In the days since Eris received the letter, Armand made trips outside of Marshal Staufer's house at the same time of day. Of course, Eris made sure her hussars were ready to deal with anyone who might try to harm Armand. Still, no one even attempted to.

But before Armand even started, a thought came to his and Eris' minds.

"This letter might be a trap or a false flag," Armand speculated.

"I was thinking the same thing," Eris said. "Karl hasn't met me in years. He'd be right in assuming that I'm madly in love with you, but even if I wasn't, saying he wants you dead in that letter is a terrible idea."

"Yes. Even if you weren't a threat, the letter could be intercepted. And if one of my allies got ahold of it, Karl could have signed his own death warrant," he nodded.

Eris grimaced.

"But I think he sent a letter. If not, then we could easily disprove Karl's letter when he doesn't show up," she stated.

"I agree," Armand replied. "His letter would have been far more diplomatic than what we got, though. Or at least it wouldn't mention killing me."

"It would be a veiled threat at worst, especially since you're Marshal Staufer's adjutant," Eris shrugged.

Armand nodded.

"I'm glad I didn't show the letter to Marshal Staufer. Sir Karl would be dead if I did," he thought before speaking. "Then, someone might have intercepted the letter, changed it, and put it back on its way."

"That is most likely, but I doubt Karl is stupid enough to hire messengers who would willingly deliver an altered letter," Eris said. "They could be dead."

"That's possible. It's also possible that someone Karl's working with altered the letter," Armand suggested.

Eris grimaced.

"There are many possibilities, and we don't have enough information yet," she said. "Maybe I should show Karl the latter?"

Armand placed a hand on his chin in contemplation.

"How much does he know about what sort of person you are?" he asked.

"Nothing at all. He probably thinks I'm a normal woman," Eris answered.

"I'd expect nothing less from you, Eris," Armand thought before speaking. "If that's the case, then show him the letter. He has no reason to suspect that you've altered it as part of some trick."

A part of Eris felt sick when she heard Armand's words. However, she didn't speak.

"Why do I feel this way? Armand didn't say anything about me that he hasn't before, but he still thinks I'd trick a close cousin of mine. I would, and he knows it, but why does it hurt?" Eris thought.

She clutched her heart, a downcast expression crossing her face.

"Maybe it's because I truly am a horrible person? How did Armand ever come to love a woman like me?" she wondered.

A look of concern crossed Armand's face.

"Eris, are you alright? Do you feel ill?" he asked.

"It's nothing, Armand," she waved it off. "I'm just starting to get hysteria."

The boy raised an eyebrow.

"You're starting to get close to the age where women can get hysteria, but I'm not sure if heartache is a symptom of it," he said.

Eris tried to change the subject with swiftness.

"You are not a woman and you are not a doctor," she replied. "So, I doubt you know much about hysteria."

"That's fair enough," Armand stated before thinking. "It's true that I don't know much about hysteria, but is Eris telling the truth? Why would she lie about being sick or having hysteria in this situation? I can't think of how it would benefit her too, so she's probably telling the truth."

After that, Armand started setting out. He did this in addition to whatever business Marhsal Staufer needed him to do. The workload would increase as he recovered more. Still, most of what Armand did was easy enough to handle.

Eris stayed at Marshal Staufer's residence during this time. She kept an eye out for any signs that Karl might be coming. At a certain point, she got a report from her hussars.

"We found some men following Armand. When we interrogated them, they claimed to be working for Sir Karl Hapsburg."

"Did anyone see you capturing them?" Eris asked.

"No one did. We made sure of it," the hussar answered.

The girl furrowed her brow.

"Were these men sent to kill Armand or just follow him? And did you tell them that you work for me?"

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"They claimed they were supposed to just follow him, even when we put them under our worst tortures. And we did not speak a word of our employer."

Eris nodded.

"Karl will probably think his men were intercepted by Armand's men, not mine. I can use this to my advantage," she thought before speaking. "Release one of Karl's men. Make it look like he escaped, to him especially. Let him deliver his report to my cousin."

After all, she wanted Karl to be informed of Armand's patrol routes if that was his desire to know. Still, Eris made sure to have more hussars watch Armand. Torture wasn't always the best interrogation tactic, after all.

Several days passed. Eris found herself alone, save for a few servants, in Marshal Staufer's house. A knock came at the door, and a serving woman answered it.

"Hello?" she asked.

"I am Sir Karl Hapsburg, and I am here to see my beloved cousin, Eris Hapsburg," a voice from outside answered.

Eris forced herself to smile, despite anger welling up inside. She walked over to the front room's curtains and closed them as the servant walked over to her.

"Lady Eris, should I let this man in?"

"Yes," the noblewoman said. "Do it at once."

A moment later, Sir Karl Hapsburg entered the room. He was a bit taller and more muscular than when Eris last saw him. However, she fully recognized her cousin. There was a soft smile on the man's face as he gazed at her. The servant girl left the room, giving them privacy.

"It has been far too long, Eris," Karl said.

"Yes, it has been," Eris spoke before thinking. "And if you aren't careful, Armand will shoot you right in the back."

The girl then pulled out the letter Karl sent her.

"I got your letter. It was...well, I suppose you should read it yourself," she stated.

Confusion crossed Karl's face.

"Read the letter I sent you? But I'm the one who wrote it," he pointed out.

"Oh, I insister," Eris handed it to him. "Take the letter and read it."

Karl shrugged and did as Eris told him. As he looked through the paper, his expression changed from confusion to shock. The knight looked at his cousin with wide eyes.

"This isn't the letter I wrote," he said.

The faintest hint of relief flowed through Eris. Her anger dissipated the slightest bit.

"I believe you," she replied. "It seems that someone intercepted your letter."

Sir Karl nodded with a grim expression.

"I was certain that my letter wouldn't be intercepted, but someone must have..." he stated.

Eris gave him a nod.

"Well, now we can forget about your talks about Armand and move on to other affairs," she said.

"We cannot do that," Karl shook his head. "We can talk about whoever intercepted my letter late. That Concord boy is why I'm here. Eris, we must get your parents to annul the betrothal."

Eris narrowed her eyes.

"No," she said.

Karl spread his arms out, frustration welling up in him.

"Listen, Eris, this marriage is a disgrace to our family! We are enemies of the Concords! We are not supposed to make peace with them!" he declared.

"And you are supposed to obey my parents. But you are not doing that," Eris replied.

Anger flashed through Karl, mixing in with his increasing frustration. Eris' mind was filling with a steady rage too.

"Listen, Eris, over the years...thousands have died because of the animosity between our branch of the Hapsburgs and the Concords. To just make peace with them would disgrace all the lives that were lost in our conflict," Karl said.

The girl grimaced.

"Karl, you're really making me mad. You have nothing to say that you didn't have before. Knights are obsolete pawns. So, either start acting like one or leave," she thought.

"I don't care," Eris stated.

Karl's jaw dropped.

"You...you don't care?" he asked.

"Those people are dead, and most knights would be praising my marriage with Armand, not acting against it," Eris answered. "You just hate the Concords and wish to destroy them. Now, be a good knight and accept my parents' and my decision."

Karl clenched his fists so hard they turned white. Meanwhile, Eris' expression remained the same.

"Please, Eris, I'm begging you. Please reconsider your desire to marry Armand," he said.

"Do you have any reason why I should, aside from ideas of honor that most knights don't hold and making the same mistake a bunch of corpses made?" Eris asked.

Sir Karl did not say anything. The two stood in silence, no words between them. Karl opened his mouth a few times before closing it. Eventually, the knight spoke.

"Eris, please understand. I'm begging you," he said.

"I understand perfectly fine. You are the one who doesn't understand," Eris replied.

Karl took a deep breath.

"Then, so be it. I have one last resort," the knight stated. "Don't make me resort to violence."

Eris' eyes narrowed.

"Would you really attack your own cousin in Marshal Staufer's house of all places?" she asked.

"No. Not here, and hopefully not you. Eris, unless you agree to help me convince your parents to annul your engagement with Armand, I will march on Castle Hapsburg. I will force them to annul the engagement myself," Karl answered.

Eris let out a deep sigh and shook her head.

"Sir Karl, I know that you won't march on Castle Hapsburg," she said. "You will march on Castle Concord. You believe you have some means to end this feud violently, and you are saying that you'll attack Castle Hapsburg in case Marshal Staufer's servants are listening to our talk."

Karl didn't speak. Then, he let out a sigh of his own.

"Yes, Eris, I mean to end our feud with House Concord if you do not listen. I have the support of three lords. Their motives are different from my own, but our goals are the same: the defeat of House Concord, once and for all," the knight explained.

Eris placed a hand on her chin, a flicker of recognition flashing through her eyes.

"Tell me, are these lords interested in ending Armand's support for ending serfdom?" she questioned.

Karl's eyes widened in shock. He blinked but tried to hide his expression.

"Why do you think that? Armand's main controversy is his belief in monsters," the knight said.

Eris gave Karl the smuggest smirk she could possibly give him. The girl chuckled.

"Are these lords Baron Radford, Count Ilemus, and Count Hemming?" she asked.

Sir Karl's jaw dropped. He blinked in shock, a hint of fear pulsing through his body.

"You knew? All this time, you knew about my alliance, didn't you?" he questioned.

"Yes, I knew," Eris answered before thinking. "Karl, you couldn't have known, but you shouldn't have mentioned that it was three lords. It's happening sooner than the last time around, and last time, I was at the head of this alliance against Armand...but it seems that history is repeating itself once more."

The girl then turned her smile from smug to cruel. She narrowed her eyes, making it clear that only her mouth was smiling.

"Now, Sir Karl, allow me to give you an ultimatum. You have one week to disband this alliance. If you do not do so by then, I will join House Concord's forces with my own. We will crush your forces in their entirety."

Karl turned and marched to the door.

"So be it, then, Eris. Let it be war," he said.