Epsilon Rose
The King of Unrest
People keep talking about Eleanore being swayed to evil or corrupted by the Gauntlet. I'd like to argue that she was already very, very, evil. 3 pieces of evidence.
1. She has spent the vast majority of Louise's life grinding her into the dirt. Now, granted, part of that was simply her being horrendously mean and Louise's oldest sister. But one of the key points she pressed was her magic and just look at that. In a world where mages have an affinity for one of five elements, Louise is a mage who can't use any of them and, yet, can cast explosions that easily break incredibly powerful wards. Eleanore isn't stupid, she can do that math, even if she doesn't consciously acknowledge it. Even laying void magic aside, they're the daughters of a pair of war heroes. "I explode you" is just about the best magic for putting people into the ground and she had to see that too. Instead of helping Louise find her feat, at all, she broke her and kept breaking her until neither of them thought she could so much as stand on her own, let alone make something of herself. It makes sense too, after all, who would make for a better heir for Karin of the Heavy Wind? The literal messiah and master of explosions or a bookworm that literally no one likes?
And, again, even if you were to lay all of that aside, what would you call someone who picks on a younger relative for a crippling disability they can't control.
2. If I recall correctly, and I very well might not, Eleanore freed Louis and didn't tell her parents about it, hoping to fix it her self and avoid the consequences. In the process her innocent sister got turned into a vampire over the course of many nights. Putting innocents in danger in order to save your own skin and assuage your ego isn't exactly the act of a Hero.
3. This is the big one: She hurts other people because it makes her feel good. It's not just acceptable targets, like has been mentioned, it's anyone and everyone she can. Her sisters, her friends, other university students; I'd wager the only people who get spared this treatment are her parents. The thing is, she doesn't just hurt people, she puts them in a position where they can't possibly retaliate; then she hurts them until that they'll carry it with them, until they can't ignore it, but can still function; then she sends them on their way. What do you think happens next? Most of them aren't going to just let it go, not after she's done twisting whatever knives she's stuck them with. No, they'll take it out on whoever's around them and unable to resist. And those people will do the same in turn. It's the Crowley school of extraordinarily effective evil. How much suffering do you think she's brought into the world that way?
No, the gauntlet isn't' going to corrupt her. It can't. She's already evil. (Un)fortunately, she's also incompetent when it comes to ruling.
If I recall correctly, it was hinted, earlier, that Duke subscribed to several underworld publications, while in disguise, to keep abreast of what's happening. There's nothing really wrong with subscribing to those publications, but it certainly looks evil, what with needing to associate with demons and all. I think he'll be able to see that the actual harm Louise has caused has been minimal and her goals, both explicitly and in practice, are to protect her friend and liege and depose a group of corrupt usurpers.
They won't be happy, by most measures, but they'll be able to come to terms with their youngest daughter's actions without leveling the continent. Eleanor on the other hand... they still probably won't level the continent, but I don't think she'll have the same sort of shield as her Louise or Cattleya.
1. She has spent the vast majority of Louise's life grinding her into the dirt. Now, granted, part of that was simply her being horrendously mean and Louise's oldest sister. But one of the key points she pressed was her magic and just look at that. In a world where mages have an affinity for one of five elements, Louise is a mage who can't use any of them and, yet, can cast explosions that easily break incredibly powerful wards. Eleanore isn't stupid, she can do that math, even if she doesn't consciously acknowledge it. Even laying void magic aside, they're the daughters of a pair of war heroes. "I explode you" is just about the best magic for putting people into the ground and she had to see that too. Instead of helping Louise find her feat, at all, she broke her and kept breaking her until neither of them thought she could so much as stand on her own, let alone make something of herself. It makes sense too, after all, who would make for a better heir for Karin of the Heavy Wind? The literal messiah and master of explosions or a bookworm that literally no one likes?
And, again, even if you were to lay all of that aside, what would you call someone who picks on a younger relative for a crippling disability they can't control.
2. If I recall correctly, and I very well might not, Eleanore freed Louis and didn't tell her parents about it, hoping to fix it her self and avoid the consequences. In the process her innocent sister got turned into a vampire over the course of many nights. Putting innocents in danger in order to save your own skin and assuage your ego isn't exactly the act of a Hero.
3. This is the big one: She hurts other people because it makes her feel good. It's not just acceptable targets, like has been mentioned, it's anyone and everyone she can. Her sisters, her friends, other university students; I'd wager the only people who get spared this treatment are her parents. The thing is, she doesn't just hurt people, she puts them in a position where they can't possibly retaliate; then she hurts them until that they'll carry it with them, until they can't ignore it, but can still function; then she sends them on their way. What do you think happens next? Most of them aren't going to just let it go, not after she's done twisting whatever knives she's stuck them with. No, they'll take it out on whoever's around them and unable to resist. And those people will do the same in turn. It's the Crowley school of extraordinarily effective evil. How much suffering do you think she's brought into the world that way?
No, the gauntlet isn't' going to corrupt her. It can't. She's already evil. (Un)fortunately, she's also incompetent when it comes to ruling.
I'd like to point out that both Duke and Karin seem to be Pragmatic good. They certainly won't conscience someone using actually evil means to achieve Good ends, but that doesn't mean they can't see through the trappings of Evil to the actual actions that have been performed.
If I recall correctly, it was hinted, earlier, that Duke subscribed to several underworld publications, while in disguise, to keep abreast of what's happening. There's nothing really wrong with subscribing to those publications, but it certainly looks evil, what with needing to associate with demons and all. I think he'll be able to see that the actual harm Louise has caused has been minimal and her goals, both explicitly and in practice, are to protect her friend and liege and depose a group of corrupt usurpers.
They won't be happy, by most measures, but they'll be able to come to terms with their youngest daughter's actions without leveling the continent. Eleanor on the other hand... they still probably won't level the continent, but I don't think she'll have the same sort of shield as her Louise or Cattleya.
I mean, is that actually the point of the story? To illustrate the miserable hopelessness of all these people while indulging in Warhammer 40K-esque black comedy? I feel like with this chapter we've crossed some kind of rubicon, where it's going to be overtly all downhill from here instead of implicitly all downhill from here...
