All Jobs and Classes! I Just Wanted One Skill, Not Them All!

Chapter 592

While Viola and Elaine were still sitting there with their mouths hanging open, Luna kept speaking, calm, precise, like she was reciting instructions from memory.

“I was told to erase all evidence of their existence,” Luna said. “And their movements. Before they joined Lionsguard.”

Viola blinked once, hard, as if that would make the sentence less insane.

Luna continued anyway. “Paper trails. Witnesses. Any records of where they stayed, who escorted them, what names they used. Anything that could be traced back.”

Elaine’s face had gone very still, dangerously still. “You… erased it.”

Luna nodded. “As much as possible.”

Then she added, without shame, “I was also told to teach them how to avoid being noticed. How to move through places without drawing attention. How to become forgettable.”

Viola’s throat worked. She finally managed words again.

“Why,” Viola demanded, voice strained, “would you keep that secret from everyone?” Her eyes narrowed. “Even from Ludger?”

Luna didn’t flinch at the name. She just answered as if the reason was obvious.

“If something went wrong,” Luna said, “Lord Torvares didn’t want Ludger branded a traitor of the Empire.”

The words landed heavy. Because suddenly it wasn’t just a secret. It was a shield.

If Ludger didn’t know, he couldn’t be accused of knowingly harboring imperial blood. If Ludger didn’t know, then Torvares could plausibly argue the Lionsguard had simply accepted recruits under his sponsorship, nothing more. Elaine’s eyes narrowed further, sharp enough to cut.

“So he hid it,” Elaine said quietly. Not a question. A conclusion. “Not like that would change anything if those in power wanted to use any excuse to destroy him.”

Luna nodded once. “Yes.”

Viola stared at the table, jaw tight, trying to fit the pieces together and failing because the picture was too ugly. A daughter of the late Emperor.

Hidden. Moved like contraband. Placed under Lionsguard’s roof.

And Ludger, already being courted and pressured by the Regent, had been kept deliberately in the dark so he couldn’t be legally crushed if the secret surfaced.

Elaine’s fingers tightened around her cup. Viola’s voice came out smaller than she wanted it to.

“So that’s why,” she said, “Ludger started looking at Grandfather like…” she searched for the word, found it, “…like a trap.”

Luna didn’t deny it. She didn’t need to. Elaine’s shock didn’t last long. Shock was a luxury. Elaine ran on priorities. She leaned forward slightly, voice low enough that the twins wouldn’t pick up the tension and decide to weaponize it.

“Why move her here?” Elaine asked. “If her little brother is supposed to be the next emperor.”

Luna didn’t hesitate. She’d clearly rehearsed this, maybe with Torvares, maybe with herself.

“Because her existence is a fault line,” Luna said, matter-of-fact. “A split waiting to happen.”

Viola swallowed, still trying to recalibrate her entire understanding of the last few months. Luna continued, tone calm, almost clinical.

“If it becomes known that the late emperor had a daughter,” she said, “some people will claim she deserves the throne.”

Elaine’s eyes narrowed. “Even if she’s half sister of the future emperor.”

“Especially because she’s unofficial,” Luna replied. “Unofficial means there are no rules that protect anyone. Only power.”

Viola’s hands tightened around her cup. “So she becomes… a banner.”

“A tool,” Luna corrected, without malice. “A figure some factions can rally behind.”

She glanced at Elle, who was still staring like she wanted to win a war with her eyes, then returned to the adults like the child was a decoration.

“There are nobles who don’t like the Regent,” Luna explained. “They follow him because they must. They tolerate him because he keeps things from collapsing. But if they had another option, someone with imperial blood who could be shaped, then they would use her.”

Elaine’s mouth tightened. “To control the Empire through her.”

Luna nodded once. “Yes. A daughter is easier to manipulate than a boy being raised as the next emperor. Easier to isolate. Easier to ‘protect.’ Easier to marry off to the ‘right’ house.”

Viola’s face darkened. “Disgusting.”

“Normal at times like these,” Luna said flatly.

Elaine leaned back a fraction, the pieces connecting in her eyes. “So Torvares hid her to prevent factions from turning her into a political knife.”

“And to prevent the Regent from removing her,” Luna added. “Quietly.”

That landed heavier than the rest.

Viola’s stomach tightened. “Remove…?”

Luna didn’t soften. “If she exists, she’s a threat. Even if she never reaches for power. Even if she’s kind. Even if she’s useless.”

Elaine’s gaze sharpened. “Because blood is enough.”

“Yes,” Luna said.

Viola exhaled slowly, trying to keep her voice steady. “And the timing? Why now?”

Luna’s eyes flicked briefly, like she was checking for listeners that weren’t there.

“Because the Empire is already in a troublesome situation,” she said. “The Rodericks vanished.”

Elaine’s eyes narrowed further. “No one knows where they are.”

“No one officially knows,” Luna corrected. “But everyone important knows the same thing.”

Viola’s voice came out tight. “They’ll return.”

Luna nodded. “They will return. And when they do, they’ll probably try to take over the realm.”

Silence settled again, thick and unpleasant. The twins didn’t understand the words, but they understood the mood. Arash paused his assault on Viola’s hair as if even he could feel the air get heavier.

Elaine spoke carefully, like each word was being weighed.

“So Torvares moved her here,” Elaine said, “to keep her out of reach. Out of sight. Out of the capital’s… knives.”

“And out of the Regent’s hands,” Luna said. “Because the Regent would be forced to act. Either to secure her under his control, or to eliminate the risk.”

Viola’s jaw clenched. “And that’s why Ludger was kept ignorant.”

Luna’s gaze stayed steady. “If Ludger didn’t know, he couldn’t be accused of knowingly sheltering her. Torvares wanted a layer between the Lionsguard and treason.”

Elaine’s eyes flicked toward the hallway, toward Ludger’s absence, and something cold settled in her expression.

“And now the Regent is offering titles,” Elaine murmured. “Asking for loyalty.”

Luna nodded once.

Viola’s voice was quiet. Angry. “And Ludger was already suspicious.”

Elaine’s fingers tightened around her cup. Then she looked at Luna, sharp as ever.

“Tell me one thing,” Elaine said. “Is she still here?”

Luna’s answer was immediate.

“Yes.”

And in the silence that followed, Viola realized the real problem wasn’t just the Regent’s offer.

It was that Torvares had placed a living spark in Lionfang, one that could light the Empire on fire the moment the wrong person noticed it.

And Ludger, Ludger had gone north for more power. As if his instincts had sensed the storm coming,. Viola’s grip tightened around her cup until her fingers started to ache. She looked at Elaine, then at Luna, then back at Elaine again like she could force the pieces into a shape that made sense.

“What has Ludger been doing,” Viola asked, “to answer this situation?”

Elaine tilted her head slightly. For the first time in the conversation, she looked… uncertain. Not helpless. Not confused. Just genuinely searching her memory.

“He’s been working,” Elaine said slowly. “Building. Planning. The usual.”

Viola waited, eyes sharp. “Specifically.”

Elaine frowned faintly, thinking harder.

“I… can’t think of anything new that directly answers the Regent,” she admitted. “Not something he told me.” Her gaze flicked briefly toward the hallway, as if Ludger might walk in and rescue her with an explanation.

Then she added, almost reluctantly, “He did build something.”

Viola leaned forward a fraction. “What?”

Elaine’s mouth tightened, like she expected the answer to sound ridiculous when spoken out loud.

“A pool,” she said. “A clear one. Like glass. A training tank.”

Viola blinked. “A… pool?”

“For the northerners,” Elaine continued. “So they could fight underwater. Practice breath control. Grapples.”

Viola stared at her. For a second, it genuinely looked like something in Viola’s mind glitched, like the world had fed her the wrong line. A secret imperial heir. A Regent offering titles. Political knives. Vanished Rodericks.

And Ludger’s response was…

A pool.

Viola’s expression tightened into disbelief. “That doesn’t—” she began, then stopped, because arguing with reality never helped.

Elaine watched her reaction and sighed. “I know how it sounds.”

Viola leaned back, staring at the table like it had insulted her personally. Luna stayed silent, because Luna knew better than to laugh at a situation that was already sharp enough to cut.

Viola exhaled, slow and controlled, then lifted her gaze again, this time with decision hardening behind her eyes.

“We have to do something,” she said. “About all of this.”

Elaine’s eyes narrowed. “Agreed.”

Viola’s voice dropped, more serious now. “And we need to restore the relationship between Ludger and my grandfather.” Elaine didn’t respond immediately, but the way her gaze shifted said she understood what Viola meant. Because if Torvares and Ludger stayed at odds while the Regent tightened his grip…

Lionfang wouldn’t just be pressured. It would be isolated. And isolation was how people got taken apart, quietly, legally, and one “reasonable offer” at a time.

Elaine went quiet for a moment, eyes fixed on the table like she was lining up a question she didn’t want to ask unless it mattered.

Then she asked it anyway.

“How did Torvares even find the girl?” Elaine said. “He’s lord of the frontier. Until years ago, his reach was limited. He shouldn’t be able to have that kind of knowledge, let alone influence, about what happened behind the curtains of the capital.”

Luna didn’t hesitate.

“He has allies in the capital,” she said. “People who want to avoid trouble as well.”

Elaine’s eyes narrowed. “Avoid trouble… meaning avoid a split.”

Luna nodded once. “And avoid the Regent making the wrong move.”

Viola’s mind clicked. The answer wasn’t vague to her. It had names. She sat a little straighter, eyes sharpening as the dots connected into a line.

“Varik,” Viola murmured, almost to herself.

Luna’s gaze flicked to her, no surprise, no confirmation, just acknowledgment that Viola wasn’t stupid.

“And Rufas Dalmoren,” Viola added, voice tightening as she followed the trail all the way to its end.

The young imperial guard. Rising fast. The future head of House Dalmoren. The kind of man who could move through the palace without being stopped, and who understood that stability wasn’t the same thing as obedience.

Elaine watched Viola carefully. “You know them.”

Viola’s jaw clenched. “I know of them.”

And that was enough. Because if Torvares had capital allies feeding him information and helping him move an imperial-blooded girl quietly… Then the secret wasn’t held by just one old lord on the frontier. It was held by a network.

A network that Torvares was deliberately keeping Viola out of. Not because he didn’t trust her, maybe. But because he wanted her blind enough to stay safe, quiet enough not to make waves, and useful enough to be positioned later. Viola felt her irritation flare, then cool into purpose.

Grandfather kept me in the dark to see what I could do.

To see if she’d dig. If she’d find the threads herself. If she was ready to act without being spoon-fed. Fine. She could play that game too. Viola set her cup down gently, as if making noise would break something.

“I’ll have to contact them,” she said.

Elaine’s eyes narrowed. “Varik and Rufas.”

Viola nodded once. Luna remained still, but her attention sharpened, the subtle shift of someone recognizing a plan forming. Viola exhaled slowly. If her grandfather had built a quiet web in the capital… Then it was time she stepped into it.

Not as a young woman kept in the dark. As a Torvares and Ludger’s older sister..

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