Marshal Staufer rushed back to us. Rozwialzly followed him closely, moving as fast as he could. There was a look of panic on Rozwialzly's face. He stopped and bowed in reverence when he saw the Queen.

"Your Majesty, I..." Rozwialzly started.

The Queen turned and started walking to her carriage.

"Not now," she said. "Save my son."

Rozwialzy followed her to the carriage. Armand stayed by Marshal Staufer's side.

When the Queen opened the carriage door, she revealed a young boy inside of it. He couldn't have been older than six. His hair was ashen, and his eyes were green like a field of grass.

However, his form was emaciated with sickly yellow skin. Boils were growing on the inside of his eyes. His hands were covered in pustules that leaked yellow slime. The boy's eyes were vacant.

Rozwialzly rushed forward before the Queen could give him an order. He placed his hands on the child's face. A great light flashed, flowing over both the spellcaster and the boy.

The boils disappeared one by one. His skin returned to a healthy color. Soon, the pustules were gone too. His eyes became full of life once more.

"M-Mother..." he started.

Tears of joy flowed out of the Queen. She embraced the child in a deep hug. There was a massive smile on her face.

"My baby boy's safe," she said.

"Make sure he eats well, and he'll be as good as he was before he got sick," Rozwialzly advised. "My magic can heal, but I haven't figured out how to cure muscles lost from hunger."

The Queen nodded, releasing her son from her embrace. She then stood with as much dignity as she could muster in her current state.

"Thank you, Rozwialzly. I trust that you will not object to administering your treatments in the capital?" she asked.

Rozwialzly glanced back. Most of those present thought he was looking at Marshal Ludwig Staufer. However, the spellcaster's gaze met Armand's.

"I can't defy the wishes of Her Majesty," Ludwig said.

"A lie," Armand thought. "With your power and influence, you could easily do it. I wouldn't be surprised if you were more powerful than the King himself. Though, there are probably a few nobles who can say that."

Marshal Staufer shrugged.

"Besides, Her Majesty can give you greater resources than I can, and the capital's probably the most vulnerable place in Foldzar to disease. They need your help more than my fort here does," he stated.

"And there's the real reason. Marshal Staufer is a hard man, but he's also honorable and far more caring than he seems. By all rights, his honor should have gotten him assassinated a long time ago. But he's far more than most nobles...no, he's more than most heroes of legend can handle," Armand thought.

The boy nodded. Rozwialzly gave a nod back. He then turned to the Queen.

"I would be happy to accompany you to the capital, Your Majesty," Rozwialzly knelt. "Just allow me to gather my family and my apprentices. I would like to travel with them."

"Of course, of course," the Queen nodded. "I wouldn't separate the man who saved my son from his own family."

"Thank you," he bowed.

Then, Rozwialzly went back into the fort. The Queen turned to her servants.

"Go with him. Help him with whatever he needs," she ordered.

Without hesitation, the servants moved out as fast as they could. The Queen gave her son another hug and approached Marshal Staufer and Armand.

"Marshal Staufer, I hope your operations here go well," she said.

"The borders are secure as usual. We don't have anything to fear from foreign powers," he replied. "Of course, that's nothing new. Most of Foldzar's surrounded by mountains we have dozens of castles on. The only part that isn't is South Foldzar and the only thing that could attack us from there is the Southern City States. And they're too busy fighting each other. And combine all that with our gold mines and the mercenaries we hire, Foldzar is safe from invaders."

With a nod, the Queen gave a slight smirk.

"Those foreigners really are irrelevant. Not a one stands a chance against us," she stated.

"Yes. We could probably expand our territory," Marshal Staufer said.

Armand blinked in shock.

"Expansion? I've never heard anyone talking about expanding Fildzar's borders before. Even Marshal Staufer never brought it up the last time around," he thought.

The Queen waved it off.

"Dealing with the nobles of Foldzar is bad enough. Getting foreigners involved would just make things worse," she said.

"A fair point," Marshal Staufer nodded. "We don't need foreign powers getting involved in our affairs. And expanding would give them an excuse to do that."

"I agree completely," Armand stated before thinking. "I already have my hands full with the disasters, stopping Eris from being a monster, and ending serfdom in Foldzar. I don't need to deal with foreigners on top of that."

The Queen looked down at Armand, both literally and figuratively. She then looked at Marshal Staufer.

"And who is this?" she asked.

"Lord Armand Concord. He's my adjutant, Your Majesty," he answered.

"I see."

She looked at Armand again. This time, the Queen gave him a nod of respect.

"Marshal Staufer is a very important man, Armand. You are quite fortunate to have been taken into his employ," the Queen said.

"Thank you, Your Majesty," Armand replied.

"Do not fail him. That is an order from Her Majesty, Queen Gertrude of Foldzar," she stated.

With that, the Queen walked back to her carriage. She sat down next to her son.

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"Well, Armand, it seems Her Majesty's going to remember your name," Marshal Staufer said.

"Are you certain?" Armand asked before thinking. "I don't think anyone could forget Marshal Staufer's adjutant. And even if she forgets, she'll remember when she sees my book."

"Yes. Being my adjutant is enough to get anyone's attention. However, whether this is a good or bad thing remains to be seen. In any case, it'll be a while before anything comes of this. Right now, focus on your book, Armand. We'll go forward with our plan," the Marshal answered.

A chill flowed over the Concord estate. Count Hapsburg had left, making Eris the only member of their house there. And shortly after her father was gone, a new guest came.

There was a carriage in front of Castle Concord. The banner of House Medici flew over it, and numerous mercenaries surrounded the vehicle. All of House Concord moved out to greet the newcomer. Eris joined them.

Brutus Medici exited the carriage. He had a serious look on his face, and coldness radiated from him. His eyes locked with Eris. She maintained her composed expression, but Brutus' face could barely conceal his hatred.

"I was wondering when Brutus would make his move," Eris thought.

"What brings a man of the Ducal house Medici here?" Count Concord asked.

Brutus turned to him. The Medici gave a polite smile.

"I've come here with a proposal that will greatly benefit your house," he said.

"Then come in, and we can discuss it," Count Concord smiled.

Brutus' gaze flickered on Eris for a moment before he shook his head.

"That will not be necessary. I will be quick and to the point," he stated.

Eris fought back a grimace.

"Brutus knows me well. If he entered Concord Castle, he wouldn't leave with his life," she thought.

"Well, then, what is your proposal?" Count Concord asked.

"I have two things on my agenda," Brutus answered. "First, it's regarding your eldest son's marriage."

"Yes? What about it?"

"If you break his engagement with Eris Hapsburg, I will get my parents to agree to marry him to my sister."

Count and Countess Concord's jaws dropped. Frustration pulsed over Charles' face. Lucia smiled with elation. Armand's other sisters had looks of concern cross their faces.

"Of course, they'd have these reactions. A ducal family normally would never marry one of their daughters into a count's family. This is a much better marriage, politically speaking, than Armand's marriage with me," Eris thought.

Then, utter rage flashed through her.

"How dare Brutus go after my marriage with Armand! That little shit doesn't know who he's dealing with! I thought he'd do something like this, but it's still infuriating! I will crush his hopes and dreams right here, right now!"

But before Eris could speak, Count Concord said something that shocked her.

"I refuse," he said.

Utter shock coated Brutus' face.

"But this is a much better marriage for your family," the Medici stated.

"Yes, I know that," Count Concord nodded. "It's a bit too good, though."

"I can understand why you would be suspicious, but this offer is sincere. I could even get my parents to agree in writing before you break up the engagement," Brutus offered.

Count Concord shook his head.

"Even if you are completely sincere and there are no tricks, I still must refuse," he said.

"But this marriage is perfect!" Lucia objected.

"The amount of power House Concord would gain from it is greater than the marriage with Eris, but it is not a superior marriage. For one thing, the marriage with Eris is supposed to end a centuries-long feud. If we break the engagement, no one will trust us. Breaking an engagement is bad enough, but breaking one this important is even worse. That would damage the reputation of House Concord, which would do more harm to us than a marriage with the Medici family would do good," Count Concord stated.

Eris had to suppress laughter.

"It seems I underestimated Armand's father. He's far more cunning than I thought he was. I guess I still have a few things to learn," she thought.

Count Concord continued.

"Furthermore, no matter how the marriage with Eris goes, the Concord family is guaranteed to fulfill one of its goals. A marriage with the Medici family is far less certain, especially because of the massive increase in banditry in your lands. You might be a ducal family, but how can we trust in your power if you can't even handle bandits?" he asked.

Brutus shot Eris a death glare. While Eris' expression remained composed, she was laughing like a madwoman internally.

"Take that, Brutus, you bastard! You can't possibly beat my mastery of bandits! I hope you realize just how outmatched you are! No, wait, I don't! I want you to keep fighting, keep struggling, keep making an ass of yourself! Suffer in the depths of pain and humiliation for as long as you can, until you make a mistake that'll let me sink my fangs in your throat!" Eris thought.

The Medici boy nodded.

"I understand. Now, for my second offer, I would like to purchase a certain village from you," he said.

"That would be the village Armand was put in charge of," Eris thought.

"Is it within our lands or on the edge of it?" Count Concord asked.

"Within your lands," Brutus answered.

The count shook his head.

"I apologize, heir to Medici, but I cannot accept your offer," he stated.

"You haven't even heard how much I'm willing to pay," Brutus replied.

"That amount does not matter," Count Concord said. "I am now going to allow another house to have lands within my family's territory. That is asking for something bad to happen."

With a deep sigh, Brutus nodded.

"I understand. I was hoping that you would accept my offer, but as you won't, I will take my leave now," he stated.

Brutus and his mercenaries left the area, moving away at a somewhat slow pace. Count Concord kept his gaze locked on them until they were far out of eyesight.

"Most houses would have accepted his offer," Count Concord noted. "But what would the Medici want with my family?"

Eris stepped next to the count. She looked down the road.

"They should be out of earshot now. Even if someone fired a gun, they wouldn't hear it," the girl said.

"That's right. But how is that relevant?" Countess Concord questioned.

"Now's my chance. Knowing Brutus..." Eris thought before looking around.

She saw a bush with thick leaves. The girl pulled out a wheellock pistol, pointed it at the foliage, and pulled the trigger.

Before Eris could finish firing, a man jumped out of the bush. He pulled out a pistol of his own and aimed it at Eris' chest. But Eris had already pulled the trigger in its entirety. It was aimed at the assassin's head.

Click.

Eris hit the deck as her gun misfired, activating her fast reflexes spell. The assassin fired at the same time.

Click.

Another misfire, and Eris and the assassin both reached for other guns they had concealed. However, aside from drawing her gun faster than the assassin could, Eris' heightened reflexes gave her a clearer picture of her surroundings. The girl noticed that Count and Countess Concord were already pointing pistols at the assassin.

Bang.

Bang.

Two lead balls slammed into the assassin's chest. Blood flowed out of his body as he collapsed to the ground. The assailant tried to point his gun at Eris, but she was too fast.

Bang.

Corpse,ground,grass,blood,man,early Modern,renaiss [https://images-wixmp-ed30a86b8c4ca887773594c2.wixmp.com/f/313aaab4-767f-4cea-91cb-69c8d8fbef2a/dhk0lyh-ddf0e1e5-df8b-490e-8b03-a1f6b45bf1e1.png?token=eyJ0eXAiOiJKV1QiLCJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiJ9.eyJzdWIiOiJ1cm46YXBwOjdlMGQxODg5ODIyNjQzNzNhNWYwZDQxNWVhMGQyNmUwIiwiaXNzIjoidXJuOmFwcDo3ZTBkMTg4OTgyMjY0MzczYTVmMGQ0MTVlYTBkMjZlMCIsIm9iaiI6W1t7InBhdGgiOiJcL2ZcLzMxM2FhYWI0LTc2N2YtNGNlYS05MWNiLTY5YzhkOGZiZWYyYVwvZGhrMGx5aC1kZGYwZTFlNS1kZjhiLTQ5MGUtOGIwMy1hMWY2YjQ1YmYxZTEucG5nIn1dXSwiYXVkIjpbInVybjpzZXJ2aWNlOmZpbGUuZG93bmxvYWQiXX0.ij2Pbud8u4QWGd1xFYXhEKumL2_hMYXpUZWcjSpNqfI]

A shot to the head and the assassin's brains were leaking out. Eris could see the inside of his skull. She didn't visibly react to that. But inside...

"So, that was your first attempt to kill me, Brutus?" she thought. "It wasn't a bad effort, but without Armand distracting me, you have no chance of killing me."

Armand's siblings had either scattered and hid or froze in fear. Count Concord had a look of complete and utter rage on his face.

"Eris, do you know who sent that man?" he asked.

"Brutus, of course," she answered. "I don't doubt that he thought you'd accept his marriage offer, but it was ultimately a distraction."

Count Concord looked at the corpse of the assassin.

"You were his real target all along, weren't you, Eris?" he questioned.

"Yes. There was an incident at a feast where I offered to help his family with their bandit problem. He must have taken that as an insult," the Hapsburg stated.

"By the gods, you made an enemy of the Medici," Count Concord groaned. "Do you have any idea what you've done?"

There was anger in his voice but also a sense of resignation. After his conversation with Brutus, there was no turning back.

"Don't worry, Aramand can handle it," Eris gave him a smile. "Send Armand a letter telling him what happened. This can act as absolute proof for you that he's Marshal Staufer's adjutant. And we both know that Marshal Staufer is far more powerful than the Medici."

Internally, her grin was wide and evil.

"Checkmate, Brutus," Eris thought.