Chapter 3 – Root of the Wriggling Plot

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A black shadow was floating in the almost perfect blue sky. That shadow ripped through the atmosphere with a tremendous force, flying all over the sky as it pleased. It was no bird. Rather, it was far too big to consider it as such.

The true identity of that shadow was a dragon. One of those called guifre. ¹

A person was riding the guifre. The youth probably hadn’t reached the age of 20 yet. He wore a leather cap that also covered his ears and a leather undergarment on top of his silken attire. The hands holding onto the reins were covered by thick gloves. His face was cramped out of fear and coldness.

His name was Zion Thenardier, the eldest son of House Thenardier which was a ducal family representing Brune.

“Fuck! When are you going to listen to what others tell you…!” Zion blared at the guifre, pulling at the reins to the limit of his strength.

The traces of dried snot underneath his nose had by now frozen in multiple layers. Zion didn’t have the time to wipe it away, and once he left it alone, it ended up like that.

The guifre, on the other hand, freely flew across the firmament without giving so much as a dime about what its rider wanted. Zion wouldn’t fall off because his body had been affixed by several belts extending from the saddle to affix his body at several places like waist and legs, but with the guifre whimsically doing somersault, back flips, and other maneuvers right now, Zion didn’t really feel safe.

Nemetacum, a region under House Thenardier’s rule, sprawled underneath dragon and rider, and the townscape of Rance, the central town of the area, could be seen from up here. However, Zion didn’t have the time and leeway to enjoy that view.

The guifre didn’t care much about Zion’s commands. No matter how much Zion shouted or punched the dragon’s back, nothing got through to the beast. At one point, Zion had totally snapped, drew his dagger, and stabbed the guifre’s back, but this only led to the blade breaking off.

An iron blade couldn’t penetrate a dragon’s scales. Zion was forced to once again realize that face on that day.

“You blasted glutton… Don’t fucking look down on me, the heir of the Thenardier family…,” he cursed at the dragon, his voice teeming with hatred.

Even that might not have gotten through to the dragon, but the guifre finally began to descend. While watching the ground gradually coming closer, Zion unconsciously gritted his teeth. He still couldn’t let his guard down. Up until now, the dragon had several times switched to a steep climb, just when Zion thought they’d land on the ground.

“And yet it listens to whatever Father tells it…”

Maybe you could call it lucky, but the guifre didn’t get another outburst of whim and landed on the ground obediently.

Zion sighed deeply and lied face-down on the dragon’s back. His body and mind were both exhausted to the limit after he got toyed with by the cold wind and the beast underneath him. If possible, he wanted to sleep just like this. He couldn’t be arsed to unfasten each and every single belt as it was too much of a chore.

The guifre cried lightly, moving its wings. Zion lifted his body back up in a hurry, and started to unfasten the belts in a hurry.

†

Zion began to genuinely ride the guifre only after the war against Muozinel had ended and he came back to Nemetacum. Nemetacum was situated in Brune’s south. It was a crucial relay point, connecting the various towns along the southern coast with the capital Nice.

A huge forest had formerly existed on this land, which bore a name that meant Holy Trees in the tongue of old. The Thenardier family’s ancestors had cut down the trees in that forest and sold them as lumber. The wood was of fine quality, drawing high prices. It was said that House Thenardier developed into a mighty power based on the money earned through those sales.

Nowadays, that forest was completely gone, replaced by farm fields. And growing the wheat and grapevines of superior quality on that land enriched the Thenardiers even further.

However, it wasn’t as though House Thenardier only prospered from the blessings its land gave them. Generations of dukes had served as mediators between the many coastal towns and the capital. Whenever the royal family tried to unlawfully pilfer the riches of those towns, Duke Thenardier would become their shield, and vice versa, whenever the towns became too rebellious, Duke Thenardier would protect the royal family from them. This was how House Thenardier had become high-ranking nobility that represented Brune.

Zion, the next Duke Thenardier, currently lived while doing whatever he wanted. He, who felt no scruples towards tyrannizing the fief’s population, indulged in the hobby of beating up those next to him, if something rubbed him the wrong way. He would slay cattle for fun and kidnap town girls with his friends to rape them as a means to waste some time.

For Zion, the residents were like mushrooms after a fall of rain. If you left them alone, they’d grow however they liked. And given that no one opposed him, Zion never doubted his own righteousness.

His father, the current Duke Thenardier, approved of his son’s brutality. He himself possessed a temperament that exceeded his son’s in cruelty, and although he had a soft spot for his son, he also understood that fear was a useful tool for ruling over people, as long as it didn’t transform into fury.

However, after the war against Muozinel ended, Zion stopped tormenting the residents for the most part. Then again, it didn’t mean that some sort of tolerance towards the common people had budded inside the youth. Rather, he simply couldn’t pay the residents any attention because most of his time was taken up by the guifre.

The residents prayed for these days to continue for as long as possible while watching the beast and its rider with a mixture of dread and awe.

†

The guifre acted a bit more submissive on the ground than up in the air.

A girl was just cleaning the dragon’s exclusive stable when Zion led the beast into the building by its reins. She was around fifteen or sixteen She wore a cloth around her head, but that didn’t stop her long, blond hair, which had been tied at her nape, to spill down all the way to her back. Her body was covered by a black, long-sleeved shirt and long pants――an outfit that wasn’t girly at all. Her face and clothes were pitch black from dirt, and her hair was like straw, dry and fuzzy.

She immediately spotted Zion, but didn’t show any sort of reaction on her face. She nodded as if ducking her head and quickly resumed her cleaning work.

Zion felt pissed at her, but limited himself to merely casting a glare at her. This would be something unbelievable for anyone knowing the usual Zion.

But, Zion had a reason why he forgave her behavior. One part of it was him being so tired that shouting at her would be too much of a pain, but more importantly, this girl was the only person not scared of the guifre among the maids and servants working at the mansion of the Thenardiers. Everyone else had given up after two or three days and rubbed their foreheads on the ground while pleading to be spared from doing this task.

Because it’d be a serious matter if the guifre started to go berserk after its caretaker blundered out of fear, Zion had no choice but to approve of their pleas.

“Oi, Alouette.”

Once he called for her with a brusque tone, she stopped moving the broom and looked his way.

“Has the guifre’s fodder been delivered?”

“It is in the usual place,” answered Alouette indifferently, before going back oto her cleaning.

――Add a Lord Zion, when you answer, you filthy lass.

Zion insulted her in his mind. He had thought about wanting to beat her up or rape the sit out of her not just once or twice. But, if Alouette was gone, Zion would have to do her tasks himself, which would include cleaning the stable. Just the idea of it made him feel nauseous. And since he didn’t want to be seen struggling with the guifre while his nose was running, he didn’t want to use soldiers or knights for this task either.

After tying the guifre inside its fenced resting area, he went to grab the fodder from behind the stable. Chunks of sheep meat at a reasonable size were inside a big jute bag. It was something prepared by the cooks working in the mansion. Although you could describe the chunks’ sizes as suitable, each piece was around as big as an adult’s head.

At first, Zion had thought that this was too much work and tried to feed a living sheep to the dragon, but Drekavac, the old diviner who had brought this guifre here, had stopped him from doing that.

“If you keep feeding it living cattle, it will eventually eat nothing but living beings.”

Imagining himself being eaten by the guifre due to some freak chance, Zion made sure to have the sheep always prepared in this form.

Zion scowled at the beast devouring the sheep meat he had heaved over.

“Damn thing…only behave when eating…”

In his entire life, Zion had never encountered a being more irritating than this dragon. Even the extremely rude maid Alouette and Tigrevurmud Vorn, whom he regarded as enemy for some reason, were remarkably docile when compared to the guifre.

It didn’t do as it was told. Kicking and punching didn’t do anything. And cutting at it only made the blade snap.

But, no matter how dissatisfied Zion felt about the guifre, he couldn’t bring himself to consider killing the beast. Even Zion fully understood the preciousness of this dragon. Very likely no noble on the continent, let alone Brune, could claim for themselves to have domesticated a dragon. Moreover, this guifre understood the orders of Duke Thenardier and obeyed.

And even Zion would have to admit that he had developed a certain attachment to this unruly beast. After all, this very dragon had doubtlessly allowed him to keep his life during the war against Muozinel.

“As long as I manage to ride you…”

…Father should approve of me as a full-grown man.

During the previous war, Zion had witnessed a scene that was surprising for him. Roland, the man holding the nickname Black Knight, had shown an attitude that could be described as disrespectful towards his father. However, his father didn’t get upset, but displayed a generous attitude instead. The same father who would mock even the king he was serving.

If anyone other than Roland had taken the same attitude with him, Duke Thenardier would have never forgiven it. He would have seized that person alongside their whole family, and tortured them to such an extent that they’d wish to be released through death. And exactly because Zion knew this very well, Roland’s attitude towards his father registered a major shock for him.

And what astonished Zion even more was the talk about Roland having apparently praised Tigre’s skills in archery. Zion couldn’t help but be extremely conscious of Roland and Tigre. His father was lenient towards him because he was his son. Not because he approved of his abilities and strength.

Roland had earned his father’s generosity through his ability. Roland himself might object to this view, but Zion perceived it as such. And Tigre had earned Roland’s praise through his own ability. With his archery skills which ought to be scorned in Brune.

――I’m the one inheriting the Thenardier family. I will show them all my strength in a direction where no one can imitate me.

And the guifre had become the target to make this ambition of Zion true, but now that he was looking at the dragon which was devouring its meat with its muzzle being all red from blood, he couldn’t help but feel pangs of anxiety.

――Is this really going to work? No, I have no choice but to go with this. I can’t beat the Black Knight in swordsmanship, spearmanship, or horsemanship.

Zion had no option but to entrust himself to a future where he would freely control this guifre.

At that moment, a porcelain cup was thrust at him from the side. Once he looked next to him, he found Alouette standing there. The cup was filled to the brim with water. She was apparently telling him to drink it.

――Can’t she open her mouth to say something? This woman is crazy, isn’t she?

Once again Zion felt anger well up inside him, but it was a fact that his throat war parched. He snatched the cup out of her hand and drained its content down in one got. The cold water invigorated his exhausted body.

†

———— End of Part 1 ————

The silhouettes of two riders were looking at the guifre’s stable from afar. Felix Aaron Thenardier, the current patriarch of House Thenardier and Zion’s father, and his most-trusted aide, Steed. Both were wearing silken clothes, a sword at their waist being the only weapon. In other words, they were dressed in a way that made it very clear they were on a stroll.

“It looks like today has also finished without him suffering any big injuries.”

Thenardier spat out a sigh of relief while frowning grimly.

Steed dispassionately answered, “It would seem he is becoming more used to the dragon and sky by the day. Someday he might reach a point where he can manage a guifre better than anyone else.”

“Did he take that much liking to this dragon? For him to get so invested in that one…”

Zion performed swordsmanship, spearmanship, and horsemanship skilfully, but he didn’t excel at any of those. After all, he didn’t possess any passion about those and instead busied himself with playing around. That was Thenardier’s evaluation of his son.

But, after they came back from the war against Muozinel ended, Zion frantically challenged getting control over the guifre. For his father, this was an unexpected, auspicious reality.

“By the way――”

Thenardier lowered his voice while turning the neck of his horse around. Small wheat fields were sprawling all around them and they could see farmers doing their work in the distance. Yet, it was still necessary to be cautious.

“Does it look like we will find the traitor?”

“In the end, I think Duke Ganelon is more than suspicious. During winter the duke didn’t leave his territory at all, but several nobles, whom you could rightfully describe as his proteges, are known to have visited the capital and Zhcted. Some of them even went as far as close to the southeastern border.”

Steed had lowered his voice even further than Thenardier. They were using their own information network to search for the traitor. As the supreme commander of the expeditionary force into Muozinel, Thenardier wouldn’t be satisfied, even if he were to literally tear the traitor apart.

“Ganelon, huh…?” Thenardier clicked his tongue and looked northwards.

His visual field was filled with verdant wheat fields. As long as nothing happened, this year would see a bountiful harvest.

However, he wasn’t looking at the fields. Instead, his eyes were directed at Duke Ganelon who was likely much, much further north. Ganelon was a high-ranking noble of Brune just like Thenardier. He possessed a huge fief called Lutetia up in the northern part of the kingdom. At the same time, Thenardier considered Ganelon to become a bigger obstacle than King Faron, at the time of him expanding his influence.

If you had to give a simple explanation of Ganelon, a small man with a strange physiognomy might fit. He should be in his forties, but he was smaller than Thenardier’s son Zion. He was bald, had big eyes, and his arms looked as if all flesh had been torn off. So far no one had seen him ride a horse, let alone wear armor. It was said he usually moved around in carriages.

His character could be summed up as cruel. It’s said whenever he would demand an extraordinary tax from his residents, Ganelon would kidnap the young daughters of those unable to pay, and if they didn’t have a young daughter, he would set their home on fire. The girls, on the other hand, would never be heard of again. Just as some rumors said that he’d sell them off after thoroughly violating them, other rumors suggested that Ganelon would use them as guinea pigs for the torture and execution methods he invented himself. Thenardier knew that most of these rumors were actually true.

Thenardier was no man who felt remorse over tormenting others, but even he felt sick when he heard about Ganelon’s way of doing things. Ganelon’s cruelty felt abnormal in some respects.

Either way, Thenardier hated both sides of Ganelon, his outward appearance and inner character, but he had no choice but to admit Ganelon was a genius when it came to being landed nobility. Many nobles supported him in the northern regions of Brune and Thenardier was well aware of Ganelon doing trade with the lords of neighboring countries too.

“If it’s that guy, he’d likely feel gleeful while passing on the information to Muozinel. Did you grasp any information about Ganelon himself making a move?”

“Please forgive me. At present, nothing…,” Steed admitted while looking sorry.

“I see. And don’t worry. If it’s like this for you, other people won’t have much luck either,” responded Thenardier leniently.

He didn’t say that out of consideration for his aide, but he truly believed it to be so. Thus far Steed had never disappointed Thenardier’s expectations of him.

Besides, Thenardier had sent countless spies to Ganelon up until now. He had hoped he might get a grasp of that man’s weakness, but it never worked out. Ganelon’s ability to smell danger was abnormal. All of Thenardier’s spies were discovered and executed. Even if Steed’s probing didn’t go well, Thenardier had no intention to blame him.

――However, it’s impossible for Thenardier to simply give up this time.

Thenardier had his pride and authority damaged by the involuntary retreat. This humiliation had to be cleared away. In addition, King Faron and Zhcted were also cooperating in regards to finding the traitor. At the moment the conditions were a lot better than ever before, so he couldn’t let that chance go.

“Come to think of it, I don’t know whether it’s related to the matter with the traitor, but…” Steed spoke up as if suddenly having remembered something, “I hear a merchant from Asvarre has been frequently visiting the mansion of Duke Ganelon since spring.”

Thenardier placed a hand on his chin and brooded.

Asvarre is a kingdom located in the continent’s west. It’s being called Kingdom of Mists and Forests and holds a strong influence over the northern seas. For Brune’s northern lords, Asvarre should be an attractive partner to deepen their friendship, even while staying wary of that kingdom. Of course, House Ganelon also maintains close ties to merchants and lords of Asvarre.

“Right now, that country is in unrest, isn’t it?”

“Yes. After the king of Asvarre fell ill in spring, the clash between the first and second prince seemed unavoidable, and the kingdom is currently in the process of splitting into two factions…”

Thenardier nodded at Steed’s words.

If you consider all that, one can easily imagine several reasons for an Asvarran merchant to visit Ganelon. He’s looking for Ganelon’s protection as he’s planning to run away to Brune, or he’s providing Ganelon with detailed information about Asvarre on Ganelon’s request. But, other possibilities might exist as well.

“Investigate the situation in Asvarre. Any card we can obtain will be useful when competing with that guy.”

If Ganelon is involved with Asvarre’s political situation in some form, I might be able to obtain valuable information and a clue over there. And even if I don’t obtain any of it, having better knowledge of Asvarre’s situation won’t be a loss for me.

A conspicuously strong gust of wind passed through the small wheat fields, causing the plants to rustle. With his mantle flying in the wind, Thenardier glared towards the north with a glint shining stronger than the sun.

†

Lutetia, the land ruled by Duke Ganelon, was known in Brune for its cold weather.

Apples were being cultivated in this area on a great scale. Lutetia’s apples were so well-known that no one in Brune hadn’t heard of them.

In this season, the apples were still unripe, but once autumn would start to spread its influence, Lutetia would turn into a crimson carpet, tolling the arrival of the harvest season.

Maximilian Bennusa Ganelon’s mansion stood in the central city of Lutetia, Artetium. The mansion’s owner was in its parlor. Although the room was dim because of the small windows, the furniture and furnishings had been placed in the spacious room so that one wouldn’t feel troubled by them.

After drinking apple cider from a glass cup decked out with gems, Ganelon sighed his satisfaction.

“This is the prized apple cider of my Lutetia. ――Here you go, Your Highness Eliot.”

A small, round table was in front of Ganelon, and a youth sat on the other side of it. His age looked to be around 25 or 26. You could call his features graceful, but the two things likely leaving an impression were his dark brown eyes, which brimmed with masculinity and wildness, and his outfit which was flashy enough to call it gaudy.

A golden diadem studded with jewels shone on his head and his hair, which flowed down to the sides after having been bound into braids, was ornamented with gems and silver thread, too. Gold-threaded stitchings had been added to his white, silken clothes which had the unmanageable task of hiding his forged, tall body. Several rings with jewels twinkled in various colors at his hands. Only the necklace was kept simple as it was tied to Eliot’s preferences, but it was buried under a multitude of eye-catching decorations.

The youth threw out his chest on the chair. He looked down at Ganelon with a face full of confidence and fearlessness.

His name was Eliot, the first prince of Asvarre Kingdom. Eliot snorted at the glass cup offered to him by Ganelon and accepted it. He drained the cider in one go and placed the empty cup on the table.

“I see. As might be expected of something you call your pride. It’s definitely delicious. But, you see, Duke Ganelon, it’s not like I came here to drink apple cider. Won’t you hurry up and get on with the story?”

“Hahaha, you’re an impatient man, Your Highness.”

Ganelon warded off Eliot’s words with a light-hearted, casual attitude. If you were to compare their physiques, it looked like a child was talking to an adult. However, the one having the upper hand in this conversation, and thus enough leeway to crack jokes, was Ganelon.

Right now Asvarre was in the midst of chaos. After King Zacharias fell ill at the beginning of spring, the confrontation between First Prince Germain and Second Prince Eliot accelerated at a dazzling rate.

King Zacharias fathered seven children in total, but four of them lost their lives before the end of spring. All of them had accidents or succumbed to sickness, but Germain arbitrarily decided that it was all Eliot’s work, and Eliot also blamed Germain for having killed his siblings.

In reality, the four deaths were way too shady to exclude murder. Some people tried to warn the two princes to not escalate the situation, but neither heeded those advices, and the situation deteriorated in no time.

First Princess Genevia, the sole other royal child who managed to escape death besides those two, hated the idea of being dragged into the conflict and retired to a remote area in Asvarre. Both princes didn’t pay her much attention.

And thus the clouds of war started to broil in the skies above Asvarre.

If they were to follow the general rule of the oldest son inheriting the crown, it’d be logical for Germain to take the throne. But, Eliot didn’t accept such an outcome. He was burning with ambition. He was also convinced that he was much more excellent than his older brother. Moreover, he believed that Germain had murdered his four younger brothers and sisters. As such he feared that he might sooner or later get killed as well.

“I won’t forgive my older brother who assassinated our younger brothers and sisters. In the first place, why didn’t our father designate Germain as his successor? It’s obvious that he deemed him unfit to lead the country as its king.”

This claim got Eliot a certain amount of backing. Germain was an arrogant man full of distrust. All those, who knew about these traits, gathered behind Eliot. Moreover, Eliot succeeded in winning Asvarre’s Island Folk for his side.

Asvarre as a country originated from Asvarre Island in the northern sea. As its economy flourished, it also extended its influence on the continent and expanded its territory over there. The island folk regarded themselves as the true Asvarran people while often looking at the Continent Folk as distant relatives. On the other hand, the continent folk held the conviction that it was them who made Asvarre as big and prosperous as this.

Germain preferred being on the continent over Asvarre Island where the capital was situated. He actively mingled with the continent folk, but remained indifferent towards the island folk. Eliot was the opposite, so you could call it only natural for the island folk to take his side.

Eliot was looking for even more allies to make absolutely sure that he’d come out as the winner of this conflict. Not inside Asvarre, but abroad. He had secretly asked Ganelon, a high-ranking noble of the neighboring Brune, to support his cause. Eliot and Ganelon had been in contact before this, and it’d be impossible for Asvarre’s second prince to ignore Ganelon who held a strong influence in Brune’s northern regions. And the same could be said the other way around, too.

“You’re right. Even I would like His Highness to become the next king of Asvarre rather than His Highness Germain. For the sake our our Brune as well.” While saying so to Eliot’s messenger, who pretended to be a merchant, Ganelon had put forth a condition, “But, I have one worry that plagues me. He has no deeds of arms to his name. I would like him to take on a foreign country’s army and win, and not just some pirates or bandits. If he is willing to heed my words, I shall prepare an appropriate enemy and battlefield for him.”

These words stabbed into Eliot’s sore point and at the same time incited his fighting spirit. He himself also worried about not having obtained any fame on the battlefield. If he could secure some military achievements worthy of being spread around, Eliot would get the upper hand over Germain.

As such, Eliot accepted the condition. Both ironed out the details by repeatedly sending messengers back and forth between Asvarre and Lutetia. And today Eliot had visited Ganelon’s mansion in person.

“Let us confirm the details, shall we?”

Ganelon spread a map on top of the table. It depicted Brune and its neighboring countries. Extending one of his thin arms, he pointed at one spot on the map.

“The Leitmeritz Principality of Zhcted. I would like you to attack this place, Your Highness. Have you managed to prepare the soldiers?”

“Of course. All of them are infantrymen, but there’s 4,000 of them. Weapons, provisions, and ships have been prepared in sufficient numbers,” Eliot confirmed proudly.

If he were to speak his mind, he would have wanted to attack Sachstein over Zhcted. Asvarre and Sachstein could rightfully be called archenemies, and they have repeatedly had clashes throughout history. If he managed to deliver a devastating blow against that country, the people of Asvarre would likely support Eliot.

But, Sachstein was too close. If he tried to attack this place, Germain would inevitably interfere. Given that Ganelon also agreed with that line of thinking, Eliot gave up on the idea of attacking Sachstein.

The principalities facing the northern seas in Zhcted were Legnicia and Lebus. Asvarre had crossed blades with these two many times in the past. But, they had never fought Leitmeritz thus far. Eliot and Ganelon targeted that fact.

While tracing his finger along the map, Ganelon confirmed what they had planned thus far.

“Leitmeritz doesn’t face the sea directly. It doesn’t have any warships either. But a river big enough for ships to traverse runs from the ocean all the way close to principality.”

“They probably don’t expect to be attacked from the river. In reality, our country would always target Legnicia or Lebus, whenever we tried to attack Zhcted. We’re going to exploit this oversight in their thinking.”

“That is correct. You will assault them, deliver a blow, and quickly fall back to the ocean along the river. So that Leitmeritz won’t be able to pursue you and your men.”

“And Legnicia and Lebus won’t pursue us either. Legnicia’s Vanadis is laying on her sickbed right now and Lebus has a bad relationship with Leitmeritz. As long as we don’t attack their principalities, they should let us be.”

After Eliot said this, both looked at each other and nodded. Ganelon tilted his cup with the apple cider.

“It has been an embarrassment for my country, but the attack on Muozinel this spring failed. Even Zhcted, which acted in concert with my country, must be vigilant of Muozinel’s revenge for a while. They’ll likely be unable to fight Asvarre seriously.”

“You sure are selling out a friend, who fought alongside you once, nicely,” Eliot commented sarcastically with a twisted smile.

Ganelon returned a smile, “I’m not necessarily close to Zhcted’s Vanadis and all the lords of our countries. Leitmeritz has been deepening its exchange with House Thenardier. If Leitmeritz suffers a heavy blow, it will indirectly be of benefit for me as well.”

This was a lie. There was absolutely no friendship between Leitmeritz and House Thenardier. But, Ganelon knew that Eliot would believe him if he put it like that. Eliot was aware of Ganelon and Thenardier opposing each other. And Eliot should also understand as much by putting himself in Ganelon’s shoes.

“I see. I wondered why you’d target Leitmeritz, but now it makes sense.”

And just as Ganelon thought, Eliot immediately went along with this. Ganelon looked at the map and asked something he hadn’t confirmed yet.

“By the way, you don’t seem worried about Asvarre?”

“It’s okay. On top of not wanting to move from the continent, Germain possesses almost no ships. It would be one matter if we were to attack Sachstein, but he won’t be able to interfere with an attack on Zhcted.”

“I see. What about Princess Genevia?”

The existence of Asvarre’s First Princess, who had quickly distanced herself from the succession struggle between her brothers, weighed on Ganelon’s mind. As far as he knew, her reputation among the people and soldiers wasn’t bad.

Eliot raised his voice into a laughter as if telling Ganelon to not worry about anything.

“Do you know what she has been doing ever since she left the royal palace? Taking along guards and a few maids as well as attendants, she has apparently been traveling around to visit the land connected to the Knights of the Round Table.”

“Knights of the Round Table… You mean the twelve knights who followed Asvarre’s Founding King Artorius, right?”

Eliot revealed a sarcastic smile when Ganelon checked back with him.

“That’s correct. The Knights of the Round table traveled onto only Asvarre Island, but also various regions on the continent. There’s a lot of them, so it takes no skill to fabricate some more. For this reason, she has been wandering remote forests and mountains. I think it’s fine to ignore her.”

If it’s as Eliot says, he might be certainly right, Ganelon thought. Unlike Brune, Asvarre permits women to take the throne. 『High Queen』 Zephiliana is a good example for that. It looks like I ended up overthinking things because of that.

“That Genevia is quite infatuated with one of those knights…though I forgot which one it is. She had several portraits of him painted and statues of him built. She even came up with her own poem about his deeds of arms. It’s quite bad. Well, I guess it’s not like she’s been hugging his statue, though.”

Eliot was about to add even more ridicule towards his little sister, but Ganelon didn’t feel like listening to something like that. He decided to quickly move on with their conversation.

“Your Highness, I cannot support you publicly, but I have prepared one interesting hand to play for you. Please take it as my show of goodwill.”

Ganelon stood up from his chair and rang the bell which had been placed on the table. The door opened and two figures slipped into the room. Eliot’s eyes widened.

One of them wore a black mask covering their entire head. The mask only had thin openings for the eyes and mouth. The left side had a dragon carved into it. She was wearing black clothes that perfectly fit her body as if to accentuate her voluptuous chest and tight waist. On top she wore a cloak. If one couldn’t see the white throat underneath the mask, one would be apt to mistake her for a part of the darkness.

However, Eliot’s eyes were glued to the other person rather than to her. A lovely sixteen or seventeen-year-old girl. Her silver hair reached all the way to her waist and her two eyes, both containing a ruby gleam, were vacantly gazing at Eliot. She had a perfectly balanced body and wore a military uniform combining grape and white. A longsword was hoisted at her hips.

If someone knowing Elen was to see this girl, they’d probably doubt their own eyes. Far from just resembling Elen, this girl’s appearance was a spitting image of Elen.

A sigh pregnant with admiration and desire spilled out of Eliot’s mouth. If not for this situation, he might have asked Ganelon to give him this girl.

With a cheerful smile on his lips, Ganelon introduced the girl to Eliot.

“She’s a look-alike impostor of Leitmeritz’s Vanadis Eleonora Viltaria.”

“Impostor?”

Ganelon slowly nodded as Eliot’s surprised question.

“We will have this girl sow some chaos in Leitmeritz.”

“I see. That’s not a bad hand to play, but…”

Eliot removed his eyes from the impostor and glared at Ganelon with an angry face.

“Do you believe I won’t be able to obtain any deeds of arms unless you go to this extent?”

A part of this was his attempt to hide his fascination with the impostor, but his words also included his true feelings. Ganelon frowned as if finding even the imagination of this as completely unthinkable, and explained himself while gesturing.

“Of course I do not doubt your abilities, Your Highness. But, attacking Leitmeritz won’t go beyond what you would call a skirmish. Your real goal ought to be the defeat of Prince Germain and the unification of Asvarre. I think it’s only natural to do everything in order to avoid unnecessary losses before such an important showdown.”

Eliot’s cheeks turned crimson. It was just as Ganelon had said.

“I see. You’re right, the likes of Leitmeritz is nothing more than a stepping stone for me to secure some deeds of arms. Duke Ganelon, allow me to express my thanks for your cooperation once more. I will promise to cordially assist you as soon as I’ve become Asvarre’s king.”

“I shall look forward to that day, Your Majesty.”

After deliberately making a mistake with the title, Ganelon poured some more apple cider into their glass cups. He waited for Eliot to pick up his cup before raising his own cup into the air.

“To our victory.”

These words meant the same in Brunian and Asvarrish. And this time Eliot drained his cup in one go. After placing the empty cup on the table, he suddenly shifted his eyes, casting a strange look at the masked woman who had been standing on the same spot in silence.

“By the way, what about that woman…?”

“She has been the impostor’s teacher. In the past she used to serve Eleonora, but for a certain reason she escaped to my place. Exactly because this woman knows Eleonora very well, we were able to train an impostor.”

This was utter nonsense, but Eliot indifferently nodded and consented with an “I see.” It wasn’t as though he was truly interested, which basically meant he was okay with things as long as he knew her identity.

When Eliot was about to leave the parlor, he looked up to a huge portrait decorating a part of the wall.

“Is that your ancestor, Duke Ganelon?”

“Absolutely not,” Ganelon shook his head exaggeratedly. “This is our country’s founder, Charles. My House Ganelon has been serving Brune’s royal family since Charles’s time.”

Eliot laughed deeply. He interpreted this as Ganelon trying to pretend to be loyal to the royal family by decorating his parlor with a portrait of Brune’s founding king. Even Eliot knew that Ganelon was a cruel lord who looked down on King Faron.

And thus, after Eliot left, Ganelon noticed that Elen’s impostor and the masked woman had disappeared at some point.

“So you already left, Zumei? How impatient you are,” Ganelon muttered as if appalled.

Zumei was the name of the masked woman. According to Zumei, the real Elen returned to Leitmeritz from Olmutz two or three days ago and started to investigate a certain forest. She mentioned that it’d take four days to send a horse from that forest to Elen’s governmental residence.

“Now then, I wonder how many days it will take for an uproar to start after Leitmeritz notices. Then again, even if they notice it, average humans won’t be able to do anything…”

Ganelon carefully savored the taste of his cider after pouring another refill into his cup.

†

Activity in the castle town of Olmutz, which could rightfully be labeled as a big city, didn’t stop even after the sun went down. The bars lining the streets opened their windows as if to declare that the real show was going to start from now on, letting the scent of their prized dishes waft outside.

The aromas of fish soup, mutton stew, grilled pork with a considerable layer of rock salt teased the noses of the passerby, making them remember their hunger.

And as soon as they turned their eyes towards those bars, attractive poster girls delivered the finishing blows with their smiles.

Many stores advertised that they had well-cooled wine by having several wine bottles cool down in wine barrels full of water. Right after the sun went down, the air was still hot. As such there was no doubt that chilled wine would have an unbeatable charm.

The bar 「Drunk PigeonPyaani Luvi」, which Tigre, Raphinaque, and Galyinin had entered, was one of those doing that. A drunk pigeon with a bottle in hand was drawn on the bar’s door. It was famous for its grilled pigeon skewers.

Tigre’s group sat down in a corner of the bar and ordered drinks and skewers from the waitress who had shown up. Probably because of the heat inside the store, she was wearing a sleeveless blouse with a revealing neckline.

By the way, the three men were all wearing plain hemp clothes. At a glance, they looked like two young city boys and one old man. But, each of them hid a dagger underneath his clothes for times of need.

The drinks were served in no time. Beer and wine. Galyinin was the one drinking the wine.

“It’s already been ten days since you started living here, but how are things going?” Tigre asked Raphinaque after toasting.

With a beard of white foam around his mouth, Raphinaque answered while smiling, “I’m deeply indebted to Lord Galyinin. Thanks to him, I’ve somehow become able to read and write the least necessary amount of letters.”

“Yes, you have been great in this regard. But, there are still many more things you will need to memorize, Sir Raphinaque. So let us make sure that you don’t shirk your diligent efforts from now on either,” Galyinin said while smiling gently.

Feeling ashamed, Raphinaque ducked his head and muttered, “You’re a strict teacher,” but he didn’t look like he hated this at all.

Their plate with the skewers was brought over, and for a while, the three men entertained a light, pleasant chat. The main topics circled around things Tigre and Raphinaque found interesting or surprising so far.

“I have heard the stories, but there’s a lot of Muozinel here,” Raphinaque observed.

“That’s because Muozinel lies in Olmutz’s south. Merchants, performers, and even slaves…all sorts of Muozinel come here. How about you, Lord Tigrevurmud?”

“The one that surprised me the most was the theater,” Tigre answered Galyinin with a deeply emotional expression.

The theater wasn’t finished yet, so it would be more precise to say that he had been deeply moved by the construction site of the theater. Currently they were trying to build it in one of the castle town’s blocks.

“Three years ago Mila said that she wanted to build a theater. And now the construction has finally begun…”

Tigre’s voice didn’t just contain admiration, but also a tinge of impatience. Mila was reliably fulfilling her duties as a ruler. But this caused Tigre to feel that the distance between him and her was widening.

“Please don’t worry, Lord Tigrevurmud,” Galyinin said as if having seen through the heart of the young man. “As long as you achieve deeds of arms corresponding to your abilities, you will likely be able to quickly offset the difference produced by a theater. Our Vanadis is waiting for you, so you don’t need to rush things.”

“…Thank you.”

Tigre forced a smile.

Galyinin changed the topic with a casual tone, “Which reminds me, letters for you two were delivered today morning, weren’t they?”

“Yeah, they were from Father, Bertrand…and our maid. They informed us about the current state of Alsace and Brune.”

Once Tigre explained so, Raphinaque agreed while emptying his mug, “The one I got was similar. A friend acted as representative for everyone and wrote their stories together…”

“And――” Tigre let his eyes casually wander and lowered his voice. All the guests were concentrating on their food or drinks while talking amongst each other, and thus no one paid attention to their conversation. “――there was one letter addressed to a temple in Silesia in the name of Father. He mentioned something about an old acquaintance.”

“I understand. I shall arrange everything so that it will be delivered to that temple,” Galyinin nodded, understanding the meaning behind Tigre’s words.

That letter was addressed to a high official of Zhcted and came from a high official of Brune. Using Urs’s name for this was basically camouflage.

“Still…no, only ten days have passed since we’ve come here, so I don’t think I should say something like this yet,” Tigre looked at Galyinin with a serious expression, “but is it really okay for me to continue like this?”

It wasn’t as though he didn’t do anything after coming to Olmutz. He counseled Mila in her governing, patrolled the castle town, and generally helped wherever he could. He learned many things, which he wouldn’t ever be able to learn in Alsace, from Mila and Lana.

But, this was also something allowing him once again to confirm the distance spreading between Mila and himself. The theater he mentioned earlier was no more than just one example of that.

“Forgive me for repeating myself, but it’s nothing to become impatient over,” Galyinin said while slowly savoring his wine. “Some wines obtain a deeper taste if you let them mature. And just like those wines, you won’t be able to gain anything, even if you desire quick results. Your straightforward feelings are likable, but in the eyes of this old servant, there are still many things you ought to learn first.”

Tigre lowered his eyes, his cheeks red. Galyinin’s gentle demeanor easily managed to calm the youth. It’d be meaningless for him to stand next to Mila while not having achieved the same spiritual level as her. As long as he couldn’t make her smile.

“Thank you.”

“No problem. Rather than that, let us eat. Delicious food turns into tomorrow’s energy after all.”

“Very true,” Raphinaque nodded with a smile and ordered additional beer and skewers.

Tigre started to talk about the traveling performers they saw on their journey while the night quietly proceeded outside the bar.

†

It was the next day after Tigre, Raphinaque, and Galyinin had had their drinking bout in the Drunk Pigeon that Sophia Obertas, the Vanadis with the alias of 『Brilliant Princess of Light Flower』, visited the governmental residence of Olmutz.

It had been raining ever since morning and the sky was covered by a gloomy curtain of clouds. Tigre was spending a day under the weather, but his heart leaped and a smile revealed itself on his face as soon as he was notified about the unexpected visitor.

――It’s been three years since I last saw Sofy, huh? Being able to meet her again is wonderful.

Sophia had turned 21 years old this year and was commonly called Sofy by Mila, Tigre, and Elen. Tigre met her for the first time during his stay in Olmutz three years ago. Tigre vividly remembered her gently waving, golden hair, her beryl eyes, and her tender smile which appeared to encompass all.

In the beginning Tigre had been more nervous around her than necessary, but because Sofy actively sought the conversation with him, he quickly became able to talk openly with her. From street performances she’d seen at the roadside to heroic tales, unusual goods and creatures in stalls, and some slightly serious events that occurred in the capital; Sofy’s topics covered a wide range, leading to her winning over Tigre as she slowly unraveled his nervousness.

On the other hand, she thoroughly questioned Tigre about life in Alsace and his hunts. The meetings with Sofy were precious to Tigre.

Tigre and Mila enthusiastically welcomed Sofy, but seeing her appearance, they were amazed. She had grown even more beautiful compared to three years ago, but a cloth, which seemed to have medicine applied to it, was affixed to her cheek. Her left arm was bound with bandages and loosely hung from her left shoulder.

Her long, golden hair, which grew all the way down to her knees, her graceful, womanly limbs which were covered by silken clothes, and the golden bishop’s staff in her hand didn’t register with the two.

“Sofy, are you okay!?” Mila ran up to her in worry.

Sofy responded with a sad smile, “Thanks, Mila. It’s not as bad as it looks.”

Then Sofy looked at Tigre.

“You’ve grown big, Tigre. I heard the story, but it looks like you really came here.”

“Yep… Umm, I’m happy to be able to meet you again, Sofy,” Tigre returned her smile with one of his own, but his expression was rather stiff.

It was hard to imagine from her gentle way of talking, but Sofy was an outstanding warrior. One anecdote spoke about her magnificently repelling a thousand enemy soldiers on a bridge by herself. Tigre couldn’t quite believe that she would get injured in battle as was currently quite obvious.

Sofy giggled, got closer to Tigre, and brought her face close. Tigre’s face became bright red and his whole body stiffened up like a stone. In the past she had teased him like this as well. He’d always stop moving, not knowing what he should do.

“It looks like you have enough of your usual energy left to tease Tigre. I guess it was unnecessary to worry about you.”

Once Mila said so with a sigh, Sofy answered, “Sorry,” lightly thrust out her tongue, and separated from Tigre. She stroked the cloth on her cheek with a casual motion.

Tigre didn’t miss the change on her face during that moment. Sofy had behaved like this so as to now make him and Mila fuss about her.

“Sofy…”

At the moment when Tigre spoke up, wondering whether he could help her in some way, Mila moved up next to Sofy, “Hold onto my shoulder. I will carry your viralt.”

Sofy passed the golden bishop’s staff to Mila. This was her viralt Zaht.

“Thanks, Mila. Since you’re so kindly offering it to me, I will take you up on it.”

“It’s just that I’d be troubled if you were to collapse inside my governmental residence.”

Tigre and Sofy exchanged a wry smile after seeing Mila avert her face. The three entered a parlor. Tigre and Mila sat down on a sofa, next to each other, while Sofy sat down opposite of them. The head maid prepared the tools needed for brewing black tea, bowed and left.

Mila chose tea leaves with a strong aroma, brewed it, and poured the tea in silver cups for everyone.

“Who did this to you?” Mila asked bluntly while placing a silver cup in front of Sofy.

Sofy pulled a bitter look, not answering right away. Instead she looked outside the window where rain was constantly pouring down. Around the time when the steam of the tea started to weaken down visibly, Sofy faced Mila again at last.

“Hey, Mila. Do you know about Elen and me getting involved with a quarrel between local lords?”

“I heard about it from Eleonora. Around a month ago she came here while being accompanied by Limalisha alone. I don’t know the details, but if I remember correctly she mentioned she’d bring the dispute to a close by talking to you directly…”

Speaking up to this point, a pronounced shadow of doubt crossed Mila’s face.

“Don’t tell me…Eleonora did this to you…?”

“Mila, please calm down and listen to me,” Sofy said with a calm tone to soothe her younger friend.

Mila grimaced, but still nodded. She pulled herself together and smiled.

“The tea has become cold. I will brew a new one.”

Sofy waited for Mila to make a new tea and then spoke up.

“First I will give you a simple explanation about the conflict between the lords. The beginning was a dispute about the right to use a river flowing through the fiefs of Viscount Basilea and Viscount Tetradse.”

“Ah, the common event happening every summer, huh?” Tigre unconsciously blurted out, earning himself a light glare from Mila.

Then again, he wasn’t wrong. The question how much water people would be able to use was a grave issue influencing the growth of crops from summer until autumn. There exist countless examples where such issues evolved into battles between villages, towns, and even countries. Tigre and Mila both suspected that neither side was willing to back down on this.

“The fief of Viscount Basilea is close to Leitmeritz and even before Elen became a Vanadis, Viscount Basilea possessed strong ties to Leitmeritz’s knights and bureaucrats. And the fief of Viscount Tetradse is close to my Polesia. Of course, he’s been close with Polesian knight and bureaucrats.”

“Because of that, you were both asked by your respective viscount for help and couldn’t refuse, right?” Mila sighed.

Sofy bent her head slightly as if saying that this wasn’t quite true.

“It’s no obligation, but I believe that it’s part of a Vanaddis’s duty to prevent disputes among fellow lords. We possess enough authority and power to do so. Also, it’d turn into a huge issue, if the spark of strife spread all the way to us as well.”

“Your line of thinking here is wonderful. But, because you’re like that, you’re being sent all over the place to negotiate on order of His Majesty.”

“I don’t hate to travel, but that’s where the problem lies. ――So, it was decided that Elen and I would talk it over to decide on how both fiefs would use the river. It had the prospect of both lords likely obeying to a ruling by two Vanadis and although I had the amount of water in the river examined, there was no big decrease noticeable.”

And thus Sofy visited a place called Buszek with a dozen of her subordinates seven days ago. It was situated at the southeastern edge of Leitmeritz and other than a small forest, it only featured a flat, vast plain. Here Sofy planned to have a meeting with Elen. The two affected parties, the viscounts, were scheduled to attend as well.

It was just past noon when Sofy entered Buszek, but neither Elen nor any of the viscounts had yet arrived. Having said that, it wasn’t strange for there to be a delay of one or two days for meetings like this. Sofy decided to calmly wait for her friend and the two viscounts, setting up her tent near the forest.

Sofy’s subordinates wore armor and swords as they also served as her guards, but because they hadn’t encountered any beasts or bandits on the way so far, they were in a relaxed, easygoing mood. They might have been nervous because of the conversation partners, but all of them knew Elen. They were convinced that a battle was unthinkable, no matter what result the meeting might bring.

The incident happened in the dead of night. Sofy was still awake when she sensed a dangerous presence approaching her tent. She had been going through the documents necessary for the meeting once more, and so she grabbed her viralt, which she had placed next to her, and jumped out of the tent.

A surprising view presented itself to Sofy.

The camp of her subordinates was burning and her men were being attacked and felled one after the other with the burning camp in the background.

“――Tender Light, Illuminate My SkyNevaserret!”

Brandishing Zaht, Sofy brightly illuminated the vicinity in front of her. Her repertoire of veda included such a power. The light released from the tip of her staff kept expanding with Sofy in the center, erasing the darkness around her.

Spotting the true identity of what was illuminated by her light, Sofy’s eyes widened in shock. Silver hair. a uniform combining white and grapevine colors, and a longsword with a guard similar to wings in the right hand. The one standing over there was no one other than Eleonora Viltaria.

“Elen!? Is that you…!?”

Elen turned around when Sofy yelled in reflex. Her face sported a smile that seemed to be formed by madness and bloodlust. She readied her sword, kicked off the ground, and slashed at Sofy in silence.

A metallic clang echoed and silver sparks scattered. Sofy had blocked Elen’s sword with her staff. But, Elen’s attack didn’t end with one swing. She immediately fixed her posture and showered Sofy with a barrage of slashes.

In addition to the shock of her subordinates having been killed, the agitation over getting assaulted by Elen dulled Sofy’s movements. Elen’s sword grazed her cheek and shoulder. Blood whirled into the air, just to dye the ground.

Although Sofy went on the counteroffensive, her blow was repelled and she fell on the ground. She reflexively protected herself from the incoming kick with her left arm. This was likely the moment when her left arm broke.

At this moment Sofy felt that something was off. Elen’s actions had some weird parts to them. In order to clarify the doubt plaguing her, Sofy took a drastic action. She stood up, forced Elen back with her staff, and unleashed a new veda.

“――Glittering Droplet, Rush Ahead of MeFalvarna!”

A huge light sphere was released from her staff’s tip. It was big enough to fully engulf Elen. Of course, it wasn’t just a cluster of light. It also contained the power to blow away whatever touches it.

Elen evaded the light sphere by leaping to the side. And seemingly recognizing Sofy as a tough opponent, she turned around without any hesitation and ran away. Sofy tried to chase after her, but Elen vanished into the dark forest in no time.

Thus, Sofy gave up on pursuing Elen and instead rushed over to her subordinates to treat them. However, most of them had been slain by Elen’s sword and she only managed to save five of them. The camp was on fire as well. She prevented the fire from spreading, but that was all she could do.

Yet, when Sofy greeted dawn with her body totally exhausted, she was faced with a new shock. The messengers of both viscounts showed up one after the other, informing her that they also got attacked by someone looking like Elen. Although Viscount Tetradse got away with light injuries, many of his subordinates were killed. As for Viscount Basilea, he had lost his son in addition to many of his men.

The survivors planned to head back right away, but thinking that Sofy might have possibly come, they had messengers go to the planned meeting place, betting on this ray of hope.

†

“――And that’s what happened,” Sofy brought her story to a close while sipping her tea.

Tigre and Mila stared at her in a daze. It wasn’t anything they could believe all of a sudden. But, both of them knew that Sofy wouldn’t joke about something like this. Moreover, she was injured, just as described in her story.

Breaking the stifling silence, Tigre asked, “Sofy, you believe that this wasn’t Elen’s doing, don’t you?”

“Yes,” Sofy agreed and then cocked her head while looking strangely at the youth, “Tigre, did you ever meet Elen?”

“He got to know her when Eleonora visited this residence.”

The one answering was Mila.

Sofy covered her mouth with her right hand and said, “Oh my,” with a chuckle.

“That means they became close enough to call each other by their nicknames at that time, right? I guess this means you can’t take it easy any longer, doesn’t it, Mila?”

“Sofy, no need to make jokes about it.”

Mila stressed the word ‘jokes.’ Her hand holding the silver cup trembled faintly.

Sofy shrugged her shoulders, making her blond hair sway and resumed with their previous topic.

“The enemy――I call her like that, she definitely looked just like Elen. Her sword closely resembled Arifar, too. But, just as Tigre said, I think that wasn’t Elen. There are two reasons for that. First, she didn’t use Arifar’s powers at all. Even when I used my veda, she merely dodged it with a jump. Elen wouldn’t have chosen such a way of evasion.”

“And the other reason?”

Sofy smiled broadly at Mila’s question, “There’s no way that Elen would launch an attack under the cover of darkness against me.”

“…That’s true. Besides, no matter what you may say about Eleonora, this way of handling things was just too poor.”

With her phasing it like that, Mila obviously acknowledged Sofy’s arguments. The real Elen would know about Sofy’s strength as Vanadis. If she planned to take Sofy down for sure, she’d used Arifar’s powers to the limit. Or she’d prepare a big number of soldiers in advance, secretly surround Sofy and her men, and create a situation making an escape impossible.

“I suppose the enemy’s aim is to make Sofy and the viscounts believe they were attacked by Elen to cause discord between Elen and the other three.”

Sofy nodded with a serious expression at Tigre’s confirmation.

“Yes. And the enemy’s aim has been achieved so far as it goes. My subordinates and the two viscounts are so angry that they’re prone to attack Leitmeritz any moment. Even though I told them that this Elen had been an impostor, none of them listened to me…”

Tigre and Mila widened their eyes. Since many had died during those attacks, it was only natural for them to be driven by fury. But, if two Vanadis clashed, it’d be a full-fledged war.

“For the present, I asked them to wait. I told them that I want to make sure whether the one, who attacked us, had really been Elen and that I want to win you, who is known to be on bad terms with Elen, as an ally.”

“Nothing less of you, Sofy.”

Revealing an evil smile, Mila praised her older friend. In a situation like this, there was no way to stall for time as effectively as claiming that you’d gain a Vanadis as an ally. Besides, the bad blood between Mila and Elen was well-known in the whole country. They were likely thinking that the possibility of getting Mila’s help would be big, if Sofy headed over to Mila in person.

“I’d say there was value in me having done my best, if I can get praised by you,” Sofy commented jokingly while revealing a smile, but she immediately put on a serious expression again.

“I’d like to ask you, no, you two… Did you hear anything about this when Elen visited this place. Now matter how insignificant it might seem.”

Tigre exchanged a look with Mila. Mila shook her head.

“I heard about the meeting with you as well, but I had a talk with Eleonora for a completely different reason.”

Mila explained the circumstances surrounding the forest extending over her, Elen’s and the royal family’s territory. She fervently searched her memory, but she couldn’t recall anything that might help Sofy.

Sofy silently listened to the end and then bowed lightly towards Mila.

“It sounds like you have your fair share of problems as well. Forgive me for bothering you with my own problem at a time like this.”

“Don’t worry about it. At present I’m just monitoring the situation, so it’s not that much of an issue for me,” Mila grinned while shaking her head.

“Thanks,” Sofy replied. “If it’s reports about people going missing in a forest, we’ve got them in Polesia as well, but a growing forest reminds me of the fairy-tale of Leshy.” ²

“Leshy?” Tigre asked while tilting his head in confusion.

Sofy replied with a light tone as if to drive away the serious atmosphere, “A forest fairy. It spreads and moves the forest it inhabits and occasionally surprises people. In addition, it also lures people into its forest and then makes them lose their way. There are also stories about people, who are said to have met a leshy inside a forest, coming out of the forest, just to find a hundred years having passed since they entered. Come to think of it――”

Sofy continued with a smile while looking as if she remembered something, “A while ago I examined records of an ancient epoch and found out that my predecessor from a century ago, the Vanadis of Polesia at that time, supposedly fought against a lacy. Leshies are mischievous and they’re also said to have wits comparable to humans, but a fight between a Vanadis and a leshy isn’t anything as pleasant as the folklore suggests.”

Tigre and Mila’s faces froze. Just like Sofy, they couldn’t laugh at this. This spring they had fought a monster in Muozinel. That monster had introduced itself as Rusalka ―― the name of a water monster which repeatedly appeared in old folklore of Zhcted.

Rusalaka gave them a hard time by freely manipulating water and cornered them quite a bit. Because Vanadis Militsa and the Muozinel warrior Damad worked together with Mila and Tigre, they barely managed to destroy Rusalka, but if they had made a single mistake, neither Tigre nor Mila would be alive by now.

“…Is something the matter?” Sofy asked after noticing the strange atmosphere surrounding the two.

Mila answered with a smile, “I was surprised by the coincidence. The other day I found a similar record at my place as well and talked about it with Tigre. Over here it wasn’t a leshy, but a rusalka.”

Sofy responded with a smile and “I see.” Then again, she might have noticed Mila’s deception since she had sharp senses. Either way, at the moment Mila had no intention to tell Sofy about the monster.

“Sofy, I have a suggestion. Would you hear me out?” Mila looked at her friend’s face anew.

Sofy stopped smiling, straightened her seating posture, and prompted Mila to continue by nodding, “I’ll go to Leitmeritz. You hold back your subordinates and the viscounts.”

“What do you mean…?”

Sofy was confused by Mila’s sudden proposal.

Tigre threw her a lifeline from the side, “Mila doesn’t want to make you, who are injured, go to Leitmeritz.”

“T-That’s not it!” Mila denied with a red face. “In the worst case, Olmutz might get dragged into a war between you and Eleonora. At least, it’s possible that sparks of such conflict would spread to my place. As ruler of Olmutz, I have the duty to prevent something like that from happening. That’s all.”

“Then you’re saying you’re not worried about Sofy?” Tigre asked while hiding his own suspicions.

Mila pouted in anger.

“Of course I’m worried about her. But, this and that are two different matters.”

“Hmm, that’s true. It’s just as you say,” Tigre nodded deeply, voicing his agreement.

While thinking that this was very like Mila. It had been the same when she saved him and his men in Muozinel. Mila always needs a reason to move as Vanadis first. She tries to avoid acting on her personal feelings as much as possible. Tigre guessed that this stemmed from her inherited pride as Vanadis.

“…What’s wrong?”

Doubtful of her lover’s attitude, Mila furrowed her eyebrows.

Tigre answered with a smile, “I just reaffirmed that I love you.”

Mila became speechless, her face blushing up to her ears.

Sofy covered her mouth with her right hand, and teased with a laugh, “You’re making me jealous here.”

While averting her face, Mila quietly muttered, “Idiot.”

†

————– End of Part 5  ————–

On that day it was decided for Sofy to stay in the governmental residence and thus Mila led her to a guest room. The special feature of this room was the extensive use of embroidery on the blankets and table cloths. Moreover, the walls were decorated with painted plates and a painting of people dancing in front of a fireplace. However, overall the interior design gave one more of a simplistic than luxurious vibe.

Sofy had been a normal town girl before becoming a Vanadis. And being well aware of that fact, Mila had chosen this room so as to make Sofy feel as comfortable as possible.

“Please don’t hold back and tell me, if you want something.”

“Hmm, let’s see. Please lend me Tigre as conversation partner for the night then,” Sofy requested with a grin.

Mila scowled at that, answering, “That’s out of the question.”

“I just want to talk with him about various things in celebration of our reunion after three years, you know? Tigre looks like he’s become a fairly strong man over those last three years. Don’t worry. Even if something that would sully him happens, I’ll properly wash him before giving him back to you.”

“Either way, a no is a no,” Mila rejected Sofy’s plea curtly.

Even she herself sensed that her denial was rather narrow-minded, but she didn’t really want to let Sofy and Tigre spend too much time together by themselves. After all, Sofy was a beautiful and charming woman in Mila’s eyes.

――Though I’ve heard that Sofy has received more marriage proposals than I did. It’s said she’s turned down all of them, apparently having own plans.

Fortunately, Sofy didn’t try to insist on her request any further beyond that.

“No choice then. In that case, I’ll try to fall asleep all by myself here.”

“Please do so by all means. I think that would be the best option for letting your body recover.”

Sofy hugged Mila from behind as the younger girl tried to leave the room after saying those words.

“I’m truly thankful for today, Mila. You can always tell me, if you need my help. If I phrase it in your way, it’s not good to always get saved as a Vanadis, right?”

“…You’re right. I will count on you at such a time,” Mila answered quietly while feeling Sofy’s warmth from her back and head.

Sofy gently released her embrace. After both exchanged good-night wishes, Mila closed the door behind her.

†

The rain had stopped at dawn. After seeing off Sofy, Mila assembled her chief staff such as Lana and Galyinin in the conference room. She informed them of the situation and her intended trip to Leitmeritz.

“I have understood your argumentation, but…if Leitmeritz’s Vanadis has gone mad, your life will be in danger, Milady.”

Of course some of her retainers opposed the idea while harboring such doubts, but Mila shook her head at them, “If she has gone mad, I should defeat her early on so that the damage doesn’t spread. Olmutz and Legnicia are close to Leitmeritz. If we tell Alexandra Alshavin who is on her sickbed right now to go to Leitmeritz, it will affect my and Olmutz’s reputation.”

‘If it means that Elen isn’t mad, I’ll have her head over to Sofy’s place as quickly as possible to get the situation under control while I’ll have to go look for the fake Elen.

“Even if we use horses, it will take ten days from here to Leitmeritz’s governmental residence. It will become a long journey.”

Mila answered Galyinin without any hesitation, “We will dispatch an urgent messenger and take a lot of spare horses with us. We will ask them to tell us what roads to travel and what towns to use for a stay-over while also requesting them to come towards us. If they know that a Vanadis like me is visiting, Leitmeritz should act appropriately as well, I’d think.”

We should get the other side to move as well to shorten the distance as quickly as possible to resolve this issue swiftly.

At the end, Mila chose her travel companions. They were Galyinin, Tigre, and Raphinaque. Given that Mila was acting as Sofy’s proxy, it was preferable to move with a small number of people so as to not intimidate the other side. Accordingly, Mila chose Galyinin first and foremost. Mila bringing Tigre and Raphinaque with her was based on the implicit warning that it wouldn’t only affect Olmutz but also Brune, if they did something ill-considered.

After getting the preparations put in order, the four departed. They made their horses gallop northwards. Under the merciless blaze of the summer sun, Mila relied on Lavias’s power to chill the air around her body in order to stave off the heat, but Tigre, Raphinaque, and Galyinin had to frequently wipe the sweat out of their faces.

Around the time when noon had passed, the four left the road and took a break.

Tigre and Mila were sitting next to each other at a river that was gently flowing through a grassland. Mila had offered him to stay next to her as it’d allow him to enjoy the blessings of Lavias’s power as well. Tigre felt pangs of guilt towards Galyinin and Raphinaque, but unable to resist the temptation of being able to escape the heat, he couldn’t refuse Mila’s invitation.

By the way, Galyinin and Raphinaque were having a friendly chat slightly further away from the two with waterskins at hand while letting the horses drink their share of water.

The wind caressing the river surface felt refreshing to their flushed bodies and Lavias’s cold air made the scorching sun rays bearable.

As the two gazed at the waterside in a relaxed mood, Mila asked with a serious expression, “What do you think, Tigre?”

“You mean, about the forest fairy called Lacy which Sofy had mentioned?”

He pulled himself together and fixed his sitting posture, before confirming what she was thinking.

Mila nodded, “Yes. I don’t want to arbitrarily decide…something to be the deed of monsters just because I can’t understand it. However, this time I feel like many things would make sense, if I consider it to be just that.”

Assuming something happened to Elen, it could have only occurred after she entered the Kuttner Forest. But, just what happened to her? Did she lose her mind to such an extent that she’d attack Sofy and other people? Or was she being manipulated by someone? Besides, what happened to Limalisha who always accompanies Elen? If something happened to Elen, Limalisha should have stopped her.

“Isn’t it too early to come to a conclusion yet?” Tigre lightly tapped Mila to calm her down. “I think it’s okay to make a decision after listening to what the people in Leitmeritz have to say. Maybe they know something.”

Once Tigre said so, Mila looked downward and squeezed out an apology, “Forgive me. For getting you involved in a matter like this.”

There was yet another reason why Mila had tigre accompany her. The black bow owed by him possessed the power to injure monsters and resonated with the viralt of the Vanadis. After returning from the war against Muozinel, Tigre had tested out various things to find out how to draw out the bow’s power. He also got his father’s help to sieve through the records of generations of Vorn family heads, but disappointingly almost nothing was written in those documents.

Only after he left Alsace he learned that it’d be fine to make his blood stick to the bow. Soon after arriving in Olmutz he informed only Mila and Lana of this. He didn’t tell his father either because he felt it was eerie for the use of blood to be the method in question.

Mila had felt worried about him, but Lana proudly threw her chest out, stating, “So it was just as I had said after all.”

Though, that in itself helped Tigre to take this whole matter a bit easier. He didn’t understand why the bow possessed such a power to begin with. If he hadn’t fought the monster together with Mila and Militsa, he very likely might not have found out about this power for the rest of his life.

“I’m happy to lend you as much of my strength as I can,” Tigre encouraged Mila while gently placing his hand on hers. “Besides, if I can be of help to you in this matter, it’ll deepen the friendship between Alsace and Olmutz. This will also become advantageous for my search for the traitor and my duty as contact person. That’s why you don’t need to mind it, Mila. Please rely on me more.”

Mila looked at the youth with an apologetic expression and then lowered her eyes at their overlapping hands.

“Thanks,” she muttered and then she smiled as if rallying her spirits, “Tigre, want to enter the river for a bit?”

Taking her lover’s hand, Mila jumped up to her feet. Once he nodded, both took off their shoes and walked up to the riverside. Searching for a shallow spot, they carefully made their way into the river. The water’s cold sensation made them relax their faces. While being cautious to not slip, they waded through the water, splashing it to the sides.

“Say,” Mila started while slowly advancing through the water, “what did you do during last year’s summer and the year before that?”

“Hmm, let me think. I helped my father, patrolled the fief… Ah, I also took a look at various places at the base of the Vosges Mountains. There was also a time when I went hunting with lords close to us. I’m especially popular during summer,” Tigre declared proudly.

Summer was the season when people would often enter forests and mountains. But it was also the season when wild beasts would be most active. Youths with such outstanding abilities as hunters as Tigre were in high demand everywhere. Because his father Urs was keeping an eye on Alsace as a whole, Tigre could travel around the fief without a worry.

“What did you do, Mila?”

In response to Tigre’s question, Mila looked at the river’s surface as if searching her memories.

“Let’s see…I can only remember how I worked on governmental affairs in the governmental residence, but I went to Mount Petola last year and the year before that.”

Mount Petola was located around one koku by horse away from the governmental residence. Three years ago Tigre and Mila had traversed that mountain for several days, hunting. For Mila, that mountain was one of the places deeply soaked with memories of her time with Tigre.

Perceiving her feelings from her expression and tone, Tigre grinned at her, “Let’s go straight to Mount Petola once we resolve this issue.”

“I don’t know whether we will be able to do that. The summers around here are short.”

Mila pouted her lips as if sulking and also acting spoiled. A gust of wind blew past, making her blue hair sway. Tigre gently twined her hair around his finger.

“Autumn will do just as fine. Let’s walk Mt. Petola with the two of us this year.”

Mila’s cheeks blushed faintly as she nodded while looking up to him. Getting enchanted by her expression, Tigre hugged her and kissed her on the cheek.

Staring in wonder, Mila pressed a hand on that spot. Her face was bright red.

“W-What are you doing all of a sudden!? Besides, right, didn’t I tell you that it’d earn you minus points with me?”

“In that case, please take it as paying my reward in advance. I’ll work hard enough from now on to earn that much.”

His tone was casual and carefree, but his face was full of seriousness. Mila pulled a grimace, before burying her face in Tigre’s chest to hide her expression. Just like that, she entrusted her body to him.

In a place away from the two, Raphinaque and Galyinin concentrated on the horses. Although they pretended to not see anything, it was quite a challenge to keep it up.

Six days later the little party entered Leitmeritz’s territory.

†

Elen’s holiday villa, called 「Vannik Mansion」, was situated in the south of Leitmeritz. It was a small estate with white walls that were plastered with mortar and a gray roof of stacked stone pieces. Because it was also surrounded by nice-maintained flower beds, it exuded an aura of elegance.

Tigre had been told by Galyinin that Vannik referred to a fairy living in bathtubs, and although this mansion didn’t possess any bath where hot water would be gathered in a depression, a steam bath for sweating was installed inside the building. He explained that he’d stayed in this mansion once in the past.

This morning a messenger of Leitmeritz’s governmental residence had appeared in front of Mila and the rest of their party. Last night the four had rested their bodies in the inn of a certain town along the main road. In the morning, they’d left the inn and just when they were about to leave the town itself, the messenger had called out to them. He told them that he’d like them to accompany him to the Vannik Mansion since the person serving as Elen’s representative was currently staying there.

Because the letter handed to Mila by the messenger bore the official crest of Leitmeritz, she put her trust in him. Together with him, the five let their horses gallop for around half a koku before arriving at the mansion.

A man stood in front of the mansion. He was in his late forties. He had a big body built, covered by a white linen shirt and dark red pants, but you couldn’t sense any intimidation from him. He respectfully greeted Mila with a stern expression that suggested a preference of formality.

“Thank you for coming and welcome, Lady Vanadis of Olmutz.”

Mila apparently knew that man. She got off her horse and smiled at him as a Vanadis.

“It’s been a long time, Sir Jaronov. I feel very sorry to have called you out to a place like this. But, I expected Eleonora to come here… Where is she right now? At the governmental residence?”

The man called Jaronov couldn’t answer right away, groaning lightly.

“I cannot explain all of the details, but… right now I’m serving as the representative of Lady Vanadis.”

Due to his strained answer, Tigre immediately guessed that something had happened to Elen, just as expected.

“Sir Jaronov, there is something related to Eleonora I wish to talk about by all means.”

Jaronov’s facial expression changed in response to Mila’s words. He leaned forward, nodding deeply.

“Very well. Please allow me to hear it.”

Afterwards, Mila introduced Tigre and Raphinaque to him. Jaronov bowed his head politely.

“Friends of Lady Vanadis? Nice to meet you. My name is Jaronov and I serve as secretary.”

“Thank you kindly, Sir. I am Tigrevurmud of the Earl Vorn family that rules over Brune’s Alsace. Lady Eleonora has taken good care of me as well.”

“To the extent of him being allowed to call her by nickname, that is,” Mila added with a smile.

Jaronov looked at Tigre with admiration. Then he thanked the messenger and led the four guests into the mansion. Their horses would be looked after by the man who had served as messenger.

Jaronov summoned the servants and maids to hand out several instructions. Afterwards, he led Tigre’s group to the parlor.

Tigre asked Galyinin in a whisper, “Do you know anything about the man called Jaronov, Lord Galyinin?”

Since he was high enough in status to represent Leitmeritz during Elen’s absence, Tigre had no doubts about him being a high official, but he couldn’t imagine anything other than that.

The elderly knight nodded, “Three years ago, Sir Jaronov and Lady Limalisha were the ones to run around so that to avoid things escalating on Leitmeritz’s side after Lady Ludmila and Lady Eleonora had a confrontation. Lady Ludmila has been thankful to him for this as well.”

At the same time of understanding things thanks to that explanation, Tigre recalled Lim.

If they knew that the other party was Mila, not only Jaronov but also Lim, Elen’s adjutant, should have shown up here. Why isn’t she present right now?

As he pondered about this, they reached the parlor. Tigre’s party sat down around a big, round table. Cushions were placed on the chairs and the backrests were covered by a thick padding made out of cotton, allowing one to feel almost the same sitting comfort as on sofas.

A maid put down a jar with fruit water and silver cups, and then left the room. The fruit water was made by squeezing out fruit juice and then diluting it with water, before adding honey to it. Jaronov quickly poured some fruit water into everyone’s cup.

“Please take a drink. It seems like you have hurried here quite a bit, so I suspect you must have accumulated quite a bit of exhaustion.”

Mila thanked him and tasted the fruit water. Then again, she did so to wet her mouth rather than appeasing her thirst.

“A bit more than twenty days ago, Eleonora visited my governmental residence together with Limalisha, Do you know about that?”

“Yes. It must have been to talk about the Coryn Forest located in the southwestern part of our principality. I have heard it is called Kuttner Forest in Olmutz, though.”

“In addition, she also mentioned a conference with Sophia Obertas. I wonder if you haven’t heard something from Sophia.”

Jaronov shook his head. He was likely aware of Mila being friends with Sophia. Just as he didn’t look overly surprised, he also didn’t seem doubtful.

Mila continued, “Sophia was attacked by someone looking like Eleonora. This happened more than a dozen days ago.”

Shock appeared on Jaronov’s face. His eyes were wide open and he stared at Mila in obvious disbelief with his mouth partly open, as if he forgot to breathe.

“What…do you mean by that…?”

Mila was now convinced that it was good for her to have come here. She didn’t blame Jaronov, but if he had shown such a reaction to Sophia’s group, Sophia’s subordinates would have flown into rage.

She carefully explained what she’d heard from Sophia. And although he heard her story, he scratched his head many times over and clocked his head to the side as if being unable to comprehend what he was being told.

After listening to the end, Jaronov stared at Mila with pleading eyes, “Lady Vanadis, could you please listen to my story?”

Once Mila nodded, Jaronov said with a resolved face, “As a matter of fact, Lady Eleonora has already been missing for close to twenty day.”

A tense atmosphere spread in the room. Mila leaned herself forward with a grim expression.

“Please tell me the details. This is a serious matter for me as well.”

According to Jaronov, Elen had come back to Leitmeritz from Olmutz, but without returning to the governmental residence, she had stopped over by a fortress near Coryn Forest. Over there, she wrote up a letter and had a soldier deliver it to the governmental residence. She herself took Lim and four knights with her and headed into the forest after getting everything ready.

“The letter mentioned that she wouldn’t make it to the conference if she came back to the governmental residence. As such, she’d investigate the forest for around a day or two, before heading straight for Buszek, and once the conference ended, she would come back to the governmental residence… And certainly, the forest is located in the southwest of our territory and the land of Buszek is situated at the southeastern edge, so I can understand Lady Eleonora’s thinking.”

Jaronov, who had received Elen’s letter, sent many of the knights present in the governmental residence to the forest in case something were to happen. And then he decided to wait for his lord’s return while handling the governmental work.

After three days passed, Jaronov started to feel anxious. Even though it was about time for the conference to be held at Buszek, there had been no new message from Elen. Neither Lim nor here were people who would neglect something like that. Hence he worried that something might have happened.

Jaronov immediately ordered a knight called Rurick to set up a search party and appointed the knight as captain of that party. The search party consisted of 300 cavalrymen and 700 infantrymen. If they moved such a number of soldiers, Governor Leszek would likely notice it, but confirming Elen’s safety took priority at this point.

Meanwhile Jaronov also sent a messenger to Buszek. He tried to confirm with Sofy whether she met with Elen.

However, seven days ago, a surprising message was delivered to Jaronov. The messenger, whom he had sent to Buszek, was discovered dead. At a place still far away from Buszek. His wounds had been caused by a blade. Jaronov wondered whether he might have been attacked by a bandit group, but they said no money had been stolen.

Jaronov was unsure how to proceed at this point. Back then he still didn’t know that Sofy had been attacked as well. And finally after weighing his options, he sent another messenger to Buszek. And just as he was working on the governmental duties while waiting for the answer, Mila’s messenger had shown up in the governmental residence.

With things having reached this point, Jaronov decided to move himself.

“Thank you kindly for telling us all of this, Sir Jaronov.”

After listening to the end, Mila first thanked him. Mostly for the sake of calming him down. On the surface Mila pretended to be calm, but anxiety was dominating her mind.

Elen wouldn’t get lost in a normal forest. Something had happened to her there. The clues about the person, who attacked Sofy’s party, could be very likely found inside the forest as well. Thinking back on it now, she recalled how Tigre had mentioned a strange stare from the forest on the day she had her talk with Governor Leszek.

“I have a request. Could you please tell me the way to the forest in question?”

“…What do you plan to do?”

Jaronov’s face was dyed with nervousness. Taking it on straightforwardly, Mila clearly answered, “I will head to the forest. And I will make sure whether something happened to Eleonora.”

“That is…!”

Jaronov half-rose to his feet and was about to raise his voice, but then swallowed his words halfway. He placed a hand on his forehead, apparently troubled. Mila’s request was extremely beneficial to him. When it came to searching for Elen, he couldn’t wish for a person more reliable than her.

But, if even Mila didn’t come out of the forest…

Leitmeritz had already garnered the hostility of Polesia, and the two lords of Basilea and Tetradse. If Olmutz were to be added to this, it’d become impossible to deal with the situation. In the worst case, it could turn into a huge war which would also drag the neighboring nobles into it.

“Do you have any other ideas, Sir Jaronov?”

Mila attacked him with a sharp question.

While still holding his forehead, Jaronov answered, “We would have no choice but to investigate the forest by felling one tree after the other…”

Seeing how it was possible for Elen to be inside that forest, they couldn’t resort to burning the forest to the ground. And there was no way that they could inform the governor of the royal land about Elen having gone missing. He’d probably report it to the capital in high spirits. Under those circumstances, this slow approach was the sole option for Jaronov.

“As I thought. I’ll head out to the forest then,” Mila told him with a smile and then after erasing her smile, she added, “I think you’re well aware of this as well, but I don’t really like Eleonora all that much. But, if I leave this situation unattended, I can easily predict that it’ll cause bad effects for my Olmutz as well. Besides, she’s Sofy and Alexandra’s friend.”

Jaronov stayed silent as he couldn’t answer. Unable to watch any longer, Tigre butted into the conversation.

“That forest is going to become a problem for Olmutz as well. If just one person enters that forest and doesn’t come out… It’s not somebody else’s problem for us. Please forgive me, but even if you try to stop us, we’re going to head to the forest anyway. For our own sake.”

Silence reigned the room after this. Eventually, Jaronov sighed deeply and removed his hand from his forehead.

“I understand. I will assist you as much as I can. But, there is one thing I would like you to promise me, Lady Ludmila,” Jaronov said with a grave expression that had recovered its composure. “It’s not something I must tell you as a retainer of Leitmeritz, but please take care of your own safety above all. Above Lady Eleonora’s safety as well.”

“I know,” Mila agreed and then changed her tone while revealing a sarcastic smile, “Besides, I told you before, but I don’t like Eleonora anyway.”

Tigre, Raphinaque, and Galyinin silently exchanged looks upon her words. If it hadn’t been such a tense situation, they might have shrugged their shoulders. But, because the three also kept up solemn expressions, Mila and Jaronov immediately moved on to clarifying the details.

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Translation Notes:

1. It’s a slight alteration of Guivre which is a dragon-like creature with the tail being human.
2. Leshy is a spirit appearing in Russian folklore. He lives in forests, protecting the animals and birds. He appears as an old man with a white beard.