Shaula looks over at Prisca.
“Prisca. I—”
“Wh-What? What is it?” The peach-haired demihuman realizes that Shaula is asking something of her and leaves her own thoughts for a moment.
“I wanted to know something. You asked me earlier if… if I was a noble.”
“Oh? I thought you were going to keep that a secret?” Prisca answers, confused.
Barden’s eyes bulge at how casually Prisca spoke about it. His mouth hangs open in shock. He had wanted to confirm it, but he would rather Prisca not even broach the subject. If she were careless, wouldn’t she face some heavy punishment from a noblewoman who wanted to remain hidden?
Yet, Shaula’s expression and demeanor doesn’t change much.
“Couldn’t you have been a bit more discreet about it!?” Angelidis whispers frantically. The human woman simply sighs. She gets closer to Barden and Prisca, and looks around for anyone listening. Angelidis perks up her ears as well. Shaula then whispers to the three of them.
“I’m not a noble.”
“You… I hope you don’t mind if I don’t believe your words at face value. You faced a noble in combat, you know? Even if you’re not a noble, the ability of that man to fight was not on the level of a commoner!” Prisca whispers, wholly unconvinced of Shaula’s words.
Barden remains silent as she and Shaula converse. He only needed to confirm for himself that the “bright” woman who faced off against the crystal mage was her. Yet, he doesn’t believe her words about not being a noble. How could she use such high tier healing magic if not for—
“I’m not one. I am not a noble.” Shaula repeats. “But, whatever, it’s not so important. My real question was more about how the guards handle the nobility.”
Shaula had noticed something about how the guards reacted to her presence when she was in her lightful form. Their level of fear in her presence was truly palpable. They had even run from her. It wasn’t that she had displayed her power. She started to wonder if they started to attach “noble” onto her and became afraid of her by means of that label. That might change things.
In front of the commoners, the guards are eager to play as the authority, as the ones in power. However, she had seen those same people run from her. She had wondered if she could use their natural cowardice to those above them to her advantage.
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***
The Captain of the Tritol guards, Tom Muscad, is currently in the middle of his last chance to save face. He is walking through an alleyway in preparation for his final shot at pleasing Baron Liri and his family.
Tom has dreams. He had originally started as an officer, before eventually becoming a sergeant and precinct Captain within the city of Tritol. If he’s not careful about this imminent operation, his dream to become a guard commander by the age of 45 could be left on the wayside.
He is currently 34 years old and supporting his wife and two young daughters while growing his power and influence. He knows when he goes too far but he has always played things safe. Yet today, he has only been meeting obstacles he thought were below his level that somehow turned out to be far above it.
”Yin, where are we right now with the operation?” He asks his loyal lieutenant.
“Sir, we are almost ready to make our move to apprehend the target and those around him. Everyone has fully prepared their armor and weaponry for a confrontation.”
“Good, good… What about the concussive stuff? The gas? When you say that they have their shit prepared, they got the gas masks as well, right?”
“Yes, sir.”
“…What is it, Yin, you’ve got a weird face.” Tom is right, his subordinate Yin looks somewhat uneasy, his eyes darting back and forth.
“Sir, are you sure you want to do this right now? There’ll be some backlash if we do something like this just to get that one man and his friends. At least a dozen of the people in the crowd around him will be killed. One or two of them will be human too…”
“Don’t worry about that, if that guy is the treasure-trove of information that I think he is, the Baron will back me through all that.” Tom rebuts. He doesn’t need such piddling doubts right now. He likes Yin for his caution but sometimes it can come off as cowardice. Sometimes, one must take risks to ascend to greatness.
All that matters to Tom right now is his credibility and his reputation in front of the Baron. The demihumans who chose to side with him can go fuck themselves for all he cares. His own future and the future of his family is more important to him.
He still wants to send his kids to good magic colleges. They’ve shown aptitude for magic and he’s able to send them to strong private schools that can boost their proficiency in magic from a young age. They won’t be able to become high ranking clergy because they’re women, but they can still become holy knights.
It isn’t impossible for them to become heroic nobility. Though the ascendancy to nobility is easier through feats during war, they might be given nobility as a gift for other achievements. Entering a magic college would be their first step to that divine dream.
Even if they aren’t successful there, they can still maintain the skills necessary to support their husbands. His daughters would still be valuable as marriage candidates for the sons of more powerful commoners, ones that he could build a good relationship with to grow his family’s soft power.
He has a few plans to climb the ranks in his own career, but he can only act on those once he actually becomes a commander of the Tritol guards. If he gains such a position, he can turn the area he has command over into a fief, a veritable treasure trove. Yet, something else bothers him.
Will his own ascent be so easy? Is this enough?