“Actually, they’ll also toss the handsome young men, just in case the [Heroes] were of that particular persuasion too. God knows all the dandy noble fops I’ve known would have gladly sold their arse for the status of being the favored of a [Hero],” added the Princess with a disdainful scoff. “Including the ones who were not into men, of course. It’s almost always benefits first and foremost for their ilk. The same would naturally apply to you, just reversed.”
“Huh, what you said brought a very different question to mind, actually,” said Alissa to the Princess once she stopped her tirade. “Since the people here seemed pretty aware that people of the same sex could and would get into… relations with each other, how come they don’t scrutinize… ‘tea parties’ like these even more? Sounds like a loophole in the security, there.”
“They know and don’t care if we were to go down on each other, simple as that, really. As long as the act doesn’t come with the heap of potential complication that was a royal bastard, they don’t really give a shit about it,” replied Nadine with another scoff and a shake of her head. “In fact more than a few nobles had risen to their present rank by… their ancestors indulging in skinship and brotherhood with the right noble heir at the right time in the past, so to speak.”
“Overall it’s not exactly frowned upon either way here, I’d say, though the expectation remains for everyone to have their fair share of children,” continued the Princess as she further elaborated on the topic. “For the nobles, it’s to continue the bloodline and such bullshit, while for the commoners, it’s to make sure that we have enough people to replace those who perished in the wars and wouldn’t be caught with our pants down come the next war. It’s just how it is around here.”
“Pretty progressive, all considered,” admitted Alissa after a moment of silence. She couldn’t really refute the idea of making people have children regardless of whether they even felt any attraction to the other gender or not, given the situation the Kingdom was embroiled in. Constant warfare meant that there needed to be a supply of people to replace the dead, otherwise they would collapse rapidly. “Come to think of it, Nadine, I’ve heard you rant over your brothers, but I don’t think you’ve said anything about your other elder sister?”
“My second sister… the Fourth Princess Margaret is a bit… complicated,” said Nadine after a while. “While it is considered bad manners to speak badly behind one’s back… my elder sister has been known to be rather… promiscuous, if the term applies without any actual proof, that is,” she added with some difficulty. “She had always been big on socializing with other nobles, but most of us in the family fear that she might have overdone things there.”
“How so? I thought you said that they generally don’t care as long as there’s no… royal bastards popping out as a result?” asked Alissa in return.
“That’s the exact loophole my sister is abusing, yes,” said Nadine with some resignation in her voice. “She is by far the most popular socialite amongst the capital’s young nobles, who had grown a… faction of her own, of sorts, composed solely of young noblewomen from all families,” she continued. “While her faction might not have much power now, they likely will within a generation. We have no lack of henpecked husbands amongst our nobility.”
“Oh. I see what you mean now,” replied Alissa with an understanding and sympathetic nod of her head. “From the sound of it, she doesn’t look like she’s likely to interfere with you because you suddenly gained the best claim for the throne, though?”
“She isn’t likely to do that, indeed. If I know my sister Margaret likely planned to become a power in the shadows, regardless of who took the throne in the end,” explained the Princess with a sigh. “What I’m worried about is less about her interfering with our mission and more of her trying to lure one or more of you into her clutches one way or another. All of you here are well within her strike zone, to the best of my knowledge.”
“Courage of the North be witness to my words, but I swear such an occasion shall never come to pass, Your Highness,” intoned Bronwen solemnly as she swore an oath on the spot without a shred of hesitation. “Those of us inducted to the Temple Guard had sworn our oaths, and amongst them was one to never interfere in the succession or politics of the Kingdom. May the Gods strike us down should we break our words.”
“So shall it be,” intoned both Leda and Silvia after Bronwen said the words. The two women had made it clear that Bronwen speaks for the three of them by dint of seniority and her position as a [Hero’s Companion] compared to them. As such, the Temple Guards had always presented a united front during the meeting so far.
“Certainly, Sister Bronwen. I know that the oaths sworn by the devoted are sacrosanct,” replied the Princess, her words clearly meant to appease the three Temple Guards. “Naturally, I merely wished to warn you of potential… temptations that might be directed your way due to our association, as is my responsibility.”
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“The kind gesture is appreciated and accepted, Your Highness,” replied Bronwen with a shallow bow to the Princess.
“You’re not worried she’d try to latch onto me instead?” asked Alissa with some amusement.
“Not very. [Heroes] are ephemeral by nature since they never stayed in our world for long, and my sister was more for long-term investments. Maybe if you were male she’d try to worm her way to your bed and get herself a son she could put on a pedestal, but that is clearly not the case,” replied the Princess bluntly. “As such, I think she might be more likely to try influencing the others instead.”
“And you’re not worried about them?”
“You already heard of my close relationship to Maribel. She’s probably the only one in this whole capital that I truly trust as a person,” said the Princess, to which Maribel shyly nodded. “As for Moira, she’s from an old knight lineage. Those from such lineages are known for their stubbornness and desire to stay neutral, am I right, Dame Moira?”
“Pretty much what maw and paw had been teaching me since I was a wee lass, Your Highness- sorry, Nadine,” said Moira in reply with a slight chuckle, her countryside accent slipping into her usually careful speech. “They always said that those like us should never stick our necks out when the ones up top are stabbing each other for the crown. Good advice, I think.”
“I wish the comparison wasn’t so apt, but given the situation with my siblings, they might well stab each other for the crown, soon.”
“What about the boys?” Alissa asked to the Princess with some curiosity. “Aren’t you worried that they might be approached as well by one side or another?”
“Given the Kingdom’s lack of leisure to hold balls and parties to celebrate the [Heroes] at the moment as well as how close you and Mister Greene seemed to be, I’d say most would be wiser than trying to lay a hand on him,” replied Nadine with a smirk on her face. “We had several cases of people getting in the way of two [Heroes] who were into each other in the past, and all those ended horribly for the interfering party in question.”
“Oh, c’mon! I mean… we’re not like that!” denied Alissa with some vehemence.
“Really? I would have guessed otherwise from what I’ve seen,” said the Princess, though fortunately she did not push the uncomfortable topic further. “Either way, the image is there, so even if you two aren’t in a relationship like that, others will misunderstand anyway, though in this case said misunderstanding would be to your advantage. Less hassle to deal with as there were bloody precedents to warn any interloper.”
“As for Mister Smith, he’s under Magus Drummond, and Drummond’s well known to be a strict tutor who absolutely hated the idea of socializing. Someone trying to pry his pupil from beneath his grasp will have an easier time trying to snatch a cub from a rampaging mother Griffon, I say,” added the Princess with obvious schadenfreude leaking out from her voice. “A truly fearsome challenge, that.”
“Guess that’s the two of them accounted for. What about the others?” Alissa asked with some curiosity.
“Benedictus is of the Temple Guards and had sworn the same oaths as Bronwen and the rest, so he ought to be reliable and secure as an ally as well,” replied the Princess as Maribel filled everyone’s tankards with more mead. “Sister Bronwen, I will have to trouble you to relay what we discussed here to him later, ideally kept between the two of you, if possible.”
“I can help with that, Your Highness. Consider it done,” replied the guardswoman with another polite bow towards the Princess.
“I told you to call me Nadine, Sister Bronwen, at least when we’re just amongst our own like this,” said the Princess with a sigh. “We are going to be comrades in arms for the foreseeable future. I see no reason to receive obeisance from you just because of my birth.”
“All right… Nadine,” said Bronwen with a nervous smile on her face, which the Princess disarmed with a bigger smile of her own.
“That’s better. Anyway, about the other two, they’re already hopeless to begin with,” said the Princess as she turned back to address Alissa’s question from earlier. “Glenn of Greenville is my Eldest Brother’s man, of that I have no doubt. I did my own investigations and found that both of my siblings had ‘suggested’ several members of the Royal Guards each for the party we had gone into the dungeon with, and Glenn was one of my Eldest Brother’s suggested members. The only one to survive the dungeon, too, at that.”
“That’s… unfortunate. At least he shouldn’t be giving us too much trouble, at least during the fighting, since he’s with your eldest brother, no?”
“Hopefully, though my Eldest Brother would definitely use him to spy on our movements and maybe even to pass on some directions to people of his faction amongst the military, so he couldn’t be completely discounted, even if Glenn himself seemed like an honest enough bloke,” replied the Princess with a shake of her head. “Rather than him, though, it’s Osmond de Jardine that I’m more worried about.”
“Since Glenn was your eldest brother’s man, I assume Osmond is with the Third Prince?” Alissa queried.
“Correct. Marquis de Jardine is one of my second brother’s strongest supporters, and Osmind being a fifth son is another worrisome fact, honestly. He’s neither the heir nor the spare, so his family might very well treat him as an expendable if that’s what they decided would benefit them the most,” answered Nadine with a nod. “Him being a marksman also meant that he’d be behind our backs during the fighting, so if his family decided that he’s best used to get me killed, Osmond would be in a prime position to do that.”
“Wouldn’t that get him into… well… a whole lot of trouble?” asked Alissa with some obvious incredulity at the idea.
“It would, but assuming he survived the attempt and I’m dead, he’d also still be a living [Hero’s Associate]. With his family’s support behind him, it wouldn’t be hard for them to campaign that further depleting the fighting force the Kingdom had available, much less such important members, would not be a wise endeavor after a mere unfortunate mistake on his part,” recited the Fifth Princess in a dull monotone, as if she could already envision the charade playing out before her. “I might have simplified the wording a bit, but I believe you get the general idea.”
“I did, yes,” replied Alissa with a nod. “And I got to say that your world’s idea of politics sure are pretty fucked up as well.”