Night fell over Radevic, and many of its citizens had turned in for the night. Alicia lurked along the rooftops of the city's many rows of townhouses. The darkness didn't bother her anymore. She didn't need Claudia by her side for reassurance. The lone rogue could once again become the stalking assassin she was meant to be.

Alicia scanned the seedy streets where rats skittered about in search of discarded food scraps, or a dead body to feast on. They just might find something to eat tonight, depending on how things turn out.

Cloaked in Magical Stealth, the assassin unfurled her wings and descended from the rooftops. She touched down on the surface just as a commotion erupted in the boarded-up building in front of her. Glass shattered. Furniture crashed and broke. Metal clashed against metal.

"There's a succubus in there! Run!" a human man came out screaming.

Three people, actually. Terrified, they made a break for a parked wagon. But just as they got onto the road and waited for their third to climb in, Alicia exerted Charm on them.

"Halt," Alicia compelled.

"Ugh… Why can't I… move…"

"Who's… there?"

Alicia nicked each of them in quick succession with her dagger. The venom worked fast. Their eyes rolled to the back of their heads, and the trio collapsed into a heap in the wagon. She walked past them to enter the building and came faced with a one-sided battle.

Thugs hid behind overturned tables, some shooting crossbows and others firing magic spells over the top. Broken glass and spilled beer littered the ground. In the middle of the room, Claudia held a goon by the throat while being on the receiving end of the attacks. Too bad they succeeded in achieving little other than to waste their bolts and mana, which struck harmlessly on her back.

"Where are you keeping the dire beasts, huh? Where are they?" Claudia growled.

"Sister…" Alicia sighed, dropping her invisibility and startling her twin. "I told you to wait outside for my signal. Also, have you forgotten you're a succubus? Compel the answer out of them instead…"

"It's a lot more fun doing it the hard way! And you were taking too long. I was getting bored, so we came in from the back to surprise them," she explained, shaking the man in her grasp.

"We…?"

An ogre crashed through a door from the second floor.

"Thume find nothing up here!" Thume exclaimed.

A gaur emerged from the side hallway, dragging two unconscious thugs.

"Nothing in the back room either— Oh, hey, Vice-Cap!" Tess dropped them to wave at her.

The door behind the counter bursted open. Hilde strolled out while fanning herself. Half a dozen dire wolves followed her out.

"I've found the beasts downstairs in cages and chains. It's also where the pit fights take place." Hilde yawned.

"Good shit, Hildy! See? Everything worked out in the end!" Claudia grinned.

"And what good is Amethyst Hall if its members don't follow orders? Are you trying to make a fool out of me with your insubordination?" Alicia snapped at them.

Claudia and Hilde recoiled, and it became increasingly awkward in the room, especially with the thugs exchanging nervous glances.

"S-Sorry? We're just trying to solve this quickly. Sheesh. What got you so moody all of a sudden?" Claudia shrugged.

"No, I…" Alicia pinched the bridge of her nose, only to feel a wave of dizziness wash over. Something shuffled from behind, but she was too woozy to react.

"Vice-Cap, watch out!" Tess shouted.

Alicia ducked, and the gaur hurled the two unconscious goons across the room. They bludgeoned someone behind her. The dizziness finally passed, and she turned around to find a knife-wielding man underneath them.

"Whew. Good shit, Tessy. You chucked them like a champ!" Claudia patted the gaur on the back.

Alicia rolled her eyes. City guards poured in after sending word to them about an illegal dire beast fighting hub. She and Amethyst Hall rounded up the ringleaders, while the guards waited for adventurers to help wrangle the monsters downstairs.

They returned to Aidenhall after a job well done, although it was a little more chaotic than it should have been. The others retired to Amethyst Hall, but the duty of reporting a completed task fell on the acting commander. Vice-Captain Alicia flew up to the Ocular Stronghold, one of the two most fortified positions in the palace, where Grand Eye Analise had been in for the past week. Not for any reason related to threats on her life, but to oversee the re-enchantments and etching of new protective runes.

A legion of spellcasters with chisels in hand carved lightly into the outside walls. Some climbed on ladders to reach the upper sections of the fortress. Even Elizabeth Bedlam was here, directing everyone with the sternness of a military commander.

"Don't chip into the stone too hard. We want the runes to repel magic and physical attacks. You there! Light taps. Don't swing the damn thing like you're hammering nails. Supreme One, spare me. Am I working with barbarians or mages?" Eliza groaned.

"Eliza, is the Grand Eye still here?" Alicia came over and asked.

"Oh, back from your mission already? You work faster than Amethyst. If it was her, she would somehow find herself in trouble and make a sexual escapade out of the situation. Grand Eye Analise hasn't left yet. You will find her down the corridor past the Supreme One's statue, third door to the right," the sorceress explained.

Alicia entered the stronghold according to Eliza's instructions. The inside was no different than what was going on outside, but there were more palace guards around. A statue of the Supreme One stood vigil in the center of the foyer chamber. Unlike the other statues around Aidenhall, this one held a burning torch.

As she made for the corridor behind the statue, heavy footfalls rapidly approached from one end.

"Aliiciiiiiiiaaaaaa!"

Alicia faded into Magical Stealth and sidestepped the man. She sliced across his back, and he fell to the ground, bouncing twice on his head. Upon closer inspection, it appeared to be Marwin Fransk that she had incapacitated. The architect of the succubus genocide, as well as a succubus fanatic. She didn't harbor any spite for him as the others did.

"Oops. You shouldn't scare a rogue like that, Master Fransk. You'll never know how one would react." Alicia ended the effects of invisibility and laughed into her hand.

"Ow… Amethyst would have… greeted me in a kinder way…" Marwin twitched from the floor.

The old wizard's antics seemed normal around here. His younger colleagues and peers continued on with their work completely unfazed. They didn't even come to his aid.

"Marwin! I thought I'd forgotten to warn Alicia about something. Quit fooling around and help me before these apprentices break something!" Eliza stormed in, pinched Marwin by one ear, and dragged his limp body out of the stronghold.

Alicia watched them go with an amused look on her face. How Kanae handled that man was a merit on its own. She pressed on deeper into the Ocular Stronghold, passing by an armory, mess hall, and more. Quartermasters checked in on inventories, faces buried in clipboards. Knights marched up and down the corridor to practice drills.

It came as a relief that if Mother or Ambrosia attempted an attack on Radevic, they would be met with a very potent fighting force. One day, maybe, they might very well put that to the test. Alicia finally reached her destination when she found two Saint Priests, Ulric and Bocchiri, standing guard outside one room in particular.

"Yahoo~ Alicia!" Ulric waved.

Bocchiri offered the slightest motion of a bow.

"I'm here to report Amethyst Hall has completed their investigation and subdued a dire beast fighting ring. Is the Grand Eye busy?" Alicia asked.

"Not at all. Least, I don't think? Go right ahead though!" Ulric opened the door to let Alicia through.

Inside the study, the Grand Eye and two robed individuals of some crowned magical class were channeling magic into a crystal ball on her desk. It was suspended in mid-air, hovering slightly above three metal prongs.

"I see you, Alicia. One moment," Grand Eye Analise said.

Alicia waited quietly off to the side. The two mages' faces were covered in sweat. One of them collapsed to her knees, and the other, unable to continue channeling on his own, lost connection and dropped the crystal ball back onto the prongs.

The Grand Eye sighed. Her spellcasters apologized profusely until she brushed off their failure. She dismissed them and slumped into her seat.

"Behold, Alicia." Analise gestured to the device on the table. "Elizabeth Bedlam's latest invention— a transponder, based on dwarven schematics and technology. It is made of felmetal and condensed mana crystals. Designed to serve as a long-distance communication device by infusing a ritual spell. As you have just seen, it is not going well."

"I'm guessing this was designed with the intention to communicate with Kanae in Savir?" Alicia asked.

"Astute. While it isn't unheard of for an Archbishop to act as an emissary, I'm still worried. Amethyst is capable, yes, but she is only one person. And Sivvy… Anyway, your mission. Was it successful?"

"We've apprehended the ringleaders. They are in the custody of the city guards. As for the dire beasts, the adventurers hall plans to reintroduce them back to their native habitats," she reported dutifully.

"Good. What a headache. As if cockfighting isn't barbaric enough. Dire beast fighting! No one will bat an eye to an escaped hen. But dire beasts running amok in the city is a recipe for disaster. Well done, Alicia. You have been doing well in Amethyst's absence. I've no more tasks for you. Take some time off if you need. You're… You're breaking out in a sweat." The Grand Eye produced a handkerchief from her person.

Alicia gratefully took the fabric and wiped it across her forehead. Analise was right. She was sweating intensely. The handkerchief came away completely damp.

"I think I'll take that suggestion. Lately, I've been feeling… off. Perhaps a good rest will do me some good," Alicia said.

It wasn't any better trying to sleep through the night. Alicia tossed and turned. She sweated so much, the bed and sheets became drenched. The comforts of the Knight-Commander's bedchamber no longer had Kanae's easing scent either.

Where was she now? Alicia wondered. How was Kanae doing without her? Hopefully not in the clutches of an enemy because they fumbled. She filled her thoughts with Kanae and eventually drifted off to sleep.

Alicia awakened in the morning feeling nauseous. She chugged a full carafe of water and still felt sick. Her chest felt extra sensitive, too, oddly enough.

"Vice-Captain!" Quartermaster Meidina shouted from the other side of the door. "My apologies for coming to you so early, but Reen has requested some requisitions that I'd like to clear with you first!"

"Meidina… I need you to call a physician…" Alicia mustered to say aloud.

"Are you not feeling well? Right away!" she exclaimed.

Not even half an hour later, a cleric from the Basilica of Saint Rue and a doctor from the hospital wing of the palace arrived at Amethyst Hall. The cleric was a rickety old human woman with a pendant of the Supreme One around her neck. She brought incense, offered a prayer, and administered healing magic that did absolutely nothing.

The doctor was a male elf. He went through a checklist from taking her temperature, testing her reflexes on each knee, asking about her diet, and others that also did nothing to help. Both of them were stumped. Alicia had been eating well. She drained regularly. It also wasn't as if there was a sickness going around Radevic either.

"Heya, Vice-Captain!" Reen cruised in with Meidina following close behind.

Amethyst Hall's resident monster cuisine chef held a tray of soup, which contained unrecognizable parts bobbing up and down the creamy contents.

"I might have told Reen you were sick. She insisted on whipping something up to make you feel better." Meidina bowed apologetically.

"Reen… it looks… inedible." Alicia frowned as the dark elven girl sat the tray on her bedside. The wafting smell, however, eased some of her nausea like magic.

"Aww, come on. You gotta at least try it. I worked really hard for you. Kanae would have eaten it right away! I think? Anyway, what are you even sick with?" Reen asked.

"That's what these two are trying to figure out. I haven't come down with any magical sickness that can be healed away with magic. Mostly, I've been feeling nauseous. I'm sweating a lot. My abdomen cramps up a lot. And for some reason, my breasts became rather sensitive this morning," she explained.

"Oh!" The half-succubus quartermaster gasped. "You're pregnant!"

Everyone in the room stared at Meidina aghast.

"Wait one moment. I believe I would know a pregnant lass when I see one!" the elderly cleric exclaimed indignantly.

"Maybe not if you've been cooped up in the highest echelon of the clergy in Radevic. But Before converting to the Eminence of Sin, I've been a monastic sister in service to the Supreme One at Lograin. I got my hands dirty helping deliver many births. Alicia's showing all the hallmark signs of pregnancy. So take that. Bleeehh." Meidina stuck her tongue out at the older woman.

"Why, I never—"

"Out," Alicia demanded and silenced their bickering. "All of you, out. Now."

They scrambled out of the room in a hurry.

All of a sudden, Alicia started thinking clearly. It couldn't be anyone else. It had to be… Her head was floaty. The nausea subsided like fate had thrown her a bone of relief. She grabbed the pillow, pressed it to her face, and screamed into it. Cheeks flushed redder than a tomato, she walked over to the standing mirror and lifted her sleeping tunic. It hardly showed, but maybe in a few months…

"Meidina!" Alicia threw open the door and screamed.

"Eek! Yes, Vice-Captain?" Meidina stood at attention near the stairs, the last to descend down with the others.

"I have a new requisition order. A crib, toys, and…" She rested a hand on her rumbling stomach. "Seafood. For some reason, I'm craving fish of all things."

"Did I hear someone hankering for seafood? I got you, Vice-Captain!" Reen shouted from below the stairs.

Alicia closed her eyes and smiled. She could not have gotten this amount of support while still serving under the Queen-Mother. Joining Kanae truly was the best thing to have ever happened. She returned to the room and picked out some light clothes that didn't chafe her skin. Now, how to break the news to Claudia and Hilde? Even more pressing, how to tell Kanae?

"Kanae, you better be back soon. I have something important to tell you." Alicia rubbed her stomach.