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The grand cathedral towered high into the air. Tall gothic arches pushed into its roof, providing structural stability. They were made of fine stone and covered in images of various gods.
Dawn sunlight shone in through the stained glass windows of the cathedral. Its largest window had an image of a knight in red robes praying in front of a priest, who held a book in his hands. This stained glass was magically enchanted so that the glass would shine a different sort of light, corresponding to its color. As such, the interior of the cathedral was a wash of reds, blues, and numerous other colors.
Armand Concord stepped through the redwood doors into the cathedral. A long room was before him. It had enough pews to seat over a thousand people, and the steeple was at the other end.
The sun shone in just right to create an effect of pure beauty on the pulpit. It was as if light from the gods themselves illuminated it. Armand lost his breath when he looked at the massive stained glass window behind it, the knight's eyes seeming like massive emeralds and the priest's like the all-seeing stare of a deity.
"I wonder how long it took for them to make this back in the Middle Ages?" Armand thought. "Not the whole cathedral, but the stained glass window alone."
An old man walked out of a side chamber. He saw Armand and a warm smile crossed his face. His body was clad in the vestments of high-ranking clergy. There was no hair on his head or face. However, a tall hat covered up his baldness. Inclining his head in greeting, the man greeted Armand.
"Lord Armand, it is good to see you today," he said. "But church service doesn't start for another few hours."
"It is good to see you too, Primate Jean. And I am not here for services. I might be here for them later today, though," Armand replied.
"Well, we have special services for the festival. They last the entire day, so you do not need to worry about being late."
The Concord noble nodded.
"That is good to know," he stated.
Armand held in a sigh.
"There is something I need your help with. I think my fiance might be at the festival, and I want to find her," the Concord spoke before thinking. "Before she kills any innocents."
Primate Jean nodded.
"She is a Hapsburg, correct? Even if she's from a minor branch, your fiance is probably with one of her relatives," he said.
"I agree. But there are a lot of Hapsburgs in the capital, especially since they are deeply involved with hosting this festival," Armand replied.
"Yes. And I have my doubts talking to them one by one would work. Even if you could get to your fiance in any reasonable length of time through that, you are not on good terms with every Hapsburg," Primate Jean stated. "Especially with how you support abolishing serfdom. I hope that your fiance will at least aid you in this effort."
Armand nodded.
"I hope so too," he thought before speaking. "I am certain that Eris will support my endeavors. She has kept serfdom off my estate while she managed it, after all."
"True. Your fiance may be a reliable ally for all the common peoples of Foldzar," Primate Jean said.
Armand felt a sense of disgust well up in him.
"Some people might find a comment like that should be funny in a morbid way, but knowing what Eris did...I could never find it funny. I hope I can stop her from ever committing the massacre she performed in this very cathedral the last time around," he thought.
"Perhaps. But for now, I just want to see her again. Do you have any idea of where Eris might be staying or what relatives she might be in contact with?" Armand asked.
Primate Jean pressed his hands together and entered contemplation. After a few moments of thinking, he spoke.
"One of the Hapsburgs that is opposing your efforts might try to get information out of her. I will look at the records I have access to and see if I can find anything, Lord Armand," Primate Jean answered.
"Thank you," Armand said.
The priest went into a backroom. After a few moments, he returned with several sheets of paper. Primate Jean put those papers on the pulpit, and Armand looked over them.
"There are six places where Eris could be at, judging from the purchase records I have from inns," Primate Jean said.
"Eris isn't at any of those places. She bought those rooms just to throw people off. She probably had her hussars find a place for her to stay or bought one under a false name. But this means Eris definitely is not at any of those places on this list. I can rule them out," Armand thought before speaking. "Thank you, Primate Jean. This is very helpful."
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"I am happy to help you, Lord Armand."
After memorizing the locations he didn't have to search, Armand left the cathedral. He got on his horse and moved it through the city at a brisk pace. It was fast but just slow enough that it wouldn't catch too much attention.
His first destination was a large building on the West side of the capital. It towered high into the sky and had a golden dome on top of it. The image of a two-headed black eagle was plastered above its front door. Armand took a deep breath and entered it.
Smoke flowed into his nose the moment he stepped inside. Armand coughed while holding his arm over his face. Numerous people were inside. Some were lying on the ground, coughing from the smoke that entered their mouths. Others were shit-faced drunk. Still more were gambling. Both men and women were present, and there were a number of people engaging in pleasures of the flesh behind closed doors.
Armand moved through the smoke, avoiding the people who were taking in pipes. He coughed every once in a while.
"By the gods, why did they have to import such a noxious substance from overseas. Why would anyone ever think smoking tobacco was a good idea?" he thought.
While few people in Foldzar cared about what was going on in the New World, Armand was one of those who was annoyed by some of the new substances found in it.
Relief flowed through Armand when he went out a back door. He was in a room without smoke, and he took a deep breath of the fresh air. A man and a woman were in the room, both wearing heavy makeup. In the man's case, it was to hide the marks smallpox left on his face. While healing magic could be powerful, most of it was based on accelerating the body's natural healing rate. There was only so much it could do. However, the makeup used lead in it, and that would only worsen both their looks in the long run.
"Marquis Rudolf Hapsburg, Marchioness Josefine Hapsburg, I am honored to see you," Armand gave them bows.
He ignored the fact that they had the same surname before they got married. Armand did not care about the Hapsburgs' habit of cousin marriage. However, he was glad that Eris was not inbred and was not related to him.
"Ah, Lord Armand. I see that you've crawled your way over here," Marquis Rudolf giggled like a schoolgirl. "Tell me, are you enjoying the festival? Perhaps you'd like to smoke?"
"I must decline your offer," Armand said.
Marchioness Josefine gave an exaggerated sigh.
"Such a pity. Tobacco was only recently discovered by explorers. Smoking is a new pleasure to the world, a joyous one. You should indulge in it some time," she stated.
"I hesitate to partake in something that causes me to cough," Armand replied.
"You should learn to enjoy yourself sometimes, Lord Armand."
Marquis Rudolf nodded.
"My wife is right, Lord Armand. This is a festival, so have fun! Eat, drink, be merry! Do as you please to the commoners! That is your right as a lord!" he said.
Armand gave him a bow.
"I may do that later," he stated. "But right now, I wish to meet my fiance."
"Ah, Lady Eris Hapsburg. A distant cousin of ours," Marquis Rudolf nodded to his wife. "Well, she is from a minor branch of our house, but she is still a Hapsburg."
"You say that, but you never once aided her unless it directly benefitted you to do so," Armand thought before speaking. "Have you invited her to this festival? Or has she come over here to stay with you?"
Marquis Rudolf shook his head. He sighed.
"I'm afraid not. I have no idea where Eris is," Rudolf said.
"He's lying," Armand thought.
"I have no idea either," Marchioness Josefine added with a shrug.
"So is she."
Armand sighed.
"That is a shame. I suppose I shall have to look for her elsewhere," he said.
"Yes. If you are not here for pleasure, run along now," Rudolf waved his hand.
Armand turned around.
"Very well," he pulled out a sack of gold. "I'll just have to give this to someone else."
Before Armand could even take a single step away, he heard Marquis Rudolf's voice.
"Let's not be hasty. What is in that sack?" he asked.
"I have him," Armand thought.
The Concord turned around and opened it, revealing the glittering gold coins inside.
"This isn't a large amount for a noble, but for a minor piece of information like where Eris is, it should be more than enough for a bribe," he contemplated.
Marquis Rudolf pointed one of his fingers in the air. He gave Armand a wide smile, doing his best to make it look like he suddenly recalled something.
"I just remembered! I have heard of where your fiance is. I just forgot bout it because our little Eris is from a minor Hapsburg branch," he said.
"Yes. Surely, you can understand how easy it is to stop remembering someone who is politically irrelevant?" Josefine asked.
Armand gave them a smile. Inside, a quiet rage welled up inside of him.
"Why am I getting this mad? I hate their attitude, but it shouldn't be enough to get this angry. Well, I just need to put up with them for a little bit longer. Then, I can leave," he thought before speaking. "Of course, I understand. Anyone can fall into that trap, no matter how grand."
Marquis Rudolf nodded.
"I am so glad that you understand, Lord Armand. Now, as for your fiance's location, she was invited to the festival by Dutchess Rowena Hapsburg. They are probably having tea at her townhouse right now," he explained.
"That is literally the next place I would have looked. It seems that I wasted my money," Armand thought.
The Concord boy tossed the sack of gold to Marquis Rudolf, who caught it with a wide grin.
"You are a generous man, Lord Armand," Marquis Rudolf said.
"Thank you," Armand replied as he walked out the door. "Not as much as Eris. I need to remember to ask her about that."
Soon, Armand was riding through the streets of the capital. They were incredibly dense, with some people having to push past each other to get through. Dutchess Rowena Hapsburg's townhouse was in the center of the city's festivities. That area was closed off to horses so that more people could crowd around to enjoy the festival.
Armand had to put his horse in a stable and get off. He forced himself through the crowd, pushing himself past their sweaty bodies with a look of discomfort on his face before he got to an area where there was more space to move around.
Looking around, Armand saw the entrance to Rowena's townhouse. He moved over to it as fast as he could. The moment Armand got to the door, it opened.
Eris stepped outside. Armand's first thought was that she looked utterly stunning. A blush crossed over his face, and Armand saw a hint of desire flicker over Eris' eyes.
"Armand, you've grown," she said.
"By the gods, what is wrong with me?" he thought before speaking. "So have you."