Eris took a deep breath. Apprehension flowed through her. She opened her mouth to speak but hesitated. Armand sat, waiting patiently. The girl tried to speak again. No words came.

"What's happening? Why can't I tell Armand how my parents died? I felt horrible when they did, but I'm a different person than I was back then. I'm a cold woman who would do anything for power. The only reason why I want to save my parents at all is so they can see what I'm going to achieve. It's narcissism, not compassion," she thought.

Little Girl,crying,noblewoman,blonde Hair,golden E [https://images-wixmp-ed30a86b8c4ca887773594c2.wixmp.com/f/313aaab4-767f-4cea-91cb-69c8d8fbef2a/dh10g7v-c1eb0783-0425-48e0-8d53-8c0edf15943c.png?token=eyJ0eXAiOiJKV1QiLCJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiJ9.eyJzdWIiOiJ1cm46YXBwOjdlMGQxODg5ODIyNjQzNzNhNWYwZDQxNWVhMGQyNmUwIiwiaXNzIjoidXJuOmFwcDo3ZTBkMTg4OTgyMjY0MzczYTVmMGQ0MTVlYTBkMjZlMCIsIm9iaiI6W1t7InBhdGgiOiJcL2ZcLzMxM2FhYWI0LTc2N2YtNGNlYS05MWNiLTY5YzhkOGZiZWYyYVwvZGgxMGc3di1jMWViMDc4My0wNDI1LTQ4ZTAtOGQ1My04YzBlZGYxNTk0M2MucG5nIn1dXSwiYXVkIjpbInVybjpzZXJ2aWNlOmZpbGUuZG93bmxvYWQiXX0.3Sh05-OFL4q-EOMhtaPTF2I5Lyuy_Pt50INRV1FIcBw]

Armand placed a hand on Eris' shoulder. She jumped at the sudden touch but relaxed after a second.

"Take your time, Eris. This can't be easy for you," he said.

"Thank you, Armand," she replied before thinking. "Dammit, Eris, just say it! Tell Armand how your parents died! This should be easy for you!"

Pure sympathy flowed through Armand.

"I shouldn't feel empathy for Eris. Whatever she's feeling now, she deserves it after everything she did. I know I shouldn't feel sympathy for her," he thought.

The boy sighed internally.

"But I can't help it. We both lost our parents. I know exactly what Eris is feeling right now. And Eris is my fiance. I have to be there for her when she needs me."

Eris opened her mouth, struggling with words. Then, she felt something wet hit her leg. The girl looked down. Her skirt was wet from a drop of water.

Another drop fell on Eris' clothes. She pressed her hand against them, feeling the wet skirt. Then, water dripped onto her outstretched limbs. Eris looked at the ceiling.

"There's no leak," she said.

The girl felt water streak down her cheeks. Fear and panic flashed through her. Eris turned to her fiance.

"Armand, what's happening to me?" she asked.

Tears were streaming down Eris' face. The front of her dress was drenched in water.

Wasting no time, Armand grabbed Eris and pulled her close to him. He held her in a tight embrace with her head next to his. The girl's tears rolled down his back.

"Armand?" Eris trembled.

"It's fine, Eris. You're just crying. It's perfectly normal," Armand said.

"But I can't cry! I'm not some little girl anymore! I..."

"Eris, don't worry. Just let everything out. I won't tell anyone about this."

"But...but...but..." the girl blubbered.

"You comforted me when I cried," Armand stated. "So, let me return the favor."

With that, Eris broke down. She clutched Armand with her arms, leaned into his shoulder, and wailed while using his body to muffle her noise. Tears flowed freely from her eyes. In just a few moments, Armand's arm was drenched.

Armand reached one of his hands up and stroked the back of Eris' head. He felt his hands run through her hair. The boy leaned close to Eris' ear, whispering.

"Go on, Eris. Let it all out. I'm here for you, so don't hold anything back."

"I don't want my parents to die in an accident, Armand! I want them to die of old age! I want them to live to see their grandchildren!" Eris cried.

She gripped Armand so tightly that a wave of pain washed over him. Armand endured it.

"And...I want to save my parents! I want to save them so much! I...I...I..."

Eris pressed her head as close to Armand's chest as she could. Her tears washed over his clothes.

"I love them! I love my mother and my father! I love them almost as much as I love you, Armand!" she declared, speaking with all of her heart.

With a great grab, Eris pulled Armand so close that he started gasping for air. The girl loosened her grip, and Armand breathed a sigh of relief.

"I'm so sorry!" Eris spoke through her tears.

Armand brushed the back of her head more.

"Don't worry about it, Eris. Just focus on letting your emotions out. I know this must be hard for you," he said.

Eris spent the next twenty minutes crying in Armand's arms. She spent another ten minutes in utter silence. The girl's face was covered in tearstains, and her dress was so wet it looked like she tried swimming in it.

With a deep breath, Eris let go of Armand. She sat back and looked at her body.

"I can't believe I cried so much," Eris said.

"Don't take it too harshly. You're probably holding in a lot more emotions than you realize," Armand replied.

Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.

Eris looked away.

"I don't want to admit it, but Armand's right. I don't know how many feelings I've locked away in my quest for power. Is Armand bringing out these feelings? Maybe being his fiance was a mistake? No! Don't you dare think that way, Eris! I love Armand, and I'm never letting him go!" she thought.

"You don't need to feel ashamed, Eris. I don't mind," Armand said before thinking. "I've shown Eris more kindness than she deserves. I should stop now and get back to business."

He reached up to Eris' cheek and gently stroked some of her hair.

"I'm here for you, Eris," he stated.

"Why did I just do that?" Armand thought.

Eris gave him a soft smile.

"Thank you, Armand. I love you," she said. "You're going to hear me say that a lot more."

"You're welcome, Eris," he replied before thinking. "At least I know I'm making Eris like me more. There's always a silver lining, but I don't know why I'm acting this way. I'm doing much more than I need to."

Eris' expression turned deadly serious.

"I think I've calmed down enough to tell you how..." she took a deep breath. "How my parents died."

"Go on," Armand nodded.

"It was an accident like I said before. We were traveling down a mountain road, and one of our carriage's wheels broke. One of the horses was going just a little bit too fast, and we hit a rock just a little bit too hard," Eris explained.

She looked down, nervousness pulsing through her. Eris shivered. Armand put a hand on her shoulder, and the apprehension washed away.

"Take your time. We have all night," Armand said.

Eris nodded. She took another deep breath.

"We fell off the side of a cliff. The carriage ended up in splinters. My parents died...by the gods, Armand, I can still remember what their bodies looked like! Their brains were splattered all over the carriage, bits of broken wood stuck out of them, their limbs were bending in all the wrong directions, and..." Eris' breathing became ragged.

Armand hugged her again. The girl held him back. Her breathing returned to normal.

"...I'd have died too if Father hadn't shielded me with his body," Eris said.

"To think we were this close to thousands of lives being saved," Armand thought before speaking. "Your Father is a good man."

"Thank you. I know that better than anyone else."

Eris did not think about what her father would think of her if he knew how much of a monster she was. The idea that he might be disappointed in her simply never crossed Eris' mind.

"Saving your parents seems easy. On the face of it, we'd just have to make sure that your parents never go down that road or that the driver is more careful. So, what's the catch?" Armand asked.

"My parents were on that road because we were invited to a party held by His Majesty. The messenger was late because of sudden rain, so my parents got the letter at the last minute. They were rushing over to not offend His Majesty by being late. They took the mountain pass because it's a shortcut," Eris answered.

Armand nodded.

"That makes things more complicated. Magic that can control the weather is more powerful than anything we're capable of. Maybe we could make sure your parents are closer to the capital when the messenger is sent out?" he suggested.

"The problem with that is that my parents were busy dealing with a famine," Eris explained. "They were conducting rituals to make plants grow faster. They rushed to hire spellcasters who were even close to good enough after the letter came."

Armand entered deep contemplation.

"That makes things much more difficult. If the famine still happens, they'll be distracted. Magic can help a lot, but there's only so much it can do," he thought.

"How bad was this famine?" Armand asked.

"I don't remember, but even with magic, my parents were occupied for months," Eris answered.

The boy nodded.

"I could send over food, but it won't be enough for a famine that's that bad. My parents would never let me send that much over. My family has several spellcasters under us. One or two of them should be about as good as your parents need them to be," Armand said.

"That should help, but I'm not sure if it'll be enough," Eris replied.

The boy thought a moment.

"You're getting an increasing amount of control over your family's estate so maybe you could take charge of the food supply?" Armand suggested.

"I don't have any more control than I did the last time we met," Eris replied.

Shock crossed the boy's face.

"What do you mean you don't?" he asked.

"I mean that my parents still handle everything they handled back then," Eris said before thinking. "Armand's probably figured out that I have the bandits in my pocket. So, I don't need to tell him about those."

"Eris didn't mention the bandits. There's no way she hasn't gotten them on her side. She's probably not telling me about them for some stupid reason. In any case, I should just ignore them for now. I will deal with them the next time I'm at Eris' estate," Armand thought before speaking. "I'm surprised. I thought you would have taken more power in your family like I have."

"I can't blame you, but there really wasn't any need for me to. I'm an only child, and I'll convince my parents to retire after we're married. But that's two years away. I considered having my parents go to petition His Majesty for help. But he wouldn't go out of his way to solve the famine of some minor branch of the Hapsburg family. I also thought of having the wedding early, but there's too much symbolism with its current date," Eris stated.

"The date the heirs to both families would normally fight a duel becomes the day they get married. Changing it isn't an option," Armand agreed.

The power couple sat in silence for a moment, both in deep contemplation. Everything they said passed through their minds. Then, an idea flashed through both Armand's and Eris' heads at the same time. They spoke at once.

""If there were less people in the Hapsburg lands, then the famine would be less of a problem.""

"I'll start a building project in my family's lands, something big, impressive, and useful. Maybe a bunch of fountains connected by a large water system? People can drink from them, they'll look impressive to anyone going there, and the water system can be used for irrigation too," Armand suggested.

"And you can request workers from the Hapsburg lands to help with this project. My parents would be happy to send them over. If it takes long enough that they'll want their families to be there, we can send them over too," Eris said.

"My family's lands can support that many people. And, to make sure the famine won't get too bad, I could use my connections in the church to have them encourage pilgrimages in your lands. If I could get them to start a charity program there too, it'd be perfect," Armand stated.

A wide smile crossed the girl's face.

"That would be perfect!" Eris declared. "I can start showing my real competence to my parents. Then, when the famine comes, I can convince them to let me take over managing it and them to help guard pilgrims. They'll be on their way to the capital when His Majesty's letter arrives."

Armand nodded.

"And then I will manage the famine relief efforts," he said.

"You're already going to do a lot. You don't have to do that too," Eris replied.

The boy sighed.

"Eris, I'm worried that if you dealt with the famine, you'd start killing people to reduce the population, or you'll mismanage it from negligence," he said.

"Armand, I'm evil, but I'm not stupid. Those subhumans that serve us are more useful alive than dead. I would get nothing from just letting them die. But if I keep them alive, they can continue to serve me," Eris replied.

"That's a good point," the boy admitted. "You always were generous too. Money is a great way to motivate people."

She nodded.

"And loyalty can be bought, especially if someone has the option of serving a stingy and cruel lord or a generous and cruel lord," Eris added.

"They'd like it even more if it was a generous and kind lord, but that'll have to wait. I can't redeem Eris in one go. It'll have to be slow, so slow that she doesn't notice she's changing. I'll also need to remember to sneak out sometime tonight and drink blood. There are probably some squirrels I can catch," Armand thought before speaking. "Then, it looks like we know what to do."

"We do. Now, let's have some fun before we go to bed," the girl replied.

She gave Armand a warm smile. He kindly grinned back.

"Yes. I think we're ready now," Armand said.

Excitement pulsed through Eris. Her heart beat faster and faster.

"I love Armand so much," she thought.

"Let's start our game of manipulation," Eris said.