While Euphrosyne might seem like a pushover, the fact that she was willing to disagree with the Princess on Psyche’s behalf was a good sign.

Unhappy with Euphy’s response, the Princess argued, “But, her project couldn’t possibly be more important than a national emergency—”

“Helping Psyche is also part of defeating the Calamity,” Euphrosyne interrupted firmly, reaching out to pat the Princess’ hand. “Look, I know that this whole thing is super stressful, it’s understandable that you want to address it all quickly. I’m feeling the pressure too… but I don’t want to explain too much until I’ve brought everyone in. So give me a little more time, okay?”

“… Of course, I understand,” the Princess replied sullenly.

That icy gaze of hers once again fell upon Psyche, as though Euphrosyne daring to stand up to her was entirely Psyche’s fault.

She already offered to schedule extra hours for Calamity-related discussions, what more do you want? Psyche mentally huffed, though she was a little distracted by Euphrosyne’s claim that helping her was part of addressing said Calamity.

… Hmm.

Surely the Temple must have a budget set aside for this? There was no way Heroes wouldn’t receive any payment for their work, right?

In that case, she might as well make two records of her time, one of just her cohort hours for President Ianthe and one of her cohort and Calamity hours for the Temple. Since the Young Saint had just designated her project as ‘Calamity-related,’ Psyche must have the right to double-bill it, yes?

Planning to secure that in writing from Euphrosyne later, she felt considerably cheered as she said, “In that case, why don’t I explain what I’ll need your help with?”

Euphrosyne nodded and sat up straight, her eyes sparkling like the portrait of a truly attentive student, an attitude which helped further soothe Psyche’s ruffled feathers.

At the moment there actually wasn’t much these two could offer her. The initial direction Chiron—or Calliope, apparently—had given her was that spiritual possession had something to do with the resonance between a person’s mana and a spirit’s mana, and that the key to performing an exorcism was somehow isolating and separating the two.

In order to even begin approaching that problem, she needed a way to analyze mana signatures, and far as she knew there were only two established methods with which to do so.

The most obvious one was the magic behind the Covenant itself. Even if they didn’t understand how it worked, everyone in Cydonia knew that the Covenant could read, store, and even replicate different mana signatures because a huge part of their society directly relied on those functions.

This was why Psyche had begged someone to get her into the Tomb of the Covenant, although now that she’d actually gone, she understood why so many people had warned her not to. Even if she hadn’t developed such awful side effects, after what she’d gone through in there she would have been reluctant to try again.

The other method was to use a blessing reader. The invention had been around for a while, but Cydonia’s strict intellectual property laws combined with the self-destructive security measures implemented by the company that produced them meant that the way it truly functioned was almost as mysterious as the Covenant.

Just that summer, Psyche had spent a great deal of money and effort finding a way to contact its largely anonymous inventor in the hopes of partnering with him. Originally she’d intended to explore the artifact’s potential as a diagnostic tool and share the credit and profits with him, but after he strung her along for months just to reach an incredibly unfair agreement, only to go back on his word last minute and threaten to sue her if any of her future research infringed on his patents, Psyche had changed her mind.

Now she planned to build her own version of a mana reader from scratch, and rather than worry about fighting any kind of legal battle, she’d hide any evidence of her success, eventually declare that portion of her graduate project a failure, and then find a way to discreetly share her real design as far and wide as possible at only the cost of the paper it was printed on.

Even if the law was on his side, it couldn’t stop people from privately making the devices for themselves, nor could it stop foreign businesses from making and selling their own versions overseas. Plus, since her family owned its own fleet of ships, it wouldn’t be difficult to call on her connections to funnel those illegal devices into the country until they flooded the whole damn market.

Her only regret was that she wouldn’t be able to see his face the day he realized his overpriced artifacts had become worthless.

Luckily, she’d already gotten Ianthe to agree not to try and monetize any designs she might make. As long as she still found a way to cure her mother and publish her working theories based on however much success she was willing to admit, both the university and other Cydonians would still benefit from her research, and she could graduate without issue.

However…

She glanced at the First Princess, frowning.

Whether this girl was genuinely estranged from her stepmother or not, she couldn't risk trusting her. ‘Failing’ a part of her project on purpose was essential to her plan. If anyone saw evidence that she’d succeeded, and could testify later that the new design was hers, she might end up in a lot of trouble.

Psyche didn’t doubt she could use the favor Euphrosyne already owed her to swear the girl to silence, but she had no way to control the Princess. Therefore, keeping her far away from the heart of things was vital to going forward.

With that in mind, Psyche explained to her assistants, “Right now, my focus is finding spiritually possessed subjects for my project and collecting preliminary data on them. I’m still in contact with participants from my undergraduate study, which I used to write my capstone paper, ‘Don’t Go Barking Up the Wrong Tree: How Human Lifestyle Adjustments can Mutually Decrease the Discomfort of Spiritual Possession by Accommodating the Specific Needs of Spiritual Types,’ but I’ll need a much wider sample set to test and refine the diagnostic methods I’m currently experimenting with, which means—”

With a flourish, she pulled a thick folio from her bag and slapped it down on the table. Then she picked one of its papers up and held it up, giving it a meaningful wiggle.

“Advertising for, interviewing, handling the contracts for, and surveying new participants.”

Initially this step would have been a huge time sink because most people were afraid to admit they were spiritually possessed. Psyche had gotten past this in her last project by offering cash on top of a comprehensive privacy agreement, but after her mother cut her off she’d been biting her nails every night trying to figure out how in the world she’d get people to participate for free.

But now that President Ianthe had offered her a big pile of money she no longer had to worry.

What was fear in the face of free and easy money?

Nothing! Nothing at all!

She could practically feel her dataset growing and she hadn’t even started yet!

The thought made her so excited that she accidentally crumpled the paper she was holding, and she had to take a moment to school her inappropriately manic grin back to neutrality.

It was around this time she noticed that the Young Saint was staring at her in confusion. Initially she assumed this was because she’d let some of her excitement slip through, but she was proven wrong when Euphrosyne innocently asked,

“That’s a good start, but… is that it? Weren’t you going to make a mana reader so you could find a way to perform spiritual exorcisms?” 

Psyche’s smile cracked.

What? How the hell did she know that?

“I… never said anything about any of that.”

Had someone leaked her earliest project proposal? She’d applied to a few cohorts, but none of them were run by anyone who had connections to her family’s enemies, so why on earth would they do that?

It wasn't like she’d planned to keep that detail a secret from Euphrosyne, but she wanted to at least hide it from the Princess until she could think up some diversions and counter-measures!

“Oh… was I not supposed to say anything? I… I didn’t realize it was a secret… Shit, I’m sorry!” Euphrosyne apologized, covering her mouth and sinking down in her chair in shame.

Next to her the Princess burst into surprisingly unladylike laughter, bending over and pounding her desk like this was the funniest thing she’d heard all day.

Flustered and angry, Psyche forgot her earlier resolve to pretend being friendly and snapped, “What’s your problem?”

“Nothing… it’s just, it’s so funny when it happens to someone else,” the Princess replied, wiping an imaginary tear from her eye. “Euphrosyne… you didn’t forget to mention that Saints are gifted with visions of the future, did you?”

“Of course not! I definitely told her!“ 

Euphy paused, blinked a few times, then mumbled, “Huh, but maybe I shouldn’t have said anything before she accepted? If she said no, wouldn’t that be a problem…?”

“Mm, yes, you might want to start saving state secrets for last,” the Princess advised, her shoulders shaking as she tried and failed to contain her mirth. “Oh, and please invite me along so I can watch when you do…”

“Stop laughing, Chione! It’s not funny!” 

“Don’t get mad, I’m not laughing at you, I’m laughing at her.”

“That’s just as bad!”

Psyche ignored them both, blindly reaching for a chair and finally taking her own seat.

… Right. Euphrosyne had mentioned something along those lines, but Psyche hadn’t seen a reason to believe her until Chiron confirmed things, and so that detail had slipped her mind.

As outlandish as it might sound to most people, Psyche had no trouble coming to terms with the idea that someone had seen the future. After all, her guardian was a seer, so she was well-versed in the curse of clairvoyance and its many limitations.

What she had difficulty digesting was the fact that, simply because she was a little tired and a little stressed, she’d almost thrown away such an incredible resource like a colossal idiot.

No wonder her uncle sounded so disappointed in her. 

“How much of the future, exactly? Did you see one version, or many?” Psyche asked, interrupting the other girl’s bickering.

“Uh… many, technically, but I can’t guarantee how accurate they are, since—”

“Yes, yes, I’m aware of how that sort of thing works,” Psyche dismissed, waving her hand. “But surely there must be some consistency between them? And what kind of time frame did your visions cover?”

Euphrosyne frowned thoughtfully, then shrugged. “Yeah, I guess there was, but as for the time frame… I’m not sure? Up to at least a year ahead I’d guess? Maybe more? Until just after the Calamity, at least… but, uh, it’s almost entirely stuff that relates directly to you guys.”

“That means she probably already knows all your secrets—I’d suggest getting used to it,” the Princess added in a breathy, superior tone.

“Huh… okay. Huh.”

A little abacus went ‘click click click’ in her mind as she calculated all the ways such a wellspring of knowledge could be incredibly useful.

The future Euphrosyne had seen wasn’t the tiny, poisonous glimpses her guardian got but an entire year or more, and even if it couldn’t be completely relied on what she might know about events and people alone more than made up for that…

Suddenly, the Princess’ weirdly possessive attitude towards Euphrosyne made more sense.

If not for the Princess’ presence, Psyche herself probably would have locked the door right now and interrogated the Young Saint until her clerics came to rescue her.

The Princess, noticing how the way Psyche was looking at Euphrosyne gradually changed, clenched her fists beneath her desk, her smile fading.

“Well… just for future reference, while I understand you didn’t mean anything by it, I’d appreciate it if you kept anything you know about my project or myself a secret. It’s not uncommon for people to try and steal research or sabotage results, so the less that’s advertised, the better,” Psyche explained to Euphrosyne in a gracious, patient tone, unwilling to risk scolding this treasure no matter how annoyed she felt.

The only thing that worried her was the Princess’ comment about Euphrosyne knowing all of her secrets.

That couldn’t be entirely true, right? Psyche couldn’t imagine a future version of herself that would be willing to admit to her hallucinations, no matter how close she became to the Young Saint. However, since she had no way to check now, she’d have to look for an opportunity to sound the girl out later.

“Right… Sorry, I got excited and jumped ahead,” Euphy murmured.

“It’s alright, I appreciate your enthusiasm. However, while it's true that finding a way to undo spiritual possession is my final goal, I’ve only just begun studying artificing, so I’m nowhere near being able to actually create anything… and I really do need participants. As many as possible.”

Euphrosyne, completely failing to notice the avaricious glint in Psyche’s eyes, cheerfully volunteered, “I can definitely help with that, I can help with anything you need! Oh—and that reminds me, Chione actually knows a lot about mana and spirits too!”

Reminded of the Princess’ presence, Psyche’s joy faltered.

… Right. The Young Saint wasn’t here for her alone.

She had to share her with at least three other Heroes and… well, the country, presumably.

Damn.

Now struggling with her own possessive feelings, Psyche couldn’t quite keep the passive aggression out of her tone as she replied, “Is that so? I don’t think I recall seeing her name in any papers on the subject?”

The Princess didn’t bother to hide her gloominess as she leaned her cheek on her fist and muttered, “You wouldn't, because I haven’t been published in any."

“No, it’s not a research thing—actually, Chione is—um.” Euphrosyne hesitated, her eyes darting between them, and then she leaned closer to the Princess and asked, “Uh, Chione, can I tell her about—you know…?”

The Princess froze, surprise flashing across her face. Then she lowered her white lashes, hesitating as though she was struggling to come to a difficult decision, and sheepishly sighed, “I’m sorry, Euphrosyne… I’d really rather you didn’t.”

“What? Really? But… we’re all going to be working together soon, wouldn’t it be better to just…?”

“I can't help that you know such things about me, but can you really blame me for not wanting to share them with anyone else?” the Princess asked, managing to look up at Euphrosyne pathetically despite the Young Saint being the shorter of the two. “Surely you understand that not all people are as accepting as someone like you.”

“W-well, yes, but…”

“I don’t suppose either of you could clue me in on what you’re talking about?” Psyche asked.

Euphrosyne balled her fists, her face growing red as she struggled with whatever psychological pressure the Princess had just put her under.

“Just that—uh… um… Princess Chione has some unique expertise on the subject, that I can’t mention…. But I was hoping she’d still be willing to assist you…” 

The Princess jumped back in, her voice dripping with wounded innocence as she said, “Euphrosyne, were you really going to ask me to do that? Haven’t you considered what an artifact like the one she hopes to make might mean for spirits?”

“Um… no?” the Young Saint replied, twisting her fingers as she became increasingly nervous.

“The Young Duchess isn’t just looking to diagnose possession, she wants to make an artifact that can untangle a spirit and their host. That would mean making something that can directly manipulate a spirit’s mana… don’t you think something like that could be used to injure spirits as well?”

“Hold on, you’re making a lot of assumptions here,” Psyche interjected. “The goal of my research has never been to harm spirits, just to separate them from the people they're trapped in.”

“Maybe that’s your intent, but what about others? Countless spirits already suffer at the hands of humans, imprisoned in seals or enslaved by coercive deals, so how can you be sure you’re not just creating a new way to abuse them?” 

Psyche scowled, realizing that this made it twice now that the Princess had objected to her project.

She didn’t believe this was a coincidence, and immediately went on the defensive, “I won’t deny those are serious problems, but surely you don’t expect me to give up because of a hypothetical?” 

“I’m just saying, while I’m sure a human with a corporeal body could survive having their mana altered, the same thing done to a spirit might cause serious harm. Think about it—how would you like it if someone proposed a treatment that might carelessly rearrange your insides?”

Psyche sputtered, “Carelessly!? When did I say I’d do it carelessly? I’m a Med-healer, I was licensed by this very university!”

“H-hold on, guys, slow down,” Euphrosyne begged, putting both her hands up in a stopping gesture. “There’s no need to take anything personally! Why don’t we, uh, let Psyche explain what methodology she’s considering and then discuss safety concerns.”

“I’m sure you’re a qualified healer for humans, but spirits are another life-form altogether,” the Princess continued, tossing her fluffy hair back as she pretended not to hear Euphrosyne. “You can't see or understand mana patterns, so how can you confidently say you can safely treat them?”

“That is why I am building such a device! So I can learn!”

“And then what? You’ll find possessed people, and treat their spirits as your experiments?”

Through gritted teeth, Psyche emphasized each point by chopping her hand to her palm. “No, I will treat them as my patients because whether it’s humans or spirits there is no such thing as a new kind of treatment that is free! Of! All! Jeopardy!!!”

Euphrosyne cut in again, and it was a good thing she did, because at this point Psyche had half a mind to leap over her desk and start swinging.

“Chione, look—you’re right, we definitely need to be sure we don’t put spirits at risk, and since you’re part of the project, we can all work together to do that! So let’s just step back and—”

“Why should I? She clearly finds hurting spirits acceptable so long as they're inconveniencing humans,” the Princess refused, turning her head away petulantly.“Why should I help someone who treats spirits like a disease?”

“You—you! I never—!” 

Psyche surged to her feet and slapped her desk, shocked and infuriated by this accusation.

How dare she?

Psyche was, first and foremost, a healer. The idea that she’d wantonly disrespect the rights and wellbeing of any patient was so deeply offensive that she temporarily lost her voice.

She was, furthermore, a lifelong devotee of the Mother, who viewed spirits as her most sacred children. Even if Psyche had a grudge against a spirit or two, so what? She wasn’t weak-willed or selfish enough to judge an entire species on the actions of a few, any more than she’d be willing to hate humanity on behalf of the many humans who’d wronged her!

Even more than that, to describe her mother’s suffering as an ‘inconvenience’? It was as though the Princess had, in only a few words, managed to act like the wronged party while accurately striking all the points that would make Psyche the angriest…

Ah. 

Because that was exactly what she was trying to do.

Psyche grew still, some of the offense she felt fading as she narrowed her eyes.

Perhaps the Princess really was concerned about the welfare of spirits. If that was true, she’d gladly address any reasonable concerns down the line once she made more progress on her project. However, she now had the suspicion that this jealous girl just resented the way Euphrosyne kept trying to give Psyche her attention, and so she’d decided to goad her into a fight.

… Fuck, she’d almost fallen for it, too. Not because she hadn’t expected trouble, but because the sheer childishness of its source had blindsided her.

“Chione! You haven’t even let her explain anything, so how can you assume that?” the Young Saint asked.

Her blood-orange eyes flashing, Psyche cut in, “Yes—and I can’t help but notice how you’ve conveniently managed to ignore all the ways my project could benefit spirits.”

“I’m just pointing out the potential consequences before we get started—is that not allowed?” the Princess replied, her voice airy with false righteousness.

“Is that what you’re doing? Because from my perspective, it looks like you’re just being contrary for the sake of being contrary. After all, this is the second time you’ve tried to dismiss my project since I’ve gotten here—will there be a third time? What excuse do you plan to use then?”

“That’s quite the accusation—I didn’t realize I was required to accept all your requests blindly.”

“You aren’t, but I have no interest in wasting any more of my time arguing with someone in bad faith, so I suggest we end things here. Since you have so many ethical objections to my graduate project, feel free to recuse yourself from participating in it further,” Psyche replied, grabbing her bag.

“Excuse me?” Chione asked, her eyes widening in surprise.

“No, wait, Psyche—” Euphrosyne began to say, but Psyche cut her off.

“Euphrosyne, do you still plan to be involved or will you be stepping aside as well?”

“What? Involved! Of course I’ll stay involved!”

“Now, wait just a minute!” the Princess insisted, fuming, but Psyche ignored her and gestured to the folio on the desk as she focused all her attention on Euphrosyne.

“Good, I’ve already listed the instructions you’ll need for the first step. Put up these advertisements for me—not just in Kastri, I’ve detailed what part of the budget is allocated to portal travel, so feel free to choose any major cities you like so long as you stick within that number and save me the receipts. And that reminds me, I’ve already withdrawn a portion for you, so just let me know if you need more.”

Psyche pulled a small purse from her bag and tossed it to Euphrosyne, who scrambled to catch it.

“Uh, yes, but—we, we still need to talk about—”

“No thank you. If you’ll excuse me, I have work to do.”

With that she swept out of the room, slamming the door behind her before the Princess could draw her into any more ridiculous bullshit.